The best mountain hikes around Durbuy

Ideal resting place during a longer hike.

Nice rocky path along the Ourthe

Important opportunity to change banks

Varied and surprising: forest, climbing, valleys, meadows, city!

A beautiful bridge with a view of the castle

Beautiful and stately, gorgeous

Durbuy is first mentioned in 1078 (as Dolbui) and in 1084 (under the current name). The first traces of habitation are found during excavations in the Anticlinaal cave by Count Pierre d'Ursel. The d'Ursel family still inhabits Durbuy Castle. Before the current castle, there were already others. Based on the archives of Luxembourg, a castle was destroyed and in the eleventh century, another was built by Henry II the Lame, who had received the domain from his mother Rageline, sister of Pope Stephen II, and her husband Albert II of Namur. Around 1156, that castle was severely damaged by flames and during the succession wars of the Duchy of Limburg, it was destroyed several more times. From 1412, Durbuy came into the hands of the House of Burgundy and at the end of the fifteenth century, the then-existing castle was destroyed by Maximilian of Austria, like all the castles of the la Marck family: besides Durbuy, these also include the castles of Logne and La Roche. In 1628, Baron Antoine Schetz of Grobendonck leased the Durbuy estate for 40,000 gold marks, a very considerable sum. Besides being a baron, he was also Count of Grobbendonk, Lord of Tilburg and Goirle, Pulle and Pulderbos, and Wezemaal. He was in the service of the Spanish and had led the defense of 's-Hertogenbosch during the Eighty Years' War. At the age of 71, he was also governor of the city of Leuven during the Siege of Leuven. And he was the first in a long line of the d'Ursel family who, to this day, inhabit the castle. In 1731, the castle was rebuilt by the then Duke of Ursel. Countess Auguste d'Ursel, who acquired the d'Ursel family's possessions in Durbuy, then modernized the castle from 1880 to 1882 with the help of architect Thirian from Namur. During the Second World War, the castle was occupied several times and in 1944, during the Battle of the Bulge, it was used as a field hospital by the American liberators, with the billiard table serving as an operating table. Sources: historical overviews in Word documents on the website of Count Jean-Michel d'Ursel, current resident, at https://www.chateaudedurbuy.be/historique.html

On the side of the bridge, you'll find a four-language (FR/NL/DE/UK) information board with the information about the bridge Herwig mentions. It could use replacing. Other interesting facts about the bridge with visible remains: the metal cross, surmounted by a cast and painted iron statue of Christ on the railing, dates from the eighteenth century. As mentioned, the limestone base inscribes the construction years of the various successive bridges: 1725, 1909, and 1954. The base of the cross itself has also been replaced. The previous one, also part of the city's small heritage, stands on the side of the church next to the old graves. This stone stood there between 1909 and 1940 and was blown up during the war. It was replaced in 1954, just like the bridge. If you go down the stairs towards the parking lot on the other side of the bridge (the side with the information board), you will see another reminder, remains and information about the mill.