Lontzen’s history
Up until the 2nd century, Celtic tribes still lived here. After this time, it was part of the Carolingian empire. Walhorn was first mentioned in a document dated 888 as a royal court by Lothar II to the Munster Church of Aachen. From the 12th century on until 1815, Walhorn was a High Court (administrative and justice center) and belonged, jointly with the other villages, to the duchy of Limburg. The castle Welkenhuysen in Lontzen, was under siege by Geldric troops in 1286 and Spanish troops in 1564 – without success.
Under the French dominion 1795, the area that is today the community of Lontzen was allocated to the canton of Eupen within the Departement de l’Ourthe and then allocated to the Kingdom of Prussia through the Vienna Congress of 1815. After World War I and the Contract of Versailles, the communities of Herbesthal, Lontzen and Walhorn fall to Belgium in 1920. Except for the period from 1940 to 1945, when the area was annexed by Germany, it remained Belgian.
