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St. Paul's Church and its twisted bell tower

The first written mention of Baelen, then a Carolingian farm, appears in a charter dated 888. In the 9th century, the parish of Baelen was an important religious centre, dependent on the Council of St Remacle. In the centre of the village, the church of St. Paul has a Romanesque tower, built around 1100, which represents the oldest architectural element of the entity. This massive 10 x 10 metre tower, a much appreciated refuge for our ancestors during military incursions and pillaging, was later topped by a twisted bell tower almost 35 metres high. The rest of the church dates from the 16th century and is in the Gothic style. The tower houses 4 bells, one of which was cast by Jean Bourlet in 1691: it is 1m high, with a diameter of 1m36 and 1200kg. The other bells date from 1954, they replace those which were requisitioned by the Germans to be recast during the war.

In addition to the church and its twisted bell tower, Baelen has a number of architectural features that are well worth a visit: the Membach church with its bulbous roof, the old farms and houses whose facades are often adorned with the famous Baelen marble, the Vreuschemen castle, the Cortenbach courtyard and the Nereth castle farm, former seigneurial witnesses to life under the Ancien Régime. The village is also a place of great natural beauty: the forests of the Hertogenwald and the peat bogs of the Hautes Fagnes stand next to the Gileppe dam and its lion towering over the Prussian border, the hilly landscapes offer superb viewpoints, and the centuries-old crosses and milestones bear witness to a rich past.