Wisdom

Weismes Waimes
Weismes Waimes
State :	Belgium
Region :	Wallonia
Province :	Liege
District :	Verviers
Coordinates :	50 ° 25 '  N , 6 ° 7'  E Coordinates: 50 ° 25 '  N , 6 ° 7'  E
Area :	96.93 km²
Residents:	7425 (Jan. 1, 2019)
Population density:	77 inhabitants per km²
Post Code:	4950
Prefix:	080
Mayor:	Daniel Stoffels
Local government address :	Place Baudouin, 1 4950 Waimes
Website:	www.waimes.be

Weismes ( French [officially] Waimes ) is a municipality in East Belgium , in the province of Liège . Weismes is located in the French-speaking area , but is one of the municipalities with language facilities for the resident German-speaking minority ( facilities municipality ). It is the highest municipality in Belgium on a total area of ​​97.10 km² and has 7,425 inhabitants (as of January 1, 2019). Together with the municipality of Malmedy , Weismes forms the canton of Malmedy .

geography

location

East Belgium

Main street in Weismes

The Rur near Sourbrodt

The municipal area extends between the municipalities of Eupen and Bütgenbach to the north and shares the area of ​​the German-speaking community with its uninhabited area in the High Fens . The highest point in Belgium, the Botrange ( 694  m ) , is located in the Hautes Fagnes . The area north of the Warche belongs to the German - Belgian nature park Hohes Venn-Eifel .

The area of ​​the former Monschau train station, located around 20 kilometers northeast of Weismes, also belongs to the municipality of Weismes; it is only connected to the municipality by the Vennbahn .

Community structure

The large community of Weismes has comprised a total of 15 districts since 1977:

• Bruyères (Ausderheiden)
• Champagne (Gringertz)
• Faymonville (Outer Born)
• Gueuzaine (To the Gentiles)
• Libomont
• Ondenval (Niedersteinbach)
• Outrewarche (In the spinning mill)
• Ovifat (fish vein)
• Remonval
• Robertville (In der Bivelt)
• Sourbrodt (surbrot)
• Steinbach
• Thirimont (Deidesberg)
• walk
• Waimes (Weismes)

See also : List of German names of Belgian places

Neighboring communities

Weismes borders on the Walloon communities Eupen (northern DG ), Jalhay and Baelen in the north, Bütgenbach and Amel (both southern DG) in the east and south, and the canton partner Malmedy in the west.

The municipality borders Monschau in the northeast . Weismes is the only municipality in Belgium bordering Germany that does not belong to the German-speaking Community of Belgium .

Waters

Grenzbach in the north is the Hill . The Rur rises in the Walloon Venn and flows via Düren and Jülich to the confluence with the Meuse to Roermond . The Warche flows through the municipality from east to west and feeds the Robertville reservoir , which is used to generate drinking water and electricity. In the next valley in a southerly direction, the Warchenne flows from Faymonville via Weismes to Malmedy. The southern border river is the Amel ; between Ovifat and Longfaye the Bayehon forms the western municipal boundary.

history

• 

  St. Saturnin in Weismes

• 

  World War II remembrance in Sourbrodt

• 

  Monument to Pastor Nicolas Pietkin

Weismes emerged from a royal court from the Merovingian period between 481 and 751 . The first written mention of Via Mansuerisca dates back to the year 670. 888 is the first written mention of the place Weismes.

In 1354, the construction of Reinhardstein Castle began , which was rebuilt from 1969. St. Saturnin, a two-aisled hall church, was built in 1554 on foundations from the 11th century; a renovation took place in the 20th century. In 1534 Johan Sourbroits built his inn, which forms the core of today's Sourbrodt . In 1566 the Hauptmann Column and the Panhaus Column were erected in the High Fens .

The Chapelle de Cheneux in Ovifat is first mentioned in 1602. In 1708 and 1709 St. Wendelinus Chapel was built in Sourbrodt.

In 1815, Weismes was also given to Prussia in the Congress of Vienna . Weismes belonged to the administrative district of Aachen , Malmedy district in the Rhine province until 1920 . The reason was the defeat of Napoleon Bonaparte, who had previously changed the political map of the continent considerably. In 1839 St. Joseph was consecrated in Robertville . The Mont Rigi Inn was built in 1861 and 1862 .

After the First World War, Weismes became Belgian by virtue of the Versailles Treaty. In 1923 the Baltia hill was built on Botrange . In the following year, 1924, the University of Liège received a scientific station next to Mont Rigi. The Robertville dam was built between 1925 and 1929 . In 1926 a monument was erected for Pastor Nicolas Pietkin (1849–1921). The Botrange tower was built in 1933 and 1934. In 1935 the churches of St. Remaklus in Ovifat and St. Wendelinus in Sourbrodt were consecrated. In 1957 the High Fens nature reserve was realized.

Sights and special features

Down the Warche between the dam and the confluence of the Bayehonbach, the Reinhardstein Castle is 60 m higher on a rock , a former property of the Counts of Metternich.

The so-called Vennheckenhöfte represent a specialty of the region . These are houses on whose weather side (west / southwest) high beech hedges have been and are planted, which are cut to the shape of the house. In Ovifat the longest street is named Heckenstrasse .

Since the beginning of 1900 the custom of the Mailiede has also spread in the Weismes area during the May night (April 30 / May 1) .

economy

Quarry in the valley of the Warchenne

tourism

The place is one of the winter sports centers (alpine and cross-country skiing) in East Belgium. The slopes and lifts of Ovifat-Alpin have had snow cannons since winter 2018/2019, in summer the area is used as an outdoor sports center. With Dévalkarts and Roll heritage we go down the dry ski slope. MTB rental and donkey rides round off the program. Various cross-country trails such as Ski Botrange are located in the municipality.

Tourist attractions are the Botrange , Mont Rigi , the Polleur-Venn- Rundweg, the nature park center and the lake of Robertville , as well as the Reinhardstein Castle and the Rail Bike Draisinenbetrieb on the old Vennbahn line between Sourbrodt and Kalterherberg.

With the integration of the former railway lines L.48 , L.45 (Trois-Ponts - Weismes) and L.45a ( Vennquerbahn ) into the RAVeL network , Weismes has become a starting point for various bike tours that go from there to the surrounding area, B. to Stavelot , Sankt Vith , Sourbrodt and Bütgenbach or continue on the Vennbahnradweg to Aachen and Troisvierges.

Business

Sandstone and quartzite rocks from the Paleozoic (+/- 420 million years) have been mined in the Warchenne quarry since the end of the 19th century . At the beginning the stones were used for the construction of the railway line between Malmedy and Monschau. The initially handicraft business was modernized over time. In 1990 the quarry's equipment was completely renewed and a washing plant was installed. Annual production today is +/- 250,000 tons. It is mainly used for road works and the production of asphalt , ready-to-use concrete , rubble stones for buildings and precast concrete parts. In 1990 the processing and marketing of quarry stones for buildings was started. The use of modern equipment eliminates the hard work of breaking the stones by hand. Most of the production is intended for the construction of private houses. The second larger quarry is La Bouhaye in the Steinbach district. The natural stone is a quartz-containing sandstone. The rubble stone material is very popular for house construction due to its rich color palette. A wide range of gravel for road construction is also produced.

Forestry is another major industry in the municipality. Around a third of the municipality is forested. Some sawmills and other wood processing companies ( cable drums , prefabricated house construction, door and window construction) are located for further processing .

The dairy industry with many smaller farms has meanwhile declined to mainly larger farms. In Outrewarche z. B. there is only one farm with 120 dairy cows. The need for pasture is correspondingly large. The herds are driven to graze in the neighboring Weywertz in summer . These farms are now equipped with milking pits and computer-controlled milking systems.

See also

• List of cultural monuments in Weismes

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Curiosities in the Eifel border area. In: Aachener Nachrichten . December 7, 2012, accessed December 11, 2013.
2. ↑ Map of the Rhine Province
3. ↑ Vennbahn & Ravel routes in eastern Belgium - East Belgium → Belgium. Retrieved March 14, 2018 . 

Web links

Commons : Weismes  - album with pictures

Commons : Weismes  - collection of images