Amel

For other uses, see Amel (disambiguation).

Amel Amblève (French)
Municipality
Coat of arms
Amel Location in Belgium
Location of Amel in the province of Liège
Coordinates:
Country	Belgium
Community	German-speaking Community
Region	Wallonia
Province	Liège
Arrondissement	Verviers
Government
• Mayor	Klaus Schumacher (GI)
• Governing party/ies	GI
Area
• Total	125.15 km2 (48.32 sq mi)
Population (1 January 2013)
• Total	5,459
• Density	44/km2 (110/sq mi)
Postal codes	4770-4771
Area codes	080
Website	www.amel.be

Amel (French: Amblève) is a Belgian municipality in the Walloon province of Liège, and is part of the German-speaking Community of Belgium (German: Deutschsprachige Gemeinschaft Belgiens). On January 1, 2013, the municipality of Amel had a total population of 5,466. The total area is 125.15 km² which gives a population density of 44 inhabitants per km².

There are eighteen villages in Amel: Amel (village), Born, Deidenberg, Eibertingen, Halenfeld, Heppenbach, Hepscheid, Herresbach Iveldingen, Medell, Meyerode, Mirfeld, Möderscheid, Montenau, Schoppen, Stephanshof, Valender and Wereth.

The name Amel is of Celtic origin and means water. The river Amblève (German: Amel) flows through the municipality.

Amel is the birthplace of Karl-Heinz Lambertz, current leader (Minister-President) of the community executive of the German-speaking community of Belgium.

History

In 716, the Battle of Amblève, between Charles Martel with the Austrasians on one side and the joined forces of the Frisians and Neustrians under Ragenfrid and Chilperic II on the other side, was the first victory for Charles Martel.

Amel was the site of heavy fighting during the Battle of the Bulge. On 17 December 1944, the Wereth Massacre took place when eleven soldiers of the African American 333rd Field Artillery Battalion were tortured and executed by members of the 1st SS Panzer Division Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler. A memorial to the Wereth 11 was erected in the village in 1994.

See also

• List of protected heritage sites in Amel

External links

• Media related to at Wikimedia Commons
• Gazetteer Entry
• Municipality of Amel website (German)