Reisdorf, gateway to Little Switzerland and a 1944 front line

Reisdorf is a village on the River Sûre, framed by woods and green hills, which the regional tourist office pitches at anyone looking for peace and quiet. Its own commune places it at the entrance to Luxembourg’s Little Switzerland. But the landscape has another reading, because here, on the Hoesdorf plateau and along the Our border, men fought hand to hand in the winter of 1944.

Four localities by two rivers

Reisdorf’s 1,422 residents (STATEC, January 2026) live in four localities, Reisdorf, Bigelbach, Hoesdorf and Wallendorf-Pont. Hoesdorf sits beside the Our, a few metres from the German border, with a memorial to the Battle of the Bulge and a bell tower that began life as a defensive tower and is now a listed monument. Reisdorf is in the canton of Diekirch and has worked with the Mëllerdall geopark since 2021.

What does the Promenade du Souvenir tell you?

It’s a 20.46 km cross-border history trail through Bettendorf, Reisdorf, Hoesdorf and Wallendorf, across the border in Germany, with 17 information panels. visitluxembourg’s page sums up the events. In September 1944 troops of the US 5th Armored Division broke through the Siegfried Line from Wallendorf and pushed towards Bitburg, but had to pull back by the end of the month. On 16 December, as the Ardennes offensive began, two German divisions crossed the Our after a half-hour barrage and attacked the Hoesdorf plateau. The outnumbered Americans held on until 18 and 19 December. The Germans kept the plateau until late January 1945, and in early February the US 80th Infantry Division crossed the Our from here.

The page asks walkers to honour everyone who fought, suffered and died here, soldiers and civilians caught in the crossfire, and that’s the spirit I’d walk it in. You can start in Reisdorf or Bettendorf, and there are signposted short cuts. The other sites of the offensive are covered on my Battle of the Bulge page.

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On foot or by bike along the Sûre

The national PC3 cycle path runs through the village on a former railway line and links Vianden with Echternach, among other places, according to the regional tourist office. For walkers, the tourist office in the old station by the Sûre bridge is the start of local trails R1 to R4 as well as the Promenade du Souvenir. It opens only in season, sells fishing permits and in 2026 was working from temporary rooms in the same building.

Staying and moving on

Beds are limited, with one hotel and three campsites in STATEC’s 2025 count. The Reisdorf, Op der Gare bus stop is 50 m from the tourist office, and buses are free throughout Luxembourg. Downriver, the PC3 leads to Echternach, while Beaufort and the Vallée de l’Ernz lie to the south.

Once your dates are set, check which hotels are still free in Echternach before prices climb.

If you would rather have a local show you round, book a guided tour in Echternach and choose by the reviews.

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