The French Revolution
Before the invasion of the French armies led by Napoleon Bonaparte, the local area belonged to the Duchy of Luxembourg. With the arrival of Napoleon, the canton of St. Vith was then assigned to the Ourthe department with its seat in Liège and, as it were, subordinated to the arrondissement of Malmedy. In the course of this turmoil, the Macquet family, originally from Libramont, settled in the area. Dr. Franz Josef Macquet, who was probably born between 1760 and 1765, received his doctorate in medicine from the renowned University of Louvain in 1786. Historical research has shown that Franz-Josef Macquet settled in St.Vith after his doctorate in medicine.
Macquet family
The Macquet family lived in a stately house in Mühlenbachstrasse, right next to the parish church in Saint Vith. This house was built in 1786 and was called “Haus Macquet” in Büchelstadt. The second Macquet house, now the POSTRELAIS, dates from 1779 according to the door lintel. A document of the bishop of Trier Josephus Clemens from 1705 testifies that at that time there was already a chapel with a clergyman in Oudler opposite the house of Macquet. Presumably the respective clergymen lived in the Macquet house, of whom Father Schneiders was certainly the most notable.
Treats
In the times of the French Revolution, clergymen everywhere had a very hard time. Masses were only allowed to be held in the privacy of the church. A secret passage was then dug between the chapel and the Macquet house. Thus the priest was able to celebrate mass in the chapel and disappear undetected through the tunnel when the French occupying forces approached. This tunnel was destroyed by road construction in the 1960s. However, the entrances can still be seen in the two houses today.
Postal station
Later, the building also served as a post office, where Josef Florent Macquet was postmaster until 1895. He died at the age of 49, so that his brother Eugen Macquet took over the administration of the Oudler post office from then on.
Marble Company
Katharina Macquet-Gansen, wife of Eugene, was the last member of the Macquet family. After her death, the house initially went to her sister, before her daughter Juliane Ingenleuf-Küpper was appointed heiress. Käthe Bantz-Ingenleuf later inherited the building in Oudler. Her husband Felix set up a marble workshop where the HOFLADEN is today.
Core renovation
After purchasing the old postmaster’s station in August 2016, we began extensive construction in January 2018. Our highest and primary goal was to preserve the original character of the historic building. In order to do justice to this, we rely primarily on original building materials such as granite, wood and lime plaster. However, the achievements and requirements of the 21st century did not fall by the wayside, for example in the form of integrated thermal insulation. A photovoltaic system was installed on the roof of the farm shop to generate renewable energy.
The Hofladen
The farm shop primarily stands for the marketing of fresh regional products, ranging from oven-fresh baked goods to seasonal fruit and vegetable sales. In line with the trend of the times and above all to avoid unnecessary plastic waste, a large proportion of the goods are also available unpackaged.
In addition to its function as a contact point for food products, the farm shop also invites you to linger with its cosy atmosphere. Delicious food, coffee and cake can of course also be consumed on site. In addition, we offer breakfast, lunch and a Sunday brunch.
