Vallée de l'Ernz, the open-country side of the Mullerthal

Vallée de l’Ernz is the quiet face of the Mullerthal. There are no great gorges or famous waterfalls here, just fields, gentle hills and small villages along the White Ernz. The regional tourist office describes it as country calm mixed with outdoor activities, natural monuments and historic buildings, and that’s a fair summary.

A commune born in 2012

According to its own website, the commune was created in 2012 by merging Ermsdorf and Medernach, and its Luxembourgish name is Aerenzdall. On 1 January 2026 it had 2,963 residents, according to STATEC, spread across seven localities, Eppeldorf, Ermsdorf, Folkendange, Keiwelbach, Medernach, Savelborn and Stegen, plus about fifteen farms and isolated houses. Savelborn is shared with Waldbillig. It sits in the canton of Diekirch and in the Mullerthal tourist region, though outside the geopark.

What can children do here?

Go barefoot. At Medernach-Kengert a trail of about 745 m takes you over sandstone, mulch, gravel, sand, grass, wood, bark, pine cones and pebbles, with a motor-skills park alongside and a place to wash your feet at the end. It’s free, with registration requested only for large groups, and the Kengert campsite restaurant is next door. There are also two Natura 2000 nature trail loops, one of about 5 km on people and the forest and another of about 4.5 km on the old ironstone land.

For a walk with views, the Ermsdorf Auto-Pédestre covers 7.08 km in around two hours, almost entirely across open country, climbing gently along the ridge to Op der Bëlz and returning past the Neimillen mill. It’s one of the few Mullerthal routes where you’re in the sun most of the way, which on a British-style grey day makes a real difference.

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Remembering Medernach’s Jews

One stop here isn’t about leisure. The first Jewish family arrived in Medernach in 1845, and by 1930 the community had about 33 members, most of them cattle dealers. Under the Nazi occupation at least 28 Jews from Medernach were deported, 18 to the Litzmannstadt ghetto on 16 October 1941 and the last 8 to Theresienstadt on 28 July 1942. None survived. Two memorials, the newer one from 2021, stand on the site of the former synagogue on rue de Savelborn. There’s more context in my guide to Luxembourg in the Second World War.

Nature and neighbours

On the Hossebierg at Eppeldorf, visitluxembourg mentions rare orchid species, inside the Black Ernz valley Natura 2000 area. Eppeldorf is also home to the Eppelpress farm, which makes natural products from regional ingredients. STATEC counted two campsites and no hotels in the commune in 2025. To the west, Nommern has the Noumerleeën rocks. For a roof over your head, neighbouring Larochette has a youth hostel, and the Sûre and Reisdorf lie to the north.

To sleep close to everything, search places to stay in Diekirch on Expedia and filter by area before price.

If you are short on time, see the best tours in Diekirch and pick one that fits your day.

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