210 BELGIUM AND LUXEMBOURG REGION BY REGION

Slate-roofed houses of Couvin, a pretty setting for industrial history

A historic steam engine running on
the tracks at Mariembourg

Treignes a

15 km (9 miles) E of Couvin. Road

Map D4. * 700. £ n Office du

Tourisme de Viroinval, Rue Vieille

Église 2; (060) 311635. ( Tue–Sun.

http://www.treignes.info

Styling itself as the village des

musées, Treignes is home to

four museums. Formerly a

key railway hub for trains

crossing into France, the town

now serves as the terminus of

the Chemin de Fer des Trois

Vallées. Treignes’s Musée

du Chemin de Fer à Vapeur

(Museum of Steam Railways),

is located on the grounds of

the old international railway

station and contains a major

collection of historic trains and

associated memorabilia. The

station itself was bought by the

Université Libre de Bruxelles

in 1972 as a centre for environ-

mental studies. The university

now also runs the Ecomusée

du Viroin, lodged in an old

château-ferme (fortified farm),

presenting the traditional crafts

Mariembourg o

34 km (21 miles) SW of Dinant.
Road Map C4. * 3,000. £ @
n Marie de Hongrie 1; (060)
311181 (Easter–Oct); (060) 430140
(Couvin).

The old frontier fortress-town
of Mariembourg was built in
1542 by Holy Roman Emperor
Charles V and his sister, Mary
of Hungary, after whom it was
named. Although supposedly
impregnable, it was captured
by the French in 1554, but
retaken by the Spanish in

1559. Exactly a century later,
      it was handed over to Louis
      XIV of France by treaty, and
      remained French until taken
      by the Prussians in 1815. The
      fortifications were demolished
      in 1855, leaving only the star-
      shaped grid of the street plan.
      Mariembourg became an
      important railway junction. It is
      now the starting point for his-
      toric steam trains that journey
      through the beautiful Les Trois
      Vallées. The Chemin de Fer des
      Trois Vallées (Railway of the
      Three Valleys) takes a 14-km
      (8-mile) long route by the
      Viroin valley. Mariembourg’s
      Karting des Fagnes has one of
      Europe’s longest go-kart tracks.

E Chemin de Fer des

Trois Vallées

Chaussée de Givet 49–51 Tel (060)

312440. 
        

        Jul–Aug: daily; Mar–Jun

        
        

        and Sep–Oct: Sat and Sun. & 7
        http://cfv3v.in-site-out.com
        P Karting des Fagnes
        Parc Industriel, 13. Tel (060)

        
        


312441. 
        

        Jul–Aug: daily. ¢ Thu

        
        

        during the off season. & -
        http://www.kartingdesfagnes.com

        
        

Couvin p

5 km (3 miles) S of Mariembourg.

Road Map C4. * 13,500. c @

n Office du Tourisme de Couvin,

Rue de la Falaise 3; (060) 340140.

http://www.couvin.be

A fetching little slate-roofed

town set on the River Eau

Noire, Couvin is a popular

centre for exploring the

Fagnes – an unspoilt region

of forests and meadows on a

bed of clay, slate and lime-

stone. Couvin was once an

important iron- and steel-

working centre and vestiges

of its industrial past are still

evident. The town’s prettiest

quarter is set on a rocky crag,

formerly the site of a castle

destroyed by the French in

1672. This area was inhabited
      by Neanderthals in prehistoric
      times, as witnessed in the
      caves and museum of the
      Cavernes de l’Abîme. A com-
      bination ticket includes the
      Grottes de Neptune, 3 km
      (2 miles) to the northeast.
      These are classic limestone
      caves of stalactites and stalag-
      mites through which flows
      the River Eau Noire.

Environs

Near the historic village of

Nismes, 5 km (3 miles) to the

northeast, is a curious canyon-

like weathered limestone

formation called the Fondry

des Chiens. Also of interest

are the wooded hills near

Brûly-de-Pesche, 8 km

(5 miles) southwest of Couvin,

which form the setting of the

Grand Quartier Général

Allemand 1940 (German

Headquarters 1940). Called

Wolfsschlucht (Wolf’s Ravine),

the headquarters include

concrete bunkers from which

Hitler directed his assault on

France in July 1940, plus a

small museum.

T Cavernes de l’Abîme

Rue de la Falaise. Tel (060) 311954.

# Jul–Aug: daily; Apr–Jun and Sep:

Sat and Sun. &

T Grottes de Neptune

Route du l’Adugeoir. Tel (060)

311954. 
        

        Apr–Sep: daily; Oct &

        
        

        Nov: Sat & Sun. & 8

        
        

For hotels and restaurants in this region see pp269–71 and pp296–7