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St. Vith

Coordinates: 50°16′N 06°07′E / 50.267°N 6.117°E / 50.267; 6.117
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This article is about the municipality. For the saint, see Saint Vitus. For the WWII battle, see Battle of St. Vith. For the canton, see Eupen Sankt Vith.
Sankt Vith
Saint Vith (French)
Municipality
View of St. Vith
View of St. Vith
Flag of Sankt Vith
Flag
Coat of arms of Sankt Vith
Coat of arms
Location of Sankt Vith
Map
Sankt Vith is located in Belgium
Sankt Vith
Sankt Vith
Location in Belgium
Location of St. Vith in the province of Liège
Coordinates: 50°16′N 06°07′E / 50.267°N 6.117°E / 50.267; 6.117
Country Belgium
Community German-speaking Community of Belgium
RegionWallonia
ProvinceLiège
ArrondissementVerviers
Government
 • MayorHerbert Grommes (cdH)
 • Governing party/iesNBA Grommes
Area
 • Total
147.15 km2 (56.81 sq mi)
Population
 (2018-01-01)[1]
 • Total
9,682
 • Density66/km2 (170/sq mi)
Postal codes
4780-4784
NIS code
63067
Area codes080
Websitewww.st.vith.be

St. Vith (German: Sankt Vith [zaŋkt ˈfɪt]; French: Saint-Vith [sɛ̃ vit] ⓘ; Luxembourgish: Sankt Väit [ˌzɑŋkt ˈvæːɪt]; Walloon: Sint-Vit) is a city and municipality of East Belgium located in the Walloon province of Liège. It was named after Saint Vitus. The majority language 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 a population density of 62 inhabitants per km2. The official language of the municipality is German.

The municipality consists of the following sub-municipalities: Sankt Vith, Crombach, Lommersweiler, Recht, and Schönberg.

History

St. Vith was an important marketplace of the region by the 12th century and received town rights in 1350. The town was damaged by fires in 1543, 1602, and 1689. It was part of the Duchy of Luxemburg then of France until the defeat of French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte. As a result of the Congress of Vienna it was given to the Kingdom of Prussia.

St. Vith was transferred to Belgium on March 6, 1925, by the Treaty of Versailles after the defeat of the German Empire in World War I.

American soldiers in St. Vith during the Battle of the Bulge

An important road and railway junction, St. Vith was fought over in the 1944 Battle of the Bulge during World War II. The United States Army defended the town against German assault for a few days, delaying the German attack plan, before eventually being forced to retreat. Once it was captured by German forces, the town was bombed by the US Army Air Forces on 25 and 26 December 1944 and by RAF Bomber Command with 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 the Büchel Tower [fr; de].

St. Vith is the setting for Michael Oren's novel, Reunion, concerning a fictional reunion of an American battalion which participated in the Battle of the Bulge.

Sister cities

See also

References

  1. ^ "Wettelijke Bevolking per gemeente op 1 januari 2018". Statbel. Retrieved 9 March 2019.
  2. ^ "Bomber Command 60th Anniversary Battle Diary December 1944 Archived 2007-07-06 at the UK Government Web Archive

Further reading

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