Wéris, the land of megaliths

The largest concentration of dolmens and menhirs in our country, which we connect in a nice walk. Explore this tranquil region located on the border of Famenne and the Ardennes near Durbuy, in a varied 18 km walk.

A walk that is 2/3 through a rural landscape and 1/3 through a wooded area. The main goal of this walk is the countless menhirs, dolmens, and commemorative stones of pudding stone, topped off by - Wéris - one of the most beautiful villages in Wallonia.

For our first trip of a weekend near Durbuy, we head to one of its municipalities. Wéris, a wooded municipality that is one of the 25 most beautiful villages in Wallonia. Not just a beautiful village, but known for the many megaliths that are scattered around Wéris. The megaliths or 'large stones' (from Greek) that you can find here are menhirs and dolmens, but also some legendary stones.

Menhir or Dolmen - what is the difference?

Well, after some research, it seems they still haven't completely figured it out:
- A dolmen or hunebed - which means 'stone table' (from Breton), would mainly be grave sites or have a ritual / astronomical function.

- The menhir or 'high stone' (from Breton) we know from Asterix and especially from Obelix, who regularly carries a menhir on his back. However, it is not a historical backpack, but a holy place where our prehistoric ancestors from the late Stone Age probably practiced religion.

With this knowledge in mind, we start from the parking lot 'Dolmen of Wéris' where we immediately get to see the first dolmen. This northern dolmen or Wéris I is of the 'allée couverte' or covered avenue type, which probably originated from the Seine-Oise-Marne or SOM culture. A people who inhabited a large part of Belgium around 3100 & 2100 BC, bordering the funnel beaker culture area.

This late Neolithic tomb of 5000 years old is the most famous of the two and was bought in 1882 for 1200 Belgian Francs by the state. After excavations in 1885-86, objects from the funnel beaker culture & Roman coins were also found here, right next to a Roman road that you can admire since 1991 after this heir path was uncovered again. A dolmen measuring 11 by 5 meters and 2 meters high with the heaviest capstone weighing up to 30 tons! Probably the work of Obelix, if you ask me...

After admiring this 'pre'-historic site, we begin the walk where we try to connect as many menhirs, dolmens, and legendary stones with the nicest paths. We start via Rue du Menhir, where after 100 m we take an unpaved path towards N841 - Route D'Erezée. Just before we reach the N841, we try to head towards the 'newly discovered dolmen of Wéris' and take the mowed grassland further towards 'Menhir Danthine'. Right next to this N841 you can see this four-meter-high menhir, which was part of - along with two destroyed menhirs - "Champ de la Longue Pierre". This menhir was named after Hélène Danthine - professor at the University of Liège - who had this menhir moved 130 m to protect it from destruction.

We continue a bit further on the N841, taking a dirt road left, which brings us after 500 m to the 'Dolmen & Menhirs D'Oppagne'. This southern dolmen or Wéris II is of the same type and origin as the one at the starting point, only this one is in a pit surrounded by four trees, and you are probably the only one there. Moreover, next to it, you can see the 4 standing menhirs and one lying menhir, which can easily be confused with the three Menhirs of Oppagne, further along our path. After about 1 kilometer on a dirt road and Rue Soussy, we arrive at these Trois Menhires D'oppagne. Three menhirs hidden in fields at the foot of an oak with ribbons. This oak would serve as a fever tree, where you could bind the ailment in this way during fever or other illnesses.

We set course towards Pas-Bayard. A hamlet of Wéris with the legendary stone of Pas-Bayard or the 'Ros Beiaard'. This stone, located in a front yard, would have an imprint of a hoof from the Ros Beiaard when the horse with the four Heemskinderen pushed off to jump to Durbuy. A jump of about 10 kilometers can indeed leave some traces...

We are only 5 kilometers into our journey and take another series of unpaved paths along Pierre Saint-Nicolas in this large forest near Eveux. The next beautiful location on our path is an old quarry or L'Ancienne carrière de Wéris. A quarry of pudding stone - a composition of gravel and sandstone, resembling concrete - and used since 1866 for, among other things, the flooring of blast furnaces. This heat-resistant stone is already seen everywhere here. Not only with the countless menhirs and dolmens, but also in the form of a scattered forest with this rather special stone. A quarry that has since transformed into a green pearl, and we try to explore via the various paths. After almost 8 kilometers of our route, we briefly leave this forest to descend to a special village...

Wéris, a charming Luxembourgish village that is among the most beautiful in Wallonia. This historic village with its alleys and charming houses leads us to make a small loop to the Église Sainte-Walburge, whose first construction dates from the 11th century. This church is made of pudding stone, just like the megaliths, but also partly from sandstone and limestone. So, definitely worth a visit to this village with plenty of protected heritage and especially marked on the map by the largest concentration of megaliths in our country.

We leave this village Wéris on the same side we came from and again take a path through this large forest between Morville and Mormont towards Pierre Haina. Sometimes also referred to as the 'White Menhir', because it is whitewashed during the equinox (the day when the sun is directly above the equator). This menhir is also well visible from the various menhirs. This outstanding rock formed an important point for the astronomical/megalithic system that took place in this valley.

After a short descent, we arrive at Lit du Diable or the 'Devil's Bed', located at the foot of Pierre Haina. This legendary stone, as it should be for a legendary stone, has its own legend... Namely the resting place of yes - the devil - before he disappeared into a shaft under the 'Stone of Haina' or 'Stone of the Ancestors' (from Celtic). The Stone of Haina would then be the cap between earth & hellfire to keep the devil down. That's why this white menhir was painted white to ward off the devil. Another myth is that a hunchbacked priest was turned into stone after cursing in terrible weather. You never know... Today, we are certainly cursing less with radiant sunshine and temperatures reaching 30°C. We also prefer the cooler forest over the warm grasslands and fields towards the next village.

A narrow and winding path takes us from the Devil's Bed to Col du Rideux (height 370m), to descend again to Heyd. Just like Wéris, a municipality of Durbuy and here you can also find a menhir namely Menhir of Heyd. A municipality that formed until 1839 the border between the young Belgium and the then Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. After the London Union in 1839, it was decided to split Luxembourg. Belgium got the French-speaking western part of Luxembourg, and the eastern part with the city of Luxembourg remained a grand duchy connected to the Netherlands.

After Heyd, we head towards a final menhir, and the wooded area quickly gives way to a rural landscape. We cross the street El Cwéne to arrive at Menhir d'Morville via a mix of narrow paths, dirt roads, and low-traffic streets. In my opinion, the smallest of its kind with a height of 80 cm and a width of 28 cm, you can easily walk past it, just like we did... We walk one last kilometer on the traffic-free Morville Street - all streets are named that way in Morville - to return to the Dolmen of Wéris and our car.