Picture this: every time you walk the hills of Vaals, Vijlen or Lemiers, you are actually walking on the back of a sleeping giant creature. Sounds like a fairytale, but it is a centuries-old myth that was nearly forgotten, and the municipality is bringing it back to life under the name ‘Onder Vaals’.
According to the legend, our landscape did not just appear. Those rolling hills we love? They are said to be the contours of a colossal being that found its final resting place here long ago. And the best part: this myth does not belong to one village, it ties all our communities together.
What is happening next:
- 📚 Primary schools kick off with stories, illustrations and creative activities
- 🌐 The new website www.ondervaals.nl collects stories and images
- 🤝 A shared story for Vaals, Vijlen, Lemiers, Camerig and every hamlet in between
Alderman Jean-Paul Kompier puts it nicely: ‘Vaals is made up of different villages, each with its own character. This myth gives us something we all share.’
So next time you walk the Vijlenerberg, listen carefully. You might just hear something breathing beneath your feet. 😉
What makes this myth special is how perfectly it fits into a wider European folklore tradition where landscapes are explained as sleeping giants or titans, think of the Norse Jötnar or Celtic tales of giants buried under hills. The Vaals version is unique because it is not tied to one village but to the entire municipal territory, making it a natural bridge between communities that have historically guarded their own identities. The municipality is now using this as the foundation for its future profile: versatile, boundary-pushing, and rich in history.
Source: Municipality of Vaals
