Echternach is a commune with city status in the canton of Echternach, which is part of the district of Grevenmacher, in eastern Luxembourg. Echternach lies near the border with Germany, and is the oldest town (current population 4,610) in Luxembourg. It grew around the walls of the Abbey of Echternach, which was founded in 698 by St. Willibrord, an English monk from Ripon, Northumbria (in present-day North Yorkshire, England), who became the first bishop of Utrecht and worked to christianize the Frisians. As bishop, he was the Echternach monastery's abbot until his death in 739. It is in his honour that the dancing procession takes place annually on Whit Tuesday. The river Sauer that flows past the town now forms the border between Luxembourg and Germany; in the later Roman Empire and under the Merovingians by contrast, the Sauer did not form a border or march in this area. The Roman villa at Echternach (traces of which were rediscovered in 1975) was reputed to be the largest North of the Alps. It was later part of the Electorate of Trier (present-day Germany) and was presented to Willibrord by Irmina (Irmine), daughter of Dagobert II, king of the Franks. Other parts of the Merovingians' Roman inheritance were presented to the Abbey by king of the Franks Pepin the Short. The picturesque town, still surrounded by its medieval walls with towers, was badly damaged in World War II but was subsequently thoroughly restored. 0:03 - The corner of Rue de La Gare and Rue André Duchscher. 0:33 - Looking down Rue de La Gare. 0:47 - Walking down Rue André Duchscher. 1:08 - Outside the Gothic House (Maison Gothique). 1:54 - One of the old walls of Echternach on Hooveleker Buurchmauer. 2:54 - "The house in the tower" (Das Haus im Turm). 3:27 - Very old wall of the town on Rue des Redoutés. (4:09) Apartments built into the old wall in 2003. 4:35 - Convoy of motorbikes on Rue du Pont. (4:48) The Garden Pavillon (Parlodrome). 6:03 - Walking down Rue des Ecoliers towards the main square. 6:39 - The main square on Place du Marché with market stalls. 7:06 - Walking back up Rue de La Gare. Filmed using the Sony HDR-HC9 HDV1080i High Definition Handycam.

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