St. Peter and Paul Basilica, Saint-Hubert
Hubert, or Hubertus (655/665-727), was a nobleman and a passionate hunter (the hunt at that time was a privilege only for the nobility), close to the Carolingian family. On one Good Friday, instead of going to church, he set off for a chase. But in the forest, a stag with (more…)
Hengebach Castle, Heimbach
And since we’ve just spoken of the Order of Cistercians of the Strict Observance, in this publication I’m trying to give a sketchy answer to my own question – why in Germany, this ‘beer country’, isn’t brewed the special Trappist beer. Of about 170 Trappist monasteries in the world, (more…)
Abbey of Our Lady of Orval
A legend tells that Countess Mathilda of Tuscany dropped her wedding ring in the water while she was sitting on the edge of a fountain. After a long and fruitless search, she prayed to God and a trout emerged from the water with her ring in its mouth. (Today this is the symbol and coat of arms of the abbey). The Countess exclaimed: „Truly, this place is a Val d’Or“ (Val d’Or translated from the French means Golden Valley). And to express her gratitude, she decided to build a monastery on the spot.
Ulflingen/Troisvierges
There is something very mysterious about the small town of Ulflingen/Ëlwen/Troisvierges that remains unnoticed. It is its name in the first place. The German name Ulflingen, by which it was known from its very beginning (mentioned for the first time in 1353), as well as the Luxembourg Ëlwen, derives from the word for ‘elves’ and refers to the old folk tales about the founding of the town by elves.
Farnières Castle
Belgium is one of the countries or the country with the highest density of castles per square kilometer. In an area of 30 520 km², there are 3 000 castles, between 300 and 400 of which (according to different sources) are open to the public. And sometimes, traveling on the Belgian routes you could get astonished how frequently from the left and from the right crop up more and more beautiful monumental buildings.
Monschau
The small town of Monschau is described as a „populated museum“ located on both sides of the Rur River.
Vianden
“Vianden” derives from the Gallic word “vien”, which means “rocky”. That little town with less than 2000 inhabitants is in the warmer months so flooded with tourists or with just taking a walk neighbors from the neighboring Germany and Belgium, that people can hardly pass each other on the narrow pavements and would wonder in which densely populated city they have arrived.