Burg-Reuland is on the borders of Belgium, Luxembourg and German and has a population of almost 4,000. The town itself is inhabited by approximately 400 predominantly German speaking Belgians.
Chateau Reuland built in the 800's.
Burg Reuland suffered little loss, both human as well as damage to infrastructure in comparison to it's neighboring towns. The town of St. Vith (not pictured), a few miles to the north was held by the Allied forces but after it was taken by the Germans, the US Air Force and the Royal Air Force leveled every building in the town on Christmas day 1944. This picture was taken from the Chateau looking down on the town.
There is one small hotel in Burg Reuland. There were five guys at the bar and shortly after introducing myself, we were enjoying some of Belgium's finest.
Having grown up in the town, Helmuth was very knowledgable and honest about the town's history, regardless of which country it belonged to at the time.
Featured: Helmuth Wiesen-Pauls and I with a toast to the Reuland empire.
When you order a round of "la meilleure bière du monde" in southern Belgium, you will probably get a Westmalle Tripel. I was never a big beer fanatic in the US but as one of the only eight original monasteries, the Westmalle Trappist Brewery brews a beer that can not be compared to anything in the states. A recurring problem developed after a few Tripels (9 degrees)- some of the guys would switch mid-sentence from French to German.
Helmuth left the bar, walked home and came back five minutes later with the Reuland flag and gave it to me. (Same one they fly on top of the Chateau.) Expect to see this flag flying on the yardarm of the French fleet's flagship, R91 Charles De Gaulle, very soon.
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