Sankt Vith Saint Vith (French) | |
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.jpg) View of St. Vith | |
 Flag  Coat of arms | |
Location of Sankt Vith  | |
  Sankt Vith Location in Belgium Location of St. Vith in the province of Liège  | |
| Coordinates:50°16′N06°07′E / 50.267°N 6.117°E /50.267; 6.117 | |
| Country |  Belgium |
| Community |  German-speaking Community of Belgium |
| Region | Wallonia |
| Province |  Liège |
| Arrondissement | Verviers |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Herbert Grommes (cdH) |
| • Governing party/ies | NBA Grommes |
| Area | |
• Total | 147.15 km2 (56.81 sq mi) |
| Population (2018-01-01)[1] | |
• Total | 9,682 |
| • Density | 66/km2 (170/sq mi) |
| Postal codes | 4780-4784 |
| NIS code | 63067 |
| Area codes | 080 |
| Website | www.st.vith.be |
St. Vith (German:Sankt Vith[zaŋktˈfɪt];French:Saint-Vith[sɛ̃vit]ⓘ;Luxembourgish:Sankt Väit[ˌzɑŋktˈvæːɪt];Walloon:Sint-Vit) is a city andmunicipality ofEast Belgium located in theWalloonprovince of Liège. It was named afterSaint Vitus. The majority language is German, as in the rest of theGerman-speaking Community of Belgium.
On January 1, 2006, St. Vith had a total population of 9,169. The total area is 146.93 km2, giving apopulation density of 62 inhabitants per km2. The official language of the municipality isGerman.
The municipality consists of the followingsub-municipalities: Sankt Vith, Crombach, Lommersweiler, Recht, and Schönberg.
St. Vith was an important marketplace of the region by the 12th century and receivedtown rights in 1350. The town was damaged by fires in 1543, 1602, and 1689. It was part of theDuchy of Luxemburg then of France until the defeat of French EmperorNapoleon Bonaparte. As a result of theCongress of Vienna it was given to theKingdom of Prussia.
St. Vith was transferred to Belgium on March 6, 1925, by theTreaty of Versailles after the defeat of theGerman Empire inWorld War I.
An important road and railway junction, St. Vith wasfought over in the 1944Battle of the Bulge duringWorld War II. TheUnited States Army defended the town against German assault for a few days, delaying the German attack plan, before eventually being forced to retreat. Once it was captured byGerman forces, the town was bombed by theUS Army Air Forces on 25 and 26 December 1944 and byRAF Bomber Command with 300 aircraft on the 26.[2] St. Vith was mostly destroyed during the ground battle and subsequent air attack. American forces retook the town on January 23, 1945. The only pre-war architecture remaining is theBüchel Tower [fr;de].
St. Vith is the setting forMichael Oren'snovel,Reunion, concerning a fictional reunion of an American battalion which participated in the Battle of the Bulge.
Media related toSankt-Vith at Wikimedia CommonsPlaces adjacent to St. Vith | |
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Municipalities in theprovince of Liège,Wallonia | ||
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| Huy |  | |
| Liège | ||
| Verviers | ||
| Waremme | ||
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| International | |
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| National | |
| Geographic | |
