St. Vith
Sankt Vith
Saint Vith(French) | |
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 View of St. Vith | |
 Flag  Coat of arms | |
Location of Sankt Vith  | |
  Sankt Vith Location in Belgium
Location of St. Vith in the province of Liège  | |
| Coordinates:50°16′N06°07′E/ 50.267°N 6.117°E | |
| Country |  Belgium |
| Community |  German-speaking Community of Belgium |
| Region | Wallonia |
| Province | Liège |
| Arrondissement | Verviers |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Herbert Grommes (cdH) |
| • Governing party/ies | NBA Grommes |
| Area | |
| • Total | 147.15 km2(56.81 sq mi) |
| Population (2018-01-01)[1] | |
| • Total | 9,682 |
| • Density | 66/km2(170/sq mi) |
| Postal codes | 4780-4784 |
| NIS code | 63067 |
| Area codes | 080 |
| Website | st.vith.be |
St. Vith(German:Sankt Vith[zaŋktˈfɪt];French:Saint-Vith[sɛ̃vit];Luxembourgish:Sankt Väit[ˌzɑŋktˈvæːɪt];Walloon:Sint-Vit) is a city andmunicipalityofEast Belgiumlocated in theWalloonprovince of Liège.It was named afterSaint Vitus.The majority language here is German, as in the rest of the German Speaking Community of Belgium.
On January 1, 2006, St. Vith had a total population of 9,169. The total area is 146.93 km2,giving apopulation densityof 62 inhabitants per km2.The official language of the municipality isGerman.
The municipality consists of the followingsub-municipalities:Sankt Vith, Crombach, Lommersweiler, Recht, and Schönberg.
History[edit]
St. Vith was an important marketplace of the region by the 12th century and receivedtown rightsin 1350. The town was damaged by fires in 1543, 1602, and 1689. It was part of theDuchy of Luxemburgthen of France until the defeat of French EmperorNapoleon Bonaparte.As a result of theCongress of Viennait was given to theKingdom of Prussia.
St. Vith was transferred to Belgium on March 6, 1925, by theTreaty of Versaillesafter the defeat of theGerman EmpireinWorld War I.
An important road and railway junction, St. Vith wasfought overin the 1944Battle of the BulgeduringWorld War II.TheUnited States Armydefended the town against German assault for a few days, delaying the German attack plan, before eventually being forced to retreat. Once it was captured byGerman forces,the town was bombed by theUS Army Air Forceson 25 and 26 December 1944 and byRAF Bomber Commandwith 300 aircraft on the 26.[2]St. Vith was mostly destroyed during the ground battle and subsequent air attack. American forces retook the town on January 23, 1945. The only pre-war architecture remaining is theBüchel Tower.
St. Vith is the setting forMichael Oren'snovel,Reunion,concerning a fictional reunion of an American battalion which participated in the Battle of the Bulge.
Sister cities[edit]
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^"Wettelijke Bevolking per gemeente op 1 januari 2018".Statbel.Retrieved9 March2019.
- ^"Bomber Command 60th Anniversary Battle Diary December 1944Archived2007-07-06 at theUK Government Web Archive
Further reading[edit]
- Makos, Adam(2019).Spearhead(1st ed.). New York:Ballantine Books.pp. 69, 88.ISBN9780804176729.LCCN2018039460.OL27342118M.
External links[edit]
Media related toSankt-Vithat Wikimedia Commons- Official website
Places adjacent to St. Vith | |
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Municipalities in theprovince of Liège,Wallonia | ||
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| Huy |  | |
| Liège | ||
| Verviers | ||
| Waremme | ||
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| International | |
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| National | |
| Geographic | |
