Travel Guide Malmedy

In 648, Saint Remacle erected in Malmedy a Benedictine abbey around which the bourgade developed. In 650, he also created the Abbey of Stavelot. For over 1,000 years, these two cities were headed for what was known as the Principality of Stavelot-Malmedy, with a prince-abbot. With the spread of the French Revolution, this principality disappears and its territories are gathered in France. But, after the fall of Napoleon in 1815, the Congress of Vienna decreed the transfer of Malmédy to Prussia, while Stavelot and the rest of the «Belgium provinces» went to the Kingdom of the Netherlands! The city will remain German until the end of World War I, when the Treaty of Versailles returned the territory of Malmédy to Belgium, as well as Eupen and Saint-Vith. In 1925, after a referendum, Malmedy was definitively attached to Belgium. After the Second World War, following an American bombing that claimed more than 200 victims and destroyed the city center, the city was rebuilt. The city of Malmedy is known for its carnival (Le Cwarmé). Apart from that, there is a pleasant atmosphere when you take the time to stroll and stop in one of the many cafes of the entity. Finally, the city is a good starting point for hikes in the Hautes-Fagnes.Unlike neighboring, German-speaking municipalities, Malmedy is French-speaking. On the other hand, you may have noticed that Malmédy is one of the few cities in Belgium to have street blocks written also in Walloon.