In the footsteps of the potters

The village of Raeren is located right on the Belgian-German border and it is the historical core of what is now the municipality of Raeren. The village is characterised by its rough stone architecture and still has...

Originally, the village of Raeren consisted of numerous hamlets. These settlements, not directly contiguous, were connected by footpaths, so-called stiegelwege. The stiegel were openings with wooden stakes or stones...

Raeren Castle was built in the 14th century at the confluence of the Iter and Periol streams. The two streams supplied the moat which surrounded the castle and protected its inhabitants against intruders. In the 16th...

This chapel was built in 1716 and dedicated to St. Anna, who was one of the most revered patron saints in the region as from the 15th century. In 1991, four stations of the cross by the ceramicist and professor of art...

Haus Raeren is a well-preserved castle built in water which has not changed much, and it is the direct neighbour of Raeren Castle. It was built in bluestone just like the latter, in the 14th century as a donjon, a...

Typical of Raeren are houses made of broken bluestone such as Haus Zahlepohl. They were constructed on the principle that the potters would build a residence, next to it a workshop and then, adjacent to that, stables...

The Raeren Parish Church of St. Nikolaus is regarded as one of the most beautiful churches in the Eupener Land. It was built in rough bluestone at the beginning of the 18th century. The windows of this hall church with...

Raeren station, meanwhile disused, is for the most part still preserved in its original condition as far as the technical installations go. It was commissioned in 1885 when, with the Vennbahn, a line was opened running...

The Saxby control cabin at the former station in Raeren is regarded as one of the few completely preserved installations of its kind. The invention by the Englishman John Saxby marked the beginning of safety technology...

The Café Pavillon at the control cabin offers guests snacks and drinks in a railway history setting. Apart from the pavilion with its terrace, there is also a converted railway wagon in which guests can sit. If...

The numerous historical relics that bear witness to Raeren's turbulent past were documented by cultural and historical signposting in 2019. The 21 bluestone columns are distributed among the former hamlets that...

The High Bridge spans the Periol stream to the south of Raeren Castle. It was built in the 18th century in the bluestone typical of the region. There is a footpath that goes over the bridge. Under the bridge, wagons...

A peculiarity of the region around Raeren are the genuflection monuments, known in the vernacular as héllejehüssje (little shrines). They are to be found in many places in the various hamlets and are part...

The wells in the Raeren hamlets were not just places where water could be obtained, but also important meeting places for the people's leisure and social life. 'Am Plei' features one of the few wells with a...

The residence of the sculptor Leonard Mennicken is situated in the district Am Plei. He lived in Raeren from 1874 until his death in 1969, and was known above all for his works of sacred art, which adorn numerous...

In 1865, the miller Wilhelm Joseph Schauff made the bark mill and his home available to the municipality of Raeren so that a place of residence could be established for the sick and the elderly and those who were...