Meyerode

Meyerode is located five kilometers southeast of the center of Amel at the western edge of the German-Belgian nature park High Fens-Eifel. The national border runs southeast at a distance of seven kilometers.

The name "Meyerode" means that the village was formed by clearing a marsh and forest area, like most villages whose names end in -rode or -rath (Wallerode, Atzerath, Rocherath).

Meyerode was first mentioned in a document from 1319, but its origins likely date back to the period between the 10th and 14th centuries. During excavations in the 1950s, a stone slab was found with a cross engraved on it. According to archaeologists, this slab indicates that a church already existed in Meyerode in the 6th or 7th century. The slab is now embedded in the ring wall to the left of the stairs leading to the church.

The village of Meyerode today has over 400 inhabitants. Until the municipal merger in 1977, Meyerode was the main village of the eponymous municipality, which included the villages and hamlets of Medell, Wallerode, Herresbach, and Eiterbach. The municipality of Meyerode then had 1,100 inhabitants.

From 1995 to 1998, the Alive Festival took place in Meyerode, which was for many years one of the largest events in the region.

East of it extends the vast forest of Ommerscheid, which connects the last Belgian villages to the German border.

Jan Rymenams