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Lontzen Panorama 01(c)www.ostbelgien.eu Christian Charlier.jpg
Lontzen

Beautiful views, shady hollow ways and the rebirth of former zinc mines  

The area around Lontzen

Nature all round Lontzen is characterised by unique hedgerow landscapes with many hiking trails, hollow ways and vantage points. A walk through the village takes you past strikingly beautiful farmsteads from the 18th century, built in typical grey stone. A visit to the church is also worthwhile. The former Lontzen Castle is located in the Schlossstrasse. The 'Lontzen-Herbesthal village history collection' presents documents, pictures and exhibits relating to mining, which used to be so important here.

Point of interest

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lontzen panoramatafel 01 c jose grommes

Lontzen viewpoint indicator

The Lontzen panorama board is in front of the hiking junction node 63, north-west of the village of Lontzen in the district of Busch. A small pond with a bench invites visitors to take a break. A magnificent view...

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01 lontzen heckenlandschaften 01 c www.ostbelgien.eu christian charlier.jpg

Landscape around Lontzen

The composition of its soil and its reliefs show that the region around Lontzen belongs to the eastern foothills of the Pays de Herve, which lies in the north of the Province of Liège and marks the transition...

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03 lontzen dorfgeschichtliche sammlung 01 c www.ostbelgien.eu christian charlier.jpg

Village history collection

The Lontzen-Herbesthal village history collection, in Lontzen's village community centre, is in the middle of the village square in front of St. Hubertus' Church. Here, everything that accompanied the citizens...

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04 lontzen st. hubertus kirche 01 c www.ostbelgien.eu christian charlier
Panoramic view

St. Hubertus' Parish Church

St. Hubertus' Parish Church in the Schlossstrasse, listed as a historical building, was built between 1768 and 1770 to plans by the architect Joseph Moretti. Standing half way up a hill above the road, it towers...

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05 lontzen schloss 01 c fabian erler

Castle of Lontzen

The history of Lontzen Castle goes back to the 13th century. At that time, there was a massive residential tower in the same place, but it was destroyed in 1288 in the War of the Limburg Succession. The well-fortified...

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06b lontzen hohlweg semmelgasse 01 c www.ostbelgien.eu christian charlier

Hollow ways & stiegel paths

The unique hedgerow landscapes around Lontzen can be explored on various hiking trails. One special feature of these hiking routes is the numerous hollow ways and stiegel paths. Since most of the roads in the Middle...

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07 walhorn skulpturenweg 02 c jose grommes

Sculpture route 'On the trail of the Stones'

Quarries characterise the surroundings and history of Walhorn. The sculpture route 'On the trail of the stones' has been created to remind us of that circumstance. Starting from the centre of Walhorn, it leads...

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08e raborath aussichtspunkt 02 c www.ostbelgien.eu christian charlier

Extraordinary nature landscape of Rabotrath

Just a few meadows, a small hill and a railway line separate Lontzen from the hamlet of Rabotrath. Apart from a small chapel, there are a few farms. Yet in this idyll, the mining of calamine ores, typical of the...

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09 lontzen traditionelle bauweise ehem bergbauhaeuser 01 c www.ostbelgien.eu christian charlier.jpg

Traditional design

In the region around Lontzen, various quarries were worked for hundreds of years. In the ones at Lontzen itself, blue and grey limestone and brown dolomite stone were quarried. Both the quarries themselves, which have...

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10 herbestahl historisches foto bahnhof bunt

Former station at Herbesthal

When the railway line between Aachen and Liège was completed in the 19th century, Herbesthal became the first frontier station in Europe at which a railway line crossed an international border. Until 1920, the...

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11 walhorn johberg kreuzweg 01 c lothar klinges

Johberg

From the 12th century until 1795, Walhorn was one of the five hochbanken in the Duchy of Limburg. The hochbanken were administrative and judicial units of the duchy. The lay assessors' court in Walhorn sat in...

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12a lontzen st anna kapelle 01 c www.ostbelgien.eu christian charlier

St. Anna's Chapel

St. Anna's Chapel in Lontzen-Busch is a Gothic gem from the 15th century. The original fittings and furnishings include the Flemish altar and the predella – the step on which the altar stands –,...

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13 lontzen lindenplatz 01 c www.ostbelgien.eu christian charlier

Lindenplatz

The Lindenplatz, in the centre of the village of Lontzen, invites visitors to sit down and have a nice rest, whilst a large wooden train invites children to come and play. A wagon reminds us of the zinc ore mining...