PROVINCE OF LUXEMBOURG
Population: 295,000 (2024)
Surface area: 3,862 km²
Arrondissements: Arlon, Bastogne, Marche-en-Famenne, Neufchâteau, Virton
Sports clubs/major events: R.Excelsior Virton (football). TV Lux (local television channel)
Main tourist attractions: Arlon and Marche-en-Famenne museums, Saint-Hubert and Orval abbeys, Saint-Michel furnace, Barvaux maze, Roche en Ardenne and its castle
Economy: tertiary, administration, health, services
Website: www.provincedeliege.be
Km 1
VAUX-SUR-SÛRE (POP: 6,000)
The commune: Created in 1971 by the merger of the communes of Morhet, Nives, and Vaux-lez-Rosières, and in 1977 by the addition of Hompré, Juseret, and Sibret. The cemetery in Sibret has been listed since 1950.
Château-farm of MonceauBuilt: 1772
History and characteristics: The date 1772 is inscribed on the pediment, but this is probably the date of a conversion. The farmhouse was probably built at the very end of the 17th century and then modified in several stages. The buildings enclose a partially paved square courtyard of around 1,000 m². The building is constructed of local schist stone rendered in beige. The north wing has two quadrangular towers one floor higher than the rest of the buildings.
Current use: educational farm
Listed as: listed heritage in 1989 and 1997
Km 1
ASSENOIS (POP: 230)
The hamlet lies on an ancient Roman road, known since the Second World War as the Freedom Way because it was used by General Patton's liberation forces during the Battle of the Bulge. During this battle, the "Assenois corridor" was a clear route for ambulances.
Km 16.4
FAUVILLERS (POP: 2,370)
Situated in the heart of the Anlier forest, Fauvillers is the largest village in the Haute-Sûre-Forêt-d'Anlier Nature Park. Three exceptional funerary monuments can be seen in the old village cemetery.
Km 25.1
LÉGLISE (POP: 5,700)
The Mellier high forge was built in 1617 and is located in Mellier, a hamlet of Léglise. The complex comprising the dam bridge, lime kilns, old forges, and surrounding land was listed as a monument on 13 October 1980 and has been included on the Walloon Region's list of exceptional heritage sites since 2016.
Km 33.7
HABAY (POP: 8,600)
Habay's ancient occupation is illustrated by the presence on its soil of a large Gallo-Roman farm, the Villa de Margeroy, excavated some twenty years ago. The commune is one of the strongholds of the family of best-selling novelist Amélie Nothomb, whose great-grandfather, writer Pierre Nothomb, bought the Pont d'Oye site in 1932 to turn it into a literary estate.
Habay has twice hosted the Belgian road championships. In 2010, Stijn Devolder took the elite title, while in 2019, Florian Vermeersch won the U23 title.
Château and Estate of Pont d'OyeThe Pont d'Oye site, founded at the very beginning of the 17th century, was first and foremost a stronghold of the Belgian iron and steel industry. Its forges employed hundreds of workers, and its owners were elevated to the rank of marquis and built a castle from 1644 onwards. The last marquise of Pont d'Oye, Louise de Lambertye, became famous for her escapades, and the estate fell into ruin.
In 1932, Baron Pierre Nothomb, a politician and man of letters, acquired the château and, in addition to creating a family refuge (he had 13 children), set up a meeting centre for writers. He accumulated over 10,000 books, as well as the autographed works of his friends who stayed at the château (Francis James, Louis Pasteur Vallery-Radot, Emmanuel Mounier, Georges Bernanos, Roger Bodart, and Marie-Thérèse Bodart, etc.). Very fond of the Pont-d'Oye, he asked to be buried there, next to one of the ponds. Attached to this literary vocation, the poet's heirs continued the tradition of welcoming writers to the Pont-d'Oye and developing cultural events there. As for the book collection, it has been donated to a foundation. A descendant of the Baron, famous novelist Amélie Nothomb describes the Château du Pont d'Oye in The Crime of Count Neville (2015) and in First Blood (2021), in which she evokes the estate, which will be sold by her family in 2019. It is now a luxury hotel and seminar venue.
Km 40.6
ÉTALLE (POP: 6,000) Étalle has been inhabited for a very long time and boasts the largest Gallic oppidum in Belgium, built by the Trevirian tribe. The presence of mineral water springs has led to the construction of a major bottling plant for mineral water sold under the Valvert brand.
Km 55.9
VIRTON (POP: 11,400)
Virton is the capital of the Gaume, a cultural region where the traditional vernacular is Gaumais. An ironworks had been established at Pierrard-lez-Virton, but in 1900 this industrial site was transformed into a School of Arts and Crafts. In 1939, the Museum of Gaumaise Life was created in the former Recollects convent, evoking the history and traditions of the region.
On 26 December, Virton hosts the Lovers' Festival, as well as the election of the King of Pâté gaumais, which consists of swallowing as much as possible of this preparation washed down with coffee.
The Tour of Belgium made several stops in Virton between 1950 and 1970, with an impressive list of winners ranging from Pino Cerami (1951) to Eddy Merckx (1970).
Km 63.2
MUSSON (POP: 4,650)
The village prospered between the 19th and 20th centuries thanks to its steelworks, which declined after the Second World War, as did the entire steel industry in Lorraine on both sides of the border. Today, there is a museum retracing the history of the village mine and that of the neighbouring village of Halanzy.
MEURTHE-ET-MOSELLE (54)
Population: 733,760
Prefecture: Nancy
Sub-prefectures: Lunéville, Toul and Val-de-Briey
Surface area: 5,246 km²
Specialities: bergamotes (confectionery made with bergamot essence, the same fragrance as eau de Cologne), macarons, mirabelle plums, baba au rhum (invented at the request of King Stanislas who could no longer eat dry cakes), saint Epvre (cake), pâté lorrain, quiche lorraine, bouchée à la reine.
Sports clubs: AS Nancy Lorraine (football), Stade Lorrain Université Club Nancy Basket (Pro B basketball), Grand Nancy Métropole Hand Ball, Vandœuvre Nancy Volley Ball, Grand Nancy Volley Ball
Competitions: Stanislas athletics meeting, Nancy-Metz walking race, Saint-Nicolas race, Greater Nancy Half Marathon.
Economy: steel, mining, finance and law, construction, logistics and trade, business tourism, cultural industries, digital economy, materials, health engineering, tourism, universities.
Sights: Place Stanislas in Nancy, Villa Majorelle, École de Nancy heritage, Château de Lunéville, Saint-Nicolas-de-Port basilica, Longwy ramparts, Rosières-aux-Salines national stud farm, Pont-à-Mousson abbey.
Festivals: Nancy Jazz Pulsations, Nancyphonies, Live sur la Place, Fêtes de Saint Nicolas, Froville Festival, EuroBD Festival in Longwy.
Websites:
www.meurthe-et-moselle.fr
Km 64.5
VILLE-HOUDLÉMONT (Pop: 700)
The village cemetery includes a small national necropolis where the bodies of 92 French soldiers killed during the deadly Battle of the Borders on 22 August 1914 are buried.
Km 75.1
Km 75.1 - Montigny-sur-Chiers (470 inhabitants)
Km 78.7
FERMONT
The Fermont fort is a former major structure on the Maginot Line. Fort Fermont was one of the key elements of the line, built between 1929 and 1940. The 600-strong garrison held out until the 1940 armistice. It features an underground gallery 30 metres below ground.
3 km away:
Cons-la-Grandville CastleConstruction: 11th to 18th centuries.
Style: Classical and Renaissance.
Features: Home to the Marquis de Lambertye since the 17th century, Cons-la-Grandville castle represents a synthesis of Romanesque and Classical architecture.
History: The current castle was built on the remains of a medieval castle commissioned by Dudon de Cons, a crusading companion of Godefroy de Bouillon. It is situated on a rocky promontory surrounded by the village and wooded hills. The castle retains its medieval foundations and the lower, massive, fortified sections (to the north and east). The whole complex was rebuilt in Jaumont stone from the Renaissance onwards.
Listed as: Historical Monument in 1947.
Km 84.9
DONCOURT-LÈS-LONGUYON (POP: 290)
The village was destroyed during the First World War. On 22 August 1914, the 25th BCP came up against the enemy, and around fifty men were mown down by German machine-gun fire in Grand Champ Wood. The forest of Doncourt was the training ground for Willy Rohr's Sturm-Bataillon Nr. 5. The German Kaiser visited the field on 14 August 1916.
Km 105.8
BASLIEUX (POP: 520)
The Latiremont fortification, part of the Maginot Line, is located in the commune. It is a large artillery structure with eight blocks. Built in 1931, it was spared the fighting of June 1940.
Saint-Pierre-et-Saint-Paul parish churchBuilt in: 1560.
Style: Gothic and Neo-Gothic.
History: This fortified parish church was rebuilt in 1560 (the date on the bell tower) at the expense of Jean Israel, parish priest of Baslieux from 1525 to 1589. All that remains is the choir and the tower, which he converted into a refuge. The nave was rebuilt between 1869 and 1871 in neo-Gothic style, and the bell tower was consolidated at the same time.
Listed as: Historical Monument in 1984.
Km 105.8
MERCY-LE-HAUT (POP: 270)
This is the birthplace of French President Albert Lebrun (1871-1950), who is buried here.
The son of a farmer, he was born in German territory following the defeat of 1870. After attending lycée in Nancy, he graduated top of his class from the École polytechnique and the École nationale supérieure des mines in Paris, before becoming a mining engineer in Vesoul and Nancy.
He was elected general councillor for Meurthe-et-Moselle in 1898 and a moderate right-wing deputy in 1900. Under the Third Republic, he was Minister for Colonies, War, and Liberated Regions. Close to Clemenceau and Poincaré, he joined the Senate in 1920 and was elected President in 1931. In 1932, after the assassination of Paul Doumer, he was elected President of the Republic. The riots of 6 February 1934 led him to appoint a cabinet of national unity. In April 1939, as the Second World War approached, he was re-elected for a second term. After the debacle, he called in Marshal Pétain. Pétain established the Vichy regime and ousted Albert Lebrun, who wanted to continue fighting in North Africa. At the end of the conflict, Albert Lebrun, who was placed under house arrest but never resigned, did not regain his mandate as President of the Republic.
Km 110
MONT-BONVILLERS (POP: 940)
Saint-Julien-de-Brioude Parish ChurchConstruction: 12th century.
History: Built in several stages during the 12th century, of which the bell tower on the façade and the south and east walls of the nave and choir remain; enlarged in the 15th century with the addition of a south aisle and re-vaulted, with the exception of the choir, which retained its original vaulting, and the first two bays of the south aisle, which were vaulted in the 16th century. The vaults collapsed during the bombardments of the First World War, and the building was restored in 1946-1947.
Listed as: Historical monument in 1933.
Km 116.5
MAIRY-MAINVILLE (POP: 560)
Saint-Martin de Mairy Parish ChurchConstruction: 11th to 16th centuries.
Style: Romanesque.
History and Characteristics: The main Romanesque building dates from the 11th to the 16th century. A 3rd-century Roman bas-relief stands at the foot of the bell tower. The building is dominated by a bell tower built at the end of the 11th century and raised in the middle of the 12th century. The nave and choir also date from this period. The church was restored in the 18th century, with the construction of the sacristies, the remodeling and raising of the roof and the nave, and the opening of the choir and side aisles. The church was restored to its original state in the mid-20th century. A 16th-century ossuary and a number of defensive features complete the ensemble.
Listed as: Historical Monument in 1990.
Km 118.2
TUCQUEGNIEUX (POP: 2,430)
The town grew at the beginning of the 20th century with the development of the mining industry and the influx of Italian and Polish immigrants. Steel production at the town's two mines continued to rise until the 1960s. Then came the inexorable decline, and the last pits were dismantled in the 1980s. The Mines de Fer Lorraines, which still employed nearly 8,300 workers in 1976, closed for good in 1986.
Tucquegnieux is home to the remains of a fortified castle known as the Château de Brabant and a farmhouse, the Sainte-Mathilde Farm, which was listed in 1994 and is now a popular restaurant.
The town has featured on the route of the Tour de Lorraine and the Tour de Lorraine juniors, created by former rider Bruno Benuzzi, who lives in Tucquegnieux.
Km 123
VAL DE BRIEY (POP: 8,000)
This new commune was created in 2017 from the merger of Briey, Mance, and Mancieulles. Along with Lunéville and Toul, it is one of the sub-prefectures of Meurthe-et-Moselle, as was Briey before the merger.
The church of Saint-Gengoult is a listed building, as is the town's 18th-century belfry.
Briey, a former stronghold of which a few ramparts remain, is one of only four towns in France to have a Cité Radieuse by Le Corbusier, following similar buildings in Marseille (1952) and Nantes-Rezé (1955). The building in Briey (built between 1959 and 1963) is an exact copy of the one in Rezé. The fourth Cité Radieuse in France was built in Firminy, near Saint-Étienne, in 1965. A fifth building can be found in Berlin (1957).
The Briey basin was one of the main steel-making areas in French Lorraine, and the town has a large community of Italians who came to work there.
Briey is the birthplace of Alexis Gruss, founder of the circus that bears his name, and of pole-vaulter Philippe Houvion, former world record holder in the discipline (5.77 m).
The town has also played host to the Circuit de Lorraine, in which Bradley Wiggins won an individual time trial in 2005.
Saint-Gengoult Church in BrieyConstruction: 13th to 18th centuries.
Style: Predominantly Gothic.
History: The church is 13th-century Gothic, with some 12th-century features. It was extended several times up until the 16th century. The choir was rebuilt between 1757 and 1760.
Listed as: Historical Monument in 1987.
Km 135.4
JOEUF (POP: 6,560)
Joeuf is best known as the birthplace of Michel Platini, one of France's greatest footballers, winner of Euro 1984 with France and the Champions League with Juventus, organiser of the 1998 World Cup, and former President of UEFA. It is also the birthplace of former basketball international Eric Occansey.
It was a stronghold of the Lorraine steel industry before the closure of its two blast furnaces in 1988 and 1989. The steel industry was established here thanks to the de Wendel family, who acquired forges here in 1704 and left many traces in the town, such as the châteaux Maurice de Wendel and Henri de Wendel, grandiose residences that bear witness to their wealth and power.
Michel PlatiniBorn on 21 June 1955 in Joeuf (Meurthe-et-Moselle), Michel Platini is one of the major figures, if not the major figure, in French football, and one of its greatest players of all time. The emblematic playmaker for the French national team from 1976 to 1987, and at club level for AS Nancy-Lorraine, AS Saint-Étienne, and then Juventus, and scorer of 353 goals during his career, he was named by France Football magazine as the best French footballer of the 20th century, ahead of Zinédine Zidane and Raymond Kopa, while Juventus voted him the best Bianconero of all time.
He was the first footballer to win the Ballon d'Or trophy three times in a row between 1983 and 1985. Michel Platini was captain of the French national team fifty times between 1979 and 1987. He lifted his first international trophy at the 1984 European Football Championship in France and was twice a semi-finalist in the World Cup, in 1982 and 1986. Michel Platini ended his playing career at the end of the 1987 season, aged 32. He went on to become coach of the French national team from 1988 to 1992, and then co-organiser of the 1998 Football World Cup in France. Michel Platini became UEFA President on 26 January 2007. He was re-elected for a second term in 2011 and for a third in 2015. A candidate for the FIFA presidency, he was suspended from office on 8 October 2015 and, two months later, the FIFA Ethics Committee, which suspected him of having received an "unfair payment" from Sepp Blatter, banned him from all football-related activities for eight years.
MOSELLE (57)
Population: 1,049,942
Prefecture: Metz
Sub-prefectures: Thionville, Sarreguemines, Sarrebourg, Forbach
Surface Area: 6,216 km²
Specialties: Macaroons from Boulay, mirabelle plum liqueur, mirabelle plum tart, cottage cheese tart, strawberries from Woippy, Paris-Metz (pastry), Moselle AOC wines, pâté lorrain, quiche lorraine, potée lorraine, local products with the "Mangeons mosellans" label
Major Sports Clubs: FC Metz, Dragonnes de Metz (Metz Handball), Metz Tennis de Table
Events: Moselle Open, Metz Marathon, Metz indoor athletics meeting, Républicain Lorrain cross-country race
Main Tourist Attractions: Laquenexy fruit gardens, Château de Malbrouck in Manderen, Lindre departmental estate, Museum of the 1870 War and Annexation in Gravelotte, Georges de la Tour Museum in Vic-sur-Seille, Robert Schuman House in Scy-Chazelle, European Archaeological Park in Bliesbruck-Rheinheim, Centre Pompidou Metz, Sainte-Croix Animal Park, Amnéville Zoo, Center Parks des Trois Forêts, Meisenthal International Glass Art Centre, Bitche Citadel, the Wendel mine at Petite-Rosselle, the Maginot Line route, village of Saint-Quirin (most beautiful village in France), Saint-Louis crystal works, Stock pond, Langatte leisure centre, etc.
Cultural Events: Moselle AOC wine festival, Cabanes festival, Noëls de Moselle, Fêtes de la Mirabelle (Metz), Festival Passages (theatre), Franco-German Perspectives festival (street and circus arts), le Livre à Metz, Fête de l'U4 à Uckange, Hop Hop Hop festival (Metz)
Economy: Tourism, industry (automotive subcontracting, agri-food, chemicals), tertiary sector, agriculture
Websites and Social Networks:www.moselle.fr / www.mosellepassion.fr / www.kirbysuperheros.fr / Facebook - Département 57 / Facebook - Sites Moselle Passion / Instagram - Moselle Passion