Medell - Depertzberg

The panorama board Medell Depertzberg offers a terrific view out over the Amel country, the Wolfsbusch and the linguistic border with Wallonia. The listening tour 'Brave citizens, blue stone and gold fever' takes you past this viewpoint.

Here, the artist Norbert Huppertz has given a new function to an old drawing table, which had belonged to an architect. The apertures in the rusty table enable the landscape to be rediscovered by narrowing the onlooker's field of view, and this puts the focus on some interesting details. One might say that nature draws itself here.

In the heyday of the East Belgian railway network, Born was the junction for the lines St. Vith – Born – Vielsalm and the famous Vennbahn. Meanwhile, the latter one has been converted into a hiking and cycling route. Going towards St. Vith, there are still some remnants of a turntable for locomotives to be seen.

The Freiherr von Korff Bridge is the only construction still extant on the former railway line from St. Vith to Vielsalm. It was completed in 1916 and served mainly military purposes. The bridge itself consists of eleven arches over a length of some 285 m, and it is 18 m high. At the top, there is a viewing platform.

Along the cycle path, there are conservation areas on both sides. Panels provide information about the special characteristics of the fauna and flora. 

Linguistic borders Germanic tribes, which had forced their way into the Roman Empire across the Rhine in the period between 400 and 600 A.D., settled as far as this ridge during the migration of the peoples. They left their mark on the culture in those places where German is spoken today. The area behind the Wolfsbusch remained under Gallo-Roman influence, so that Walloon and French established themselves there. Millstones For a long time, the Wolfsbusch was a purely deciduous wood. Especially beeches and oaks were exploited here. However, there was also a different kind of raw material in the form of greywacke. Even today, you can recognise the open-air workshops of the stonemasons who made millstones here. Gold rush West of Montenau, along the Amel and its tributaries, there are veins of quartz with small quantities of gold. Both the Celts and the Romans dug here. Around the end of the 19th century, there was a brief gold rush, but it soon came to and end on account of the poor yield.  

Exactly half way between Iveldingen and Montenau, there are two Catholic places of worship: the modern parish church, opened in 1985, and a small chapel dating from 1688, which is listed as a historical monument.

The villages of Montenau and Iveldingen  The course of the little river Amel, the wood known as the Wolfsbusch and the beautiful village with its ancient farmhouses all go to make up the charm of the dual village of Montenau-Iveldingen, which has 500 inhabitants.

With well-controlled designation of origin In the Montenauer ham smoke house, one could see the production process of the salting, seasoning and smoking of a real Jambon d’Ardenne. Here, the smoking happens according to the special recipe of the family company – that is: above beech wood and with juniper berries. Only a production time of 6 months makes a ham an original Jambon d’Ardenne. Make sure to taste this AOC-labelled ham in the boutique.  

The Vennbahn, a leisurely cycling route on a former railway line, connects Aachen with Luxembourg (125 km) and runs right through the middle of the village . The maximum average gradient is two per cent. Info: www.vennbahn.eu

In a graveyard in the green valley of the Amel lies the grave of 'Monsieur Hawarden'. It was not until after his death that the truth came out: the person behind that pseudonym was in fact a well-to-do woman from Paris by the name of Mériora Gillibrand. Having killed her lover in Vienna, she disguised herself as a man to evade prosecution. Together with her serving maid, who was the only person who knew about her identity, she led a restless, nomadic life as Arthur Hawarden. And thus, she came to Ligneuville, where she eventually died of a lung disease. A novel was based on her unusual life story, and indeed a film was made of it in 1968.

Thirimont was mentioned in official documents for the first time in 1188. After a member of the community had lost his life in a snowstorm on the way back from mass in Weismes in 1769, the inhabitants of Thirimont were given permission in 1771 to build a chapel, which was consecrated to St. Gangulphe. During the Battle of the Bulge from 16 December 1944 to 16 January 1945, the village was the scene of severe fighting. The museum Baugnez 44, not far from Thirimont, has devoted itself to those events.

This village was mentioned for the first time in 1455 as 'Lehen Diedenberh' in a letter from Count Johann of Nassau to Johann von Hersdorf. The old chapel, dating from 1707, proved too small in time, and in 1949, the decision was made to build a new church. To plans by the architect Georges Lambeau, the church was erected in just two years using stones from the neighbouring quarries in Ondenval.   In the interior, apart from St. Germanius and St. Isidore with the ox, there are two wooden figures from the old chapel. Another unusual feature is the so-called campanile, a bell tower which stands aside from the chapel itself.

Depertzberg Medell means 'my valley'. From the location of the panorama board am Depertzberg, there is a magnificent view out over the village, which lies in a small valley. 'Am Päsch' This village established itself at a watering place, where humans and animals alike could get water to drink. Today, it bears the road name 'Am Päsch'. A bluestone trough has been erected there in memory of the watering place. Parish Church of the Immaculate Conception The landmark of this village is the striking onion dome of the Parish Church, which was designed in about 1930 by the Malmedy architect Henri Cunibert. He was well known for his church buildings with unusual spires. The farm at Dellerweg 127 This remarkable farm at Dellerweg 127 dates from 1754 and illustrates the construction methods of those times. The farmstead is constructed in rough, slate-like stone.    

This chapel was listed as a historical monument in 1994. The colourful baroque altar with its columns and the large number of relics are unique for this region. During the most recent restoration work, experts counted 168 bone fragments from 81 saints.

This ensemble of church, market cross and Antoniushäuschen is important in art history terms. It is regarded as the oldest extant part of the village, which was mentioned in an official document as early as 670. The church spire dates from 1541. The Antoniushäuschen is in essence a former Gothic chapel dating from the 14th to 15th century. With the market cross dating from 1722, Amel drew attention to its market freedom and market peace.

With over 2,500 exhibits, the agricultural museum at Mirfelder Busch 2 A reminds visitors of the Eifel's agricultural history. On the action days held each month, the old equipment is brought back to life, for example on threshing or baking day. The museum is open on the first Sunday of the month from May to September. Group visits are possible on request from eight persons upwards.

Well signposted hiking and cycling routes take you through this landscape characterised by slopes, woodland, meadows and watercourses. This is a place where you can still explore nature. The source of the Amel is in Hepscheid. The house of woods, with direct access to the educational nature trail, 2.6 km in length, which has also been extended to include an art trail, is something one definitely should not miss. The trail starts and ends at the barbecue hut in Halenfeld.   A recently created 5.8-km educational bird trail is entertaining and informative, and not only for families with children. It has been designed with the aid of the children from the elementary school. The trail starts and ends at Café Müller opposite the church.

The name 'Meyerode' implies that this village came into being following the clearance of an area with marshland and woods, like most of the villages whose names end in -rode or -rath (e.g. Wallerode, Atzerath, Rocherath). During excavation work, a stone slab with an engraved cross was found. Archaeologists have come to the conclusion that there must have been a church in Meyerode as early as the 6th or 7th century. Today, the slab can be seen on the left next to the stairway leading up to the church in the enclosing wall.