Lion of the Gileppe Dam

An extraordinarily beautiful dam wall, which is also the oldest in Europe. The dam wall is crowned by a sandstone lion, which is the emblem of the Gileppe dam. A pedestrian street leads over the dam wall, on the sides of which there are several very interesting information boards. The dam is the starting point for many family-friendly hiking trails. The entire infrastructure at the dam is designed for tourists - trips with the family are fun here.

A dam that is worth a trip just because of its beautiful structure.

The Gileppe dam lies in the East Belgian Ardennes.
When it was completed, it was the first concrete dam in Europe. The dam was inaugurated by King Leopold II on July 28, 1878. At that time, the water absorption capacity of the reservoir was approx. 13 million square meters, the area was 86 hectares.
An increase of more than 16 meters was carried out from 1967 to 1971 and the capacity was increased to approx. 26.5 million square meters with an area of 130 hectares.

The lookout tower with a restaurant on the upper floor from which you have a fantastic view and the lion on the dam are striking.
The 13.5-meter-high sandstone lion, which consists of 180 blocks and weighs around 300 t, stands on the top of the dam and faces north-east to the then district town of Eupen.