Florenville and its villages

The beautiful neo gothic Notre-Dame de l'Assomption's church was built in 1873, broken down in 1940 and rebuilt in 1951.

On top of its 50-meter tower, you can enjoy a panoramic view of 800km². If the weather is clear you can see the towers of Montmédy, Saint-Donat and Saint-Martin (Arlon) as well as the heights of Douaumont (Verdun). The church tower also houses a magnificent chime of 48 bells, the biggest and most beautiful in the province of Luxembourg. The Belvedere is open every day in July and August and in low-season for groups who asked, beforehand, the Tourist Office (Syndicat d'Initiative) of Florenville.

Behind the church, on top of the first cuesta of Lorraine, you will see a beautiful panorama of the valley of the Semois, villages of Sainte-Cécile, Martué, Lacuisine, Chiny and the vast Ardennes forest.

With an exceptional view, Paysalia, the Interpretive Center of the Landscape will welcome you and explain you everything about the landscapes and its secrets. There, you will find four illustrated thematic spaces: geology, forest, agriculture and building.

La Poivrière : outstanding small building with a military architecture. It is an old redoubt that was built during Louis 14's reign to ensure the defense of the Semois..

On the downstream, stands the ancient castle of the lords of Florenville, « La Coue ».

Violette's statue (heroine of Jean-Claude Servais' comic books): you will be attracted by the statue that is situated near the church, in front of the municipality house.

Numerous shops and boutiques, cafes, breweries and restaurants are open on Sunday.

The town is situated on the South, in a pleasant, calm and enchanting forest surrounding.
There, passed the Roman road Reims-Trèves. On the edges of the road stood, during four centuries, a Relais Hotel that was a kind of service station for the Roman soldiers and travelers. The place has been scientifically screened. Everything is explained on didactic panels.

The stream of Williers goes in a few ponds in which trouts are raised. There, you can also find a local bistro.

The name Chassepierre comes from two Latin words « Casa Petrea » which means « stone house ».

The lovely small village of Chassepierre is situated four kilometers away from Florenville, it is the paradise of painters. The architecture is interesting. There, you can find houses from the 18th and 19th centuries, Saint-Martin's church with its cemetery, the presbytery and the old mill.

The church of 1702 is situated in the middle of the old cemetery and has a baroque tower. Near the church stands the imposing presbytery with its two-storey double residence. This presbytery dates back from 1790. Behind it you can find two lovely residences dating from the 18th century and built on the bank of the Semois.

Situated down the church, Le Trou des Fées (fairy’s hole) is a system of underground galleries dug by men in a limestone rock. Those galleries show the geological times of the tertiary era. They extend under the old mill and meet the presbytery and its cellar. « Le Trou des Fées » and the ruins of the old mill have been restored and integrated in a visitor circuit. This « common » mill got adapted to receive theatrical and musical events.

The road Florenville-Bouillon in Chassepierre overhangs the village of around 50 meters. There, you can enjoy a beautiful panorama and a specific view of the first cuesta which is particularly abrupt.

« Le Breux » means « Bru » or « vast wet grassland ». It is situated on the edge of the Semois, midway between Chassepierre and Laiche.

We can still see pillars and abutments of the bridge that was destroyed on the vicinal road Marbehan-Sainte-Cécile in 1940.

Nowadays, a gateway has been reconstructed on the ruins of the ancient tram bridge. This gateway connects the two low entrances of the village, along the Semois. From this place you can enjoy a nice walk to visit the village.

The name of this picturesque hamlet comes from the German word « liska » which means « kind of rush ». All its length shares a boundary with the Semois.

The name Azy comes from the word « aise ». It is a Romanesque word which means « farm ».
It used to own a castle, fortified house of the 13th century.
We advise you to take the Bohanan's walk along the Semois.

It is a peaceful village. Its name comes from the Latin word « Fontanicula » which means « small fountain ». On the south side, there is a yellow building stone called « stone of Fontenoille ». The quality of this stone is striking.

Its old spelling « Cuisina » (or Quisine) makes us remember the time when the Counts of Chiny settled their kitchen during hunting appointments. Lacuisine is situated along the national road Florenville-Neufchâteau, parallel to the Semois.

On a downstream of the village is the old watermill which has been restored. This watermill, that is still in working order, used to operate a sawmill. Its construction dates from the Austrian time. The weather vane dates from 1770.

This agricultural village owns a rare Cross of Justice which is a proof of its emancipation from the law of Beaumont (1327), protected monument. You can also discover a lovely chapel from the 18th century. Its ancient transformed mill and the bridge on the Semois form, together, a peaceful picturesque ensemble.

In a few kilometers away on the north is situated the immense forest Les Epioux. Most of this forest (1721 hectares) is own by the CPAS of Mons.

Mr. Victor Louis Auguste Dejardin (1830-1915), farmer in Harmignies, has bequeathed this place to the Civil Hospices of Mons through the will of January 1st 1898. According to a legend still perennial in the area of Florenville, Mr. Dejardin, poorly-dressed peasant, a bit stingy, bought Les Epioux on June 21st 1887 for 630.000 francs (15.617€). He would have paid cash because he was carrying gold coins. Some people also say that he carried gold coins in his umbrella (!). Some other say that there were holes in his umbrella!!!

The CPAS of Mons has the drafts of the correspondence with Mr. Dejardin from July 1887 to the end of 1899. The skinning of this can help us understanding the personality of this nice man and giving him the justice he deserves.

Mr. Dejardin was a cultured man. He graduated from high school in 1850. It was uncommon at that time, especially in the countryside. He was interested in archeology and antiquities. He was a poet as well. He published a collection of some of his work. He was also a careful businessman and a wise farmer. Sometimes, Mr. Dejardin doubted if it was a good idea to acquire the domain because of the reforestation's cost.
His doubt became even bigger when the Big Pond's dike broke down (1888). This event liberated 500.000m² of water which caused big costs of reconstruction and of indemnity as well. This indemnities were claimed all along the Semois up to Bouillon. The factories of Epioux-Bas were destroyed.
After the death of Mr. Dejardin, les Epioux got estimated at 12.000.000 francs (29.750€) on August 31st 1915. The inheritance tax was 1.500.000 francs (37.184€) in 1921. The property value of this area keeps growing.

In the center of this property, we can see vast ponds, one of them is 12 hectares big. We can also see the castle of blacksmiths dating from the 17th century. Those ponds provided the necessary hydraulic energy for that kind of steel operation. The forges of Epioux and Roussel (Epioux-Bas) have been two important centers of the South-Luxemburgish’s metallurgy during three centuries.

The castle of Les Epioux was built in 1650. It was restored in 1730 and the tower has been elevated by Louis Zoude in 1878. It hosted the famous Prince Pierre-Napoléon Bonaparte, son of Lucin and nephew of the emperor. He had an adventurous, restless and turbulent life while traveling around the world. But he also had some peaceful years in a few Luxemburgish haven like the castle of Les Epioux in which he lived from 1862 to 1871. During those years, he hunted and wrote some publications that he printed himself.

The origin of the village of Muno dates back from a thousand years. The history of Muno is related to an old legacy. The lordship of Muno was given to the abbey of St-Vanne in Verdun. A priory has been established in Muno by the Benedictine to administrate their goods: land and woods. They requested the protection of different lords and finally the Ecclesiasticus lordship of Muno has been ceded to the Jesuit of Liège in the beginning of the 17th century. The Jesuit regulated the forest laws and uses to support the construction of their college in Liège. The inhabitants put the woods on fire to show their resistance against the excessive forest samples. Nowadays the conifers, which are planted on the South of the forest, are situated on those old burnt areas. After the suppression of the Jesuit Company in our country, Muno rallied the county of Luxembourg. The Jesuit's priory still exists. This private property overhangs the village.

This ancient commune carried two sections: Watrinsart and Lambermont, both of them where settled on the first cuesta (Lorraine coast). We can discover a beautiful panorama on the road that links Watrinsart to Muno direction Muno and on the Ardennes forest.

« Roche à l'Appel »

The geology lovers can have a pleasant and instructive day in the direct surroundings of Muno. The center of the geological reserve is in La Roche à l'Appel. They form, together with the neighbor forest, an enjoyable place. We can reach the top of it with two walking trails. There, you can find a nice view on the Ardennes forest and on the two first cuestas that are really gorgeous. This all together forms an impressive panorama.

On the heart of the forest, at the edge of the Semois, stands the ancient priory.

In 1694, the monks established there a study and rest house. They built the priory and its church was blessed in 1718.

The Orval property was mostly composed with almost all of the ancient meander of the Semois. It formed an enclave in the property of Prince of Loewenstein-Wertheim-Rochefort. It is still possible to discover numerous milestones made by Jurassic sandstones. Those milestones show the old borderline between the property of Orval and the ones of the Prince of Rochefort. The abbey cross is engraved in the millstones on the Orval side and the letter “R” is engraved on the side that used to be the property of the Rochefort's prince. Nowadays all the meander's outside circumference belongs to the federal forest of Conque-Sainte-Cécile. Today the all site is listed by the Commission of monuments and sites.

Walking along the Semois towards Sainte-Cécile, you can observe, on the river, a barrage which has been erected by the monks. This barrage is named « Vanne des Moines ». This work, which is made by big schist blocks, has been restored in the years 80. The location is beautiful.

Villers is a typical Gaumais village. Inside the village there is the Marche, small watercourse that marks the boundary between Belgium and France.

Villers already existed in the Roman times. In 1972 and 1973, excavations have been organized in “Le Bois le Baron”. They discovered 42 burials. The study of potteries and other found objects gave us the opportunity to date the cemetery from the 1st and 2nd centuries A.D. A castle already existed in Villers in the 6th century. Graves dating from the Franks times have been exposed. This castle, which is an impressive construction from the Middle Ages, broke down last century. There you can find a hotel named “Le Vieux Château”.

While wandering around the village, you can discover old farms dating from the 18th century as well as a listed manor house dating from the 17th century. On the « Place de l’Etang », in the middle of the village, you can see the fountain Saint-Gengoulf. This ancient building has been reconstructed in 1847 and houses the statue of the patron saint of the parish and holder of the church. On the opposite side we can see a manure pit in which we used to store the manure. The wood holding the roof comes from the ancient church that has been destructed in the beginning of the 1940-1945 war. Villers, near the Maginot line, has been partly destructed in 1940.

In Orval we can visit the old abbey (from the 12th to the 18th century) which has been destroyed during the French Revolution. Only beautiful and evocative ruins are remaining. We cannot visit the lively new abbey because of the closing rules. Together they make a prestigious place.

The history of the abbey starts with a charming legend. Mathilde de Toscane, who used to be suzerain of the county of Chiny, aunt of Godefroid de Bouillon and owner of the land of Orval would have lost her wedding ring in a fountain. She prayed Notre-Dame and a trout appeared from the fountain holding in its mouth the precious ring. The Countess would have said « Vraiment, est ici un Val d’Or » (really, this place is a Val d’Or). As a show of appreciation she would have given the monks the necessary lands to build an abbey. The name and the shield of Orval come from this legend.

Monks respect the rule of Saint-Benoît and live with their work in poverty. But the maintenance of such a community and buildings require other resources which are obtained from farms, forge and numerous donation made to the monastery.

After centuries, the abbey is still successful with vicissitudes from outside events: wars, troops passing, lootings and fires!

In 1637, the French troops of marshal Châtillon looted the abbey and put it on fire. During the French Revolution, the community counted 59 members. On June 23rd 1793, the revolutionary troops, under the lead of general Loison from Damvillers, looted and put the abbey on fire once again. In 1926, monks want to come back in Orval. The new owners donate them the lands of Orval. A new community gets rebuilt and the leader is Dom Marie-Albert van der Cruyssen. Her perseverance, tenacity as well as plenty of donations, helped to build a new abbey. It adjoins the old one and was established in 1948. The monastic life continues in Orval.

The abbey of Orval had its own forge which was famous in the 17th and 18th centuries. The water was coming directly by a tunnel made by cut Jurassic milestones from the pond of Neufmoulin. This tunnel, made by the monks, bordered 600 meters of the actual road from Limes to Orval. We can still see its entrance when we go on the forest circuits of the walk Orval-Margny-Villers-devant-Orval.

An impressive aqueduct made with cut stones subsists in the middle of the dike.

A hostel has been reconstructed in 1932 on the foundation of the old court house. It has then been destroyed and renovated.

Near the abbey, appears the castle of Orval which is the private property of the family Otreppe de Bouvette.

The hiking from Orval to Chameleux across the forest is one of the most beautiful we can advise. It leads to the Gallo-Roman site of Chameleux.

Visites : www.orval.be