- Bastogne
Infobox Belgium Municipality
name=Bastogne
picture=Bastogne JPG00.jpg
picture-
map-
arms=Armoiries_Bastogne.png
region=BE-REG-WAL
community=BE-FR
province=BE-PROV-LX
arrondissement=Bastogne
nis=82003
pyramid-date=
0-19=
20-64=
65=
foreigners=
foreigners-date=
mayor=Philippe Collard
majority=Avenir
postal-codes=6600
telephone-area=061
web= [http://www.bastogne.be/ www.bastogne.be]
lat_deg=50
lat_min=00
lon_deg=05
lon_min=43Bastogne (Dutch: "Bastenaken", German: "Bastenach",
Luxembourgish: "Baaschtnech") is a Belgian municipality located in the Walloon province of Luxembourg in theArdennes . Themunicipality of Bastogne includes the old communes ofLongvilly , Noville,Villers-la-Bonne-Eau , andWardin .History
Before
Caesar Augustus established the "Pax Romana", the region of Bastogne was inhabited by theTreveri , a tribe ofGauls . The name Bastogne was first mentioned only much later, in 634, when the local lord ceded these territories to the St Maximin's Abbey, nearTrier . A century later, the Bastogne area went to the nearbyPrüm Abbey . The town of Bastogne and its marketplace are again mentioned in an 887 document. By the 13th century,Henry VII, Holy Roman Emperor andCount of Luxembourg , was minting coins in Bastogne. In 1332, John the Blind, his son, granted the city its charter and had it circled by defensive walls, part of which, the current "Porte de Trèves", still subsists.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 .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
In December 1944, after Bastogne had already been liberated, and as a last-ditch effort to avoid complete defeat,
Hitler ’s troops attacked again in theArdennes , just as they did in 1914 and 1940. The goal was to advance toAntwerp , to cut off supply and separate British from American troops. OnDecember 16 , taking advantage of the cold and the fog, the German artillery started the so-calledBattle of the Bulge by attacking the sparsely deployed American troops around Bastogne. A few days later, Brigadier General McAuliffe and the101st Airborne Division along with elements of the 10th Armored Division arrived to counter-attack but, after heavy fighting, got encircled in the city. OnDecember 22 , German emissaries asked for the American surrender, to which the General answered quite briefly, “Nuts!” The next day, the weather cleared up, allowing air retaliation and the parachuting of much needed food, medicine, and weaponry. OnDecember 26 , the troops of General Patton broke the deadlock. The official end of theBattle of Bastogne only occurred three weeks later, when all fighting finally stopped. By that time, the city was completely destroyed and more than 25,000 people had been killedFact|date=August 2008, not counting the more than 50,000 who were never foundFact|date=August 2008.ights
*The "Porte de Trèves", part of the defensive walls that had been erected in the 14th century by John the Blind, can still be seen.
*The Romanesque tower of St Pierre church and its baptismal fonts also date from theMiddle Ages .
*TheMardasson Memorial , erected near Bastogne to honour the memory of the American soldiers wounded or killed during theBattle of the Bulge .
*Monuments to Brigadier General McAuliffe, General Patton and others can be found around town.Folklore
The key character of all legends around Bastogne is the so-called "piche-cacaye". Pronounced pishay-cackay.
Transportation
Bastogne originally had an
NMBS/SNCB railway line connecting it toLibramont and toGouvy . Passenger trains to Gouvy stopped in 1984 [ [http://www.rail.lu/edftoc1-43.html Études et Documentation Ferroviaires] - rail.lu] and in the 1990s the line to Libramont was taken out of service [ [http://www.ccl.kuleuven.be/~corn/belgline.html Belgian Line News 1995] ] [ [http://www.ccl.kuleuven.be/~corn/blnews00.html Belgian Branch Line News 2000] ] . 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 pathports
*Bastogne is the midpoint of the famous
Liège-Bastogne-Liège classic bicycle race, one of the biggest events in the professionalcycling calendar, dating from the end of the 19th century.
*The "Circuit des Ardennes ", which today refers to another bicycle race, used to refer to a 600-km-long car-racing event in the Bastogne area. The race used to attract famous enthusiasts, such asWilliam II, German Emperor . It was relocated to Francorchamps around the time ofWorld War I , where it now lives on as the "Belgian Grand Prix ".References
External links
* [http://www.bastogne.be Official city web site] (in French)
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