St. Vith - the martyred town

St. Vith is at the centre of life in the South of the DG, the region known as the Belgian Eiffel. The town also draws visitors from far and wide through its reputation as a "furniture capital": there are over 100,000 m² of furniture showrooms here! In addition, St. Vith offers quality possibilities for restaurants and shopping.

The Ardennes offensive

St. Vith was almost totally destroyed in World War II as Christmas 1944 saw the last big offensive of the encircled German army – known as the Battle of the Bulge – pass through here with devastating consequences. The town was flattened, its citizens forced out to shelter on its fringes in the icy cold. The hasty shacks they erected there would later become the "Neustadt", a quarter of the resurrected town. In 2004, 60 years after the German offensive, St. Vith was officially granted the status of Martyr Town by the Belgian government.

The proud Büchelturm

St. Vith, lying as it does on a vital trade route between Cologne and France, has known both the advantages and dangers of its situation. Successive generations have seen it either burned down or rebuilt. One of the few remaining structures from the town's early history is the Büchel tower, a massive stone keep dating from 1350.

Not to be missed: the Katharinenmarkt (Catherine's Market) in November, the town museum (Heimatmuseum), the 17^th century castle of Wallerode, the fresco paintings in the Bartholomäus-Kapelle (St. Bartholomew's Chapel) in Wiesenbach, the Beer Museum in Rodt and the Bluestone-Route in Recht.

Situation: Centre of the southern DG
Population: 8,941
Area: 146.7 km²
Altitude: 450-500m<
Localities: Alfersteg, Amelscheid, Andler, Atzerath, Breitfeld, Crombach, Eiterbach, Galhausen, Heuem, Hinderhausen, Hünningen, Lommersweiler, Neidingen, Neubrück, Neundorf, Nieder-Emmels, Ober-Emmels, Recht, Rödgen, Rodt, Schlierbach, Schönberg, Setz, Steinebrück, St. Vith, Wallerode, Weppeler, Wiesenbach