Amel - where dwarves once dwelt

Amel, rooted in the Celtic word for water - "amblava", takes its name from the local river Amel (or Amblève, where it runs through francophone territory). The village of Amel is the oldest inhabited locality in East Belgium. It was already mentioned in a charter dating from 670 A.D. As half the district of Amel is forested, timber represents the lion's share of the local economy. The wood from these forests passes from sawmills to carpenters before being sold.

St. Raphael's cloister at Wolfsbusch in Montenau is known far and wide as a place of calm and retreat. Legend tells that dwarves once dwelt in Wolfsbusch – they are thought to have made the millstones that can still be found strewn about the forest. People are still searching for the treasure the dwarves are rumoured to have hidden somewhere in Wolfsbusch...

The Goose King

The village King is crowned once a year at the "Goose-Whacking", an ancient tradition from the farming villages. To attain this honour, local bachelors try to chop the head off a dead goose that is hung from the rafters. This would be easy enough, were it not for the fact that each prospective claimant to the throne is blindfolded! The winner then chooses his own Queen from among the village beauties. "Goose-Whacking" is one of the highpoints of the calendar in the hamlets and villages of Amel, as well as in other parts of the Eiffel.

Other highlights: the Weismes to St. Vith cycle tour, most of which runs through Amel territory, the old railway bridge in Born, the Amel Summer Festival and the many trekking paths, sections of which lie inside the "High Fen & Eiffel Nature Park".

Situation: central South of the DG
Population: 5,154
Area: 125.1 km²
Altitude: 440-550 m
Localities: Amel, Born, Deidenberg, Eibertingen, Heppenbach, Herresbach, Iveldingen, Mirfeld, Montenau, Medell, Meyerode, Möderscheid, Schoppen, Stephanshof (also: Ferme Mathonet), Valender