Büllingen: Nature, Trails and Cultural Heritage

Landscapes along the Holzwarche and Our

The Holzwarche is located in the municipality of Büllingen and extends for about 12 km. A hike through the Holzwarche Valley near Büllingen passes through a Natagora nature reserve with upland landscapes and meadows of alpine fennel and greater knapweed. The Holzwarche Valley is also home to downy birch forests, wet heathlands and wet meadows, fens with cottongrass and bog asphodel, Nardus grasslands, and upland hay meadows.

A seasonal opportunity to observe nature is the daffodil walk: in spring, yellow wild daffodils transform the stream valleys of the nature reserve into a sea of flowers. The landscape can also be explored via an extensive network of trails. Büllingen has around 280 km of hiking trails and well-developed cycling routes through meadows, forests and hilly landscapes. The approximate total length gives an idea of the size of the network; individual trails differ in their themes and routes.

Hiking and cycling routes with different focuses

For exploring on foot or by bicycle, RAVeL routes 45 and 45A connect Trois-Ponts with Losheimergraben near Büllingen/Bullange. The route can be extended into Germany via the Kyll Cycle Route. RAVeL L45a follows a former branch of the Vennbahn, passing through Bütgenbach and Büllingen in the direction of Germany. Here, a former railway line meets its present-day use as a cycle route.

The GR 56 also offers a clearly defined stage: the stage from Büllingen to Schönberg starts at Büllingen parish church. At the start, the GR 56 runs near Honsfeld along a former railway line that has been converted into a RAVeL cycle route. The Hedge Discovery Trail, by contrast, focuses on natural history. A section of about 2 km is entitled “Animals of the Hedges” and features interactive panels about wildlife, as well as a puzzle along the way.

The Manderfeld Water Trail focuses on the river and water. The 3 km route follows the Our River and includes eight interactive stations on the subject of water. You can explore the Büllingen Arboretum on foot or by bicycle. Along the route, panels describe the native deciduous trees and shrubs planted there. The trails therefore differ not only in length, but also in what they draw your attention to: hedges and wildlife, water or native trees and shrubs.

Cultural trails and history

The Hünningen cultural routes cover a total of 11 km. Through 29 information panels, they share insights into rural life, crafts, quarries and the history of the trails. The Hasselpath Memorial Site offers a different historical focus: its 800 m hiking trail passes nine information panels about wartime trenches. Preserved earth bunkers, battle positions and field hospitals bear witness to events of the time. The route thus combines a short distance with specific insights into the history of the area.

The “Ardenner Cultur Boulevard” is a museum complex in Hergersberg on the German-Belgian border near Losheim/Manderfeld. Along with the cultural routes and the memorial site, it presents further cultural and historical themes that differ from those of the nature and water trails.

Getting here and finding your way around

One public transport option is to take the train to Eupen and then bus E23 towards St. Vith to the centre of Büllingen. Check connections before your trip. In the town centre, parking is available at the market square and by the church, as well as along the RAVeL route at Brückberg. This allows you to plan your journey and the starting point for an outing separately, rather than assuming that every route has the same starting point.

Discover more destinations: Wirtzfeld, Rocherath, Manderfeld, Trois-Ponts, Amel, Theux, Jalhay, Malmedy.

For the main travel overview: Liège.