Bütgenbach

The village of Bütgenbach (1547 habitants) is situated in the valley of the river the Warche. The main touristic summer attraction is without any doubt the lake of Bütgenbach with its fantastic beach: Venntastic Beach (150 m long) and the numerous activities.

The market place, the green and sparkling center of Bütgenbach invites to have a drink at one of the many terraces.

The F1 Circuit from Spa-Francorchamps is at 25 km. The High Fens, the largest nature reserve of Belgium is at 15 km.

The numerous accommodations and the excellent restaurants make from Bütgenbach the perfect place for your stay in the Ardennes. There are 2 playgrounds: 1 at the market place (Marktplatz) and 1 at the VENNtastic Beach).

More info?

⇒ History of Bütgenbach

Lake of Bütgenbach and the dam

The lake of Bütgenbach gives the village its tourist value. There are opportunities for fishing, sailing, swimming, canoeing and especially windsurfing; in short, all water sports can be practised there – exception: motorboats aren’t allowed.

The first building upstream is the dam, with a capacity of 11 million cubic metres. It was built in the 1930s according to the plans of the Italian engineer Boldo.

The dam is 23 m high, 140 m long and consists of several vaulted arches. The dam also supplies an electricity plant and serves as a water reservoir for the lake for Robertville. Near the dam are remains of castle ruins dating from 1230-1240.

St. Stephanus church

Die 1932 von dem Architekten Henri Cunibert gebaute St. Stephanus-Kirche im neo-romanischen Stil mit diversen alten Grabplatten, so wie das Epitaph von Johann Reinhard von Bulich aus der zweiten Hälfte des 16. Jahrhunderts und das Reiffenberg-Epitaph.

Jahrhunderts, einigen Möbelstücken aus der ehemaligen zerstörten Kapelle (15. Jh) und einem Taufbecken aus dem 13. Jh.

Mehr Info: Historischer Rundweg – Tafel 2

Der Hof von Bütgenbach

Der Hof Bütgenbach ist ein denkmalgeschützter ehemaliger Schlosshof aus dem 15. Jh., wurde im Laufe der Jahrhunderte mehrmals restauriert.

Heute: Seniorenheim und Galerie „Hof Bütgenbach“.

Mehr Info: Historischer Rundweg – Tafel 7

Das Haus Kirch

Das frühere Haus Kirch, das als Hauptquartier der Alliierten Streitkräfte während der Ardennen-Offensive im Winter 1944-45 diente und in dem der spätere US-Präsident General Dwight D. Eisenhower für einige Tage weilte. Heute befindet sich dort eine Gedenktafel zu Ehren von General Dwight D. Eisenhower.

Mehr Info: Historischer Rundweg – Tafel 7

Denkmal Dwight Eisenhower – Haus Kirch Bütgenbach

Eisenhower am Haus Kirsch in Bütgenbach — Quelle: D. Jordan, Schlacht in den Ardennen, Verlag: XXL Medien-Tosa, ISBN: 3-902478-60-8

Vinzentinerinnen-Platz

Discover more info about this interesting place on Vinzentinerinnen Place.

Kerchenoord

The place ” Kerchenoord” burned in 1853

The district described here and densely inhabitated lay near the “old church” on the cemetery of Bütgenbach. All buildings affected by the fire stood along the street to the “Hühnermarkt” (poultry market).

In the chronicle of the municipality of Bütgenbach one can read that children played with matches on 18 September 1853 and thus caused a terrible fire catastrophe. As a result of the flying sparks, the fire destroyed six houses, ten stables, five barns and a shed.

When rebuilding their buildings, the affected citizens also used stones from the nearby castle ruins. Some of the houses still show such stones from the castle, such as the sandstone heads on the sides of the doors of the newly built house “Fohnen”, where both the year 1853 and 1854 are marked, which probably commemorate this fire catastrophe.