Bastogne

Bastogne
Bastenaken  (Dutch)
Bastenach  (German)
Municipality

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Coat of arms
Bastogne

Location in Belgium

Coordinates: 50°0.25′N 05°43.2′E / 50.00417°N 5.7200°E / 50.00417; 5.7200Coordinates: 50°0.25′N 05°43.2′E / 50.00417°N 5.7200°E / 50.00417; 5.7200
Country Belgium
Community French Community
Region  Wallonia
Province Luxembourg
Arrondissement Bastogne
Government
 • Mayor Benoît Lutgen
 • Governing party/ies cdH
Area
 • Total 172.03 km2 (66.42 sq mi)
Population (1 January 2016)[1]
 • Total 15,580
 • Density 91/km2 (230/sq mi)
Postal codes 6600
Area codes 061
Website www.bastogne.be

Bastogne (French pronunciation: ​[bas.tɔɲ], Dutch: Bastenaken, German: Bastenach, Luxembourgish: Baaschtnech) is a Walloon city and municipality of Belgium located in the province of Luxembourg in the Ardennes. The municipality of Bastogne includes the old communes of Longvilly, Noville, Villers-la-Bonne-Eau, and Wardin. The town is situated on a ridge in the Ardennes at an elevation of 510 metres (1,670 ft).

History

At the time of the Roman conquest the region of Bastogne was inhabited by the Treveri, a tribe of Gauls. A form of the name Bastogne was first mentioned only much later, in 634, when the local lord ceded these territories to the St Maximin's Abbey, near Trier. A century later, the Bastogne area went to the nearby Prüm Abbey. The town of Bastogne and its marketplace are again mentioned in an 887 document. By the 13th century, Henry VII, Holy Roman Emperor and count of Luxemburg, was minting coins in Bastogne. In 1332, John the Blind, his son, granted the city its charter and had it encircled by defensive walls, part of which, the current Porte de Trèves, still exists. In 1451, the lands of the county of Luxemburg were absorbed into the Duchy of Burgundy and as a result, Bastogne became part of the lands of the Spanish Crown when the Burgundian heir Charles became king of Spain in 1516.

The city’s walls were quite effective at protecting it during the troubled times that followed. The city’s economy actually flourished thanks to the renown of its agricultural and cattle fairs. The walls repelled a Dutch attack successfully in 1602. In 1688, they were dismantled by order of King Louis XIV when the town was occupied by French forces during the Nine Years War.

The 19th century and Belgium's independence were favourable to Bastogne, as its forest products and cattle fairs became better known abroad. Several railway lines were built to link it to the neighbouring towns. This all came to an end with the German occupation during World War I.

World War II

Liberated by the Allies in September 1944, Bastogne was attacked by German forces a few months later. Hitler's idea was to regain control of the Ardennes, splitting British from American forces, then advance to and reoccupy the strategic port of Antwerp and cut off the key Allied supply line. On December 16, taking advantage of cold and fog, German artillery initiated the Battle of the Bulge attacking the American divisions deployed sparsely around Bastogne. A few days later, Brigadier General McAuliffe and the 101st Airborne Division along with elements of the 10th Armored Division (United States) and the 82nd Airborne Division, arrived to counter-attack but, after heavy fighting, became encircled within the town. On December 22, German emissaries asked for the American surrender, to which the General answered tersely, “Nuts!” The next day the skies cleared, allowing Allied air forces to retaliate and to drop much needed food, medicine, and weaponry to ground forces. On December 26, the Third U.S. Army under the command of General Patton arrived and broke the deadlock. The official end of the Battle of Bastogne occurred three weeks later, when all fighting in the area ceased.

Bastogne is the terminus of the Liberty Road (France), the commemorative way that marks the path of liberating Allied forces, and of the Third Army that subsequently relieved Bastogne.

Geography

The municipality of Bastogne comprises five sections (Bastogne proper, Longvilly, Noville, Villers-la-Bonne-Eau, and Wardin) which were separate municipalities before a merger in 1977. Each contains a number of villages.

Sights

St. Pierre Church
The Mardasson Memorial to soldiers who fought in the Battle of the Bulge in 1944

Folklore

The key character of all legends about Bastogne is the so-called piche-cacaye.[4] This is pronounced pish-cackay.

Transportation

Bastogne originally had an NMBS/SNCB railway line connecting it to Libramont and to Gouvy. Passenger trains to Gouvy stopped in 1984 [5] and in the 1990s the line to Libramont was taken out of service.[6][7] The two station buildings in Bastogne remain, but are now used for other purposes. Part of the rail line has been converted into a cycle path. However, two bus stations are now open in Bastogne, according to SNCB: Bastogne Nord and Bastonge Sud. The short line that runs is only a rural shuttle line from Bastogne Nord to Libramont stopping only at Bastogne Sud.

Sports

References

  1. ↑ Population per municipality as of 1 January 2016 (XLS; 397 KB)
  2. ↑ www.101airbornemuseumbastogne.com Archived May 2, 2014, at the Wayback Machine.
  3. ↑ www.facebook.com/pages/Bastogne-Barracks
  4. ↑ "Syndicat d'Initiative de Bastogne, The Piches Cacayes". Retrieved 30 August 2009.
  5. ↑ Études et Documentation Ferroviaires - rail.lu
  6. ↑ Belgian Line News 1995
  7. ↑ Belgian Branch Line News 2000
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Bastogne.
Adjacent places of Bastogne
 Houffalize Wincrange (LU-D)
Bertogne Winseler (LU-D)
Lac de la Haute-Sûre (LU-D)
   Bastogne  
Vaux-sur-Sûre Fauvillers Boulaide (LU-D)
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