Herbesthal () is a village in the municipality of

Lontzen Lontzen () is a municipality located in East Belgium. On January 1, 2018 Lontzen had a total population of 5,695. The total area is 28.73 km² which gives a population density of 198 inhabitants per km². The municipality consists of the foll ...

East Belgium The German-speaking Community (german: links=no, Deutschsprachige Gemeinschaft, or DG; french: links=no, Communauté germanophone; nl, links=no, Duitstalige Gemeenschap), since 2017 also known as East Belgium (german: links=no, Ostbelgien), is ...

Etymology

The origin of the name of Herbesthal is uncertain. The place is first mentioned in the State Archives of

Liège Liège ( , , ; wa, Lîdje ; nl, Luik ; german: Lüttich ) is a major city and municipality of Wallonia and the capital of the Belgian province of Liège. The city is situated in the valley of the Meuse, in the east of Belgium, not far from b ...

under the name "Hardwestal" (1404-1405). Various sources link the name to the following meanings: "Hostel in the valley", "Herbes Valley", "Herbert's place of residence" (the word "stal" in Germanic means residence) or even "Eggental" (the harrow is an agricultural implement). When the village was under

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

rule (1794-1814), it was called "Aubergeval", which can be translated as "hostel in the valley".Verkehrs- und Verschönerungsverein Herbesthal (Hrsg.): ''Im Zuge der Zeit Beiträge zur Geschichte der Ortschaft Herbesthal'', 1995.

International importance

Between 1843 and 1920, Herbesthal was the location of what was, by various criteria, the world's oldest international railway station. It lost that status because of frontier changes mandated at Versailles.

Notes

References

{{Authority control Lontzen Former municipalities of the German-speaking Community