The most beautiful religious buildings The Eislek Ardennes

Erected between 1908 and 1910 by Dutch architect JF Klomp and restored in 1945-1946, this magnificent Benedictine abbey, set back high above the town, can be seen for miles around. The monks live a life of prayer and meditation according to the rule of St. Benedict.

The abbey is neo-Gothic in style and, unlike the other buildings in the town it overlooks, is not covered in Ardennes slate but in red tiles.

Although a visit to the site is limited, there is easy access to the crypt to the left of the main entrance, with an interesting exhibition on monastic life (documents, photos, etc.).

The site is also a place for spiritual retreats (only men are accommodated at the abbey). An outside building houses a gîte for groups. There's also a store selling coffee and apple juice from the abbey, and a bookshop specializing in sacred art.

Suggested itinerary. Although it's relatively easy to get here by car, it's best to take the Abbey ascent (approx. 800 m uphill), which can be reached from the church of Sainte-Come and Saint-Damien, in the town center.

Guided tours. Every first Monday of the month, after daily mass, the Tourist Office organizes a guided tour led by a monk from the abbey, covering the history of the building and daily life (booking required).

This beautiful decanal church was erected in 1510 on the foundations of another sanctuary, dating from 1417. The church presents a curious mix of styles: Gothic for the old part which dates from the 16th century and modern for the 1937 extension. The two side altars were donated by brotherhoods at the beginning of the 18th century and a series of wooden statues represent the patron saints of these orders. The last restorations (frescoes) took place in 2006 and 2010.

During the Von Rundstedt offensive (the first offensive of the Battle of the Bulge), the inhabitants of Bavigne promised to erect a chapel to Mary. And so, since 1953, this rounded summit, known locally as Harelerberg, has been topped by three large wooden crosses and this chapel. Until recently, a stone statue of the Virgin Mary stood on a stone pedestal, but for safety reasons it was moved to the parish church.

Nicknamed "the inkwell" because of its original octagonal shape, this tiny neo-Gothic chapel with its white walls is a true rarity. Built between 1849 and 1852, it is dedicated to Saint Cunégonde. The patron saint is represented in several forms: there is a statue above the portal and on the altar as well as a painting in the stained glass window. Since 1991, the building has been on the national inventory of listed monuments.

In 1630, Godefroy d'Eltz et de Clervaux and his wife Dorothée de Raville donated the Chapel of the Three Virgins to the Franciscans so that they could welcome the numerous pilgrims. The religious set about building a convent. Ten years later, they began to build the church which was completed in 1658. The bell tower dates from 1924. The interior impresses by the richness of its baroque decoration. The cult of the Three Virgins, daughters of St. Sophie who died for their faith around 130, certainly replaced the veneration of three pagan deities.

The Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary was built in 1757 on older foundations. The tower dates back to 1806. In the apse there is a Gothic Eucharistic cupboard. The altarpiece with a central niche in perspective dates back to the second half of the 18th century. Its polychromy was made in 1858 by Peter Dausch and Nicholas Stegreiff of Trier. The Müller organ dates from 1901 and the altar is a listed monument.

Situated near the bridge over the river Our, the church of St. Nicholas was built in the lower town by the Order of the Knights Templar, towards the end of the 13th century, when Vianden was divided into two parishes. The building was destroyed by fire in 1723 and rebuilt the following year. The interior, a single nave with a ribbed vault, houses a Baroque high altar, made in 1768 by the carpenter Fischbach from Vianden and enriched with Rococo elements. Note that until 1801 the lower town was part of the parish of Roth.

One of the country's most important religious monuments. From Gothic style to two naves, it was built in 1248 by Count Henri I of Vianden to thank Trinitarian for having bought his father, made prisoner by the Saracens during the crusades. The cloister belonged to the former monastery of Trinitarian. The convent is sold for auction and divided into private property in 1783 when order is abolished; it is only later that it will be restored and restored.

This church, founded in the 10th century and rebuilt in the 16th century, has a late medieval Gothic nave. Its ribbed vaults include a group of remarkable frescoes. They date from the 15th and 16th centuries and depict scenes from the Old and New Testaments as well as the saints who were venerated in the region. The furniture dates from the end of the 17th century. On Pentecost Sunday, an open-air mass is celebrated in honour of St Willibrord to whom the church is dedicated. This remarkable church is classified as a National Monument.

Its foundations date back to the 13th century. The tower is made of Ardennes schist and the façades of the nave are covered with the white plaster typical of the Ardennes. The interior of the chapel has a single nave with three bays. The keystone above the high altar represents the coat of arms of Frederick II of Brandenburg. The altarpiece of the altar illustrates the glorification of the patron saint of the church. Murals from the 15th and 16th centuries depict a crucified Christ, the symbols of the four evangelists and polychrome ornamentation of the flames.

Built in 1653 and rebuilt in 1772, this modest chapel is a place of pilgrimage on Whit Monday. It houses an impressive white baroque altarpiece with a statue of Saint Pirmin. The bishop is said to have lived as a hermit near the cluse in which there is a well, whose water is said to have medicinal virtues (it was used to cure children's diseases). Be careful not to confuse the tiny hermitage, which is located a few dozen meters from the main road, with this building, which is located on a higher ground.

The chapel was built in 1762 in a late baroque style by Count Adrien Jean-Baptiste de Lannoy and his wife Constance de Wignancourt to make it a place of pilgrimage dedicated to Mary. On the portal are represented their coat of arms and a relief of Our Lady of Loreto. Inside, the ceiling is adorned with a stuccoed rocaille decoration. The high altar is surrounded by two funerary monuments of the Lannoy family. The bell tower could have housed a hermit during services.

The first Christian altar was probably built in the 7th century on a Roman shrine and gave its name to the town, diet kirch meaning "people's church". Of the Romanesque building constructed around the year 1000, only a 12th century tower remains today. In the 15th century, the church was transformed to have two naves in Gothic style. The 16th century frescoes illustrate the life of St. Lawrence, the patron saint of the church. In the crypt there are Roman and Merovingian sarcophagi from the 6th century that were discovered under the church.

Surrounded by a pretty cemetery with its schist crosses, the Bavigne parish church has a sanctuary built in 1744 and a bell tower, the lower part of which may be older. The place is best known for its high altar designed and built by the sculptor Nicolas Jacques de Nobressart (1713-1793), a craftsman from Wiltz, and renovated in 1956 by Josef van Heckern from Essen. The church has been classified as a national monument since 1961.