Herbesthal () is a village in the municipality of

Lontzen Lontzen () is a municipality located in East Belgium. On January 1, 2018 Lontzen had a total population of 5,695. The total area is 28.73 km2 which gives a population density of 198 inhabitants per km2. The municipality consists of the follo ...

East Belgium The German-speaking Community (, , DG), also known as East Belgium ( ), is one of the three federal communities of Belgium. The community is composed of nine municipalities in Liège Province, Wallonia, within the Eupen-Malmedy region in Easte ...

Etymology

The origin of the name of Herbesthal is uncertain. The place is first mentioned in the State Archives of

Liège Liège ( ; ; ; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and Municipalities in Belgium, municipality of Wallonia, and the capital of the Liège Province, province of Liège, Belgium. The city is situated in the valley of the Meuse, in the east o ...

under the name "Hardwestal" (1404-1405). Various sources link the name to the following meanings: "Hostel in the valley", "Herbes Valley", "Herbert's place of residence" (the word "stal" in Germanic means residence) or even "Eggental" (the

harrow Harrow may refer to: Places * Harrow, Victoria, Australia * Harrow, Ontario, Canada * The Harrow, County Wexford, a village in Ireland * London Borough of Harrow, England * Harrow, London, a town in London * Harrow (UK Parliament constituency) * ...

is an agricultural implement). When the village was under

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rule (1794-1814), it was called "Aubergeval", which can be translated as "hostel in the valley".Verkehrs- und Verschönerungsverein Herbesthal (Hrsg.): ''Im Zuge der Zeit Beiträge zur Geschichte der Ortschaft Herbesthal'', 1995.

International importance

Between 1843 and 1920, Herbesthal was the location of what was, by various criteria, the world's oldest international railway station. It lost that status because of frontier changes mandated at Versailles.

Notes

References

{{Authority control Lontzen Former municipalities of the German-speaking Community