Discover Lontzen: Trails, Village History and Cultural Heritage

Lontzen combines varied trails, distinctive hedgerow landscapes and a rich village history. If you would like to combine nature experiences with culture and the region’s past during your trip, you will find a range of options here, from short excursions to longer tours. When choosing a holiday apartment, it is also worth considering the pace you want for your days: you might focus on a circular trail, historic buildings, landscape observation or local history.

Circular Trails Through the Landscape and Local History

A good starting point is the red Lontzen-Rabotrath circular trail. It is 4 kilometres long and begins in the centre of Lontzen. This makes it possible to include a manageable route in your day’s plans without committing to a long hike. The signposted 20-kilometre Galmeiveilchenweg, on the other hand, is suited to those who would like to spend longer on the trail. It passes several historic quarries and numerous buildings in Lontzen’s traditional architectural style.

The landscape around Lontzen is characterised by hedgerow landscapes with numerous hiking trails, sunken lanes and viewpoints. The Lontzen panoramic information board stands in front of hiking junction 63, northwest of the village of Lontzen in the Busch district. The Waugasse sunken lane runs from hiking junction 93 towards junction 21. If you would like to compare different types of paths, you can include short local circuits, longer signposted routes and individual sunken lanes in your plans.

Nature Observation and Distinctive Landscapes

Among the unusual natural features is a tunnel on a hiking trail to Lontzen where a colony of greater mouse-eared bats lives. Next to the tunnel is a reed bed designated as a Natura 2000 site. These two features add a distinctive ecological dimension to the hiking landscape, without requiring you to follow a specific circular route. In Schmalgraf, the landscape also includes ecologically interesting ponds, nutrient-poor meadows and spoil heaps. For your outings, you can therefore choose between paths with viewpoints, historic traces and landscapes with different points of interest.

Culture, Mining and Historic Buildings

Lontzen also offers specific points of interest for culture-focused days away from the trails. The Ste-Anne Chapel in Lontzen-Busch has a remarkable Brabantine winged altarpiece from the 15th century. St Hubertus Church preserves a fully intact decorative, architectural, pictorial and furnishing ensemble from the early 20th century; it was restored in 2013. Those interested in the development of the village will find the Vieille Montagne mining building at the entrance to Lontzen, a structure built in 1907 that has retained its external structure in full after being converted into living accommodation.

The history of Lontzen Castle dates back to the 13th century. Together with the traditional buildings along the Galmeiveilchenweg, this creates a picture in which older local history, mining and regional architectural styles stand side by side. You can choose the individual destinations according to your interests, without having to dedicate your stay to a single theme.

Village History with Set Visiting Hours

The Lontzen Local Village History Collection can be visited on the first and third Sunday of each month from 14:00 to 15:30, or by appointment. This provides a specific time slot to include in your travel plans. The Lontzen-Herbesthal Village History Collection presents documents, photographs and exhibits relating to the area’s mining history. One room is dedicated to the former Prussian border railway station at Herbesthal, which was demolished in 1983. This makes it possible to trace a vanished part of the village’s history through the collection.

The Right Accommodation for Your Travel Plans

When searching for a holiday apartment in Lontzen, you can first decide which experiences should be the focus of your stay. For varied day planning, you can choose from the 4-kilometre red circular trail, the 20-kilometre Galmeiveilchenweg, sunken lanes and viewpoints. Culture enthusiasts can also include Ste-Anne Chapel, St Hubertus Church, the Village History Collection and the historic traces of Vieille Montagne. If you prefer nature observation, the landscape in Schmalgraf, the reed bed and the hedgerow landscapes offer different points of interest.

For further research, you can also take a look at Clavier, Anthisnes, Malmedy, Thommen, Awans, Verviers, Burg-Reuland and Jalhay.

For the main travel overview: Liège.