EASTERN WALLONIA 227

Full-size replica of a shuttle at the Euro Space Center, Transinne

The mighty organ of the

16th-century Basilique St-Hubert

St-Hubert a

25 km (16 miles) SW of La Roche.
Road Map E4. * 5,700. @
n Rue Saint-Gilles 12; (061) 613010.
_ Journées Internationales de la
Chasse et de la Nature (1st weekend
of Sep). http://www.saint-hubert-
tourisme.be

Greatly venerated during the
Middle Ages, St Hubert was
an 8th-century bishop of
Tongeren-Maastricht and
successor to St Lambert (see
p216). According to legend, he
was converted to Chrisitanity
as a young man after encoun-
tering a stag with the image
of a crucifix between its
antlers. Upon his death, St
Hubert became the patron
saint of hunting and the stag
became his emblem. In the
9th century, the saint’s relics
were brought to a Benedictine
abbey in the present-day
Belgian town of St-Hubert.
The presence of the relics
made it a pilgrimage site for
hunters, and the monks here
are said to have developed
the breed of bloodhound
called the St Hubert Hound.
The abbey was rebuilt
in 1729, but suppressed
in the 1790s. However,
its large church, the
Basilique St-Hubert,
remains the
centrepiece of the
town. Its Baroque
façade (1700–02),
crested by twin
domes, fronts an
impressive late-Gothic interior
(1526–64). This is a focal point
of Journées Internationales de
la Chasse et de la Nature, the
festival of hunting, which also
holds a costumed procession.
The Centre Pierre-Joseph
Redouté presents a collection
of exquisite watercolours by
the celebrated flower artist
Pierre-Joseph Redouté (1759–
1840). The artist was born in
St-Hubert but moved to Paris,
where he was appointed to
the court of Marie-Antoinette.

P Basilique St-Hubert

Place de l’Abbaye. Tel (061)

612388. 
        

        daily. 7

        
        

        E Centre Pierre-Joseph
        Redouté
        Rue Redouté 11. Tel (061) 611872.

        
        

        Jul–Sep: 2–6pm daily.

        
        

Fourneau

St-Michel s

8 km (5 miles) N of St-Hubert.

Road Map E4. Tel (084) 210890.

@ # Jul–Aug: daily; late Feb–Jun

and Sep–mid-Nov: Tue–Sun. & 0

http://www.fourneausaintmichel.be

The word fourneau literally

means furnace, and the

aptly named community

of Fourneau St-Michel

was involved in a

flourishing iron-

smelting business in

the 17th and 18th

centuries. Scattered

in a beautiful forest

clearing here are

two rewarding

museums revealing

local life in the past.

A rare surviving high furnace

from the 18th century and

forge workshops, set up by

the last abbot of St-Hubert,

form the crux of the Musée

du Fer (Museum of Iron).

Close by is the Musée de la Vie

Redu d

17 km (11 miles) W of St-Hubert.

Road Map E4. * 500. @

n Maison du Tourisme du Pays de la

Haute-Lesse, Place de l’Esro 63, Redu-

Libin. http://www.haute-lesse-tourisme.be

Often nicknamed Belgium’s

Hay-on-Wye, in reference to

the town of books that devel-

oped in Wales in the 1960s,

Redu is above all a book

village. It has some 20 book-

shops selling new and used

books, as well as workshops

for papermaking, printing,

engraving and other crafts.

This tradition was founded

in 1984 by Liège-born writer

Noël Anselot (b.1924), who

was directly inspired by the

example of Hay-on-Wye.

Environs

The Euro Space Center at

Transinne, 6 km (4 miles) to

the east, is a family-oriented

museum on space exploration.

E Euro Space Center

Rue Devant les Hêtres 1, Transinne.

Tel (061) 656465. # mid-Mar–mid-

Nov: daily; mid-Nov–mid-Mar: Sat,

Sun; Jul & Aug: daily. & 9 0 =

http://www.eurospacecenter.be

Rurale en Wallonie (Museum

of Rural Life in Wallonia), also

called the Musée Plein Air

(Open Air Museum). This has

some 50 rural buildings from

the 19th century, rescued

from all over Wallonia and

arranged as nine hamlets.

Many of them have been fully

restored, with interiors con-

taining authentic furniture and

domestic items. A team of

animators on site demonstrate

rural activities and crafts.

Industrial relic at

Fourneau St-Michel