The Germany–Netherlands border (; ) consists of a land and maritime border across the

Dollart The Dollart (German name) or Dollard (Dutch name) is a bay in the Wadden Sea between the northern Netherlands and Germany, on the west side of the estuary of the Ems river. Most of it dries at low tide. Many water birds feed there. Gaining ...

through the

Frisian Islands The Frisian Islands, also known as the Wadden Islands or the Wadden Sea Islands, form an archipelago at the eastern edge of the North Sea in northwestern Europe, stretching from the northwest of the Netherlands through Germany to the west of Denma ...

into the

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian S ...

Land border

The border is located in the northwestern part of Germany and the east of the Netherlands. The border runs as a fairly irregular line from the shore of the

bay which is part of the Ems river estuary in the north to the Belgium–Germany–Netherlands

tripoint A tripoint, trijunction, triple point, or tri-border area is a geographical point at which the boundaries of three countries or subnational entities meet. There are 175 international tripoints as of 2020. Nearly half are situated in rivers, l ...

Vaalserberg The Vaalserberg (, Ripuarian: ) is a hill with a height of above NAP and is the highest point in the European part of the Netherlands, also known as "Dutch Mountains". The Vaalserberg is located in the province of Limburg, at the south-easte ...

. The length of the border is around in length, although the straight distance between the two border end points is . The border runs along portions of rivers, including for along the large

Rhine ), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland , source1_coordinates= , source1_elevation = , source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein , source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland , source2_coordinates= , so ...

river. It also runs for about along the Meuse valley, although most of the time a few kilometres to the east of the

Meuse The Meuse ( , , , ; wa, Moûze ) or Maas ( , ; li, Maos or ) is a major European river, rising in France and flowing through Belgium and the Netherlands before draining into the North Sea from the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta. It has a t ...

river rather than along it, before leaving the valley at the last portion of border to the border tripoint located at

about west of

Aachen Aachen ( ; ; Aachen dialect: ''Oche'' ; French and traditional English: Aix-la-Chapelle; or ''Aquisgranum''; nl, Aken ; Polish: Akwizgran) is, with around 249,000 inhabitants, the 13th-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia, and the 28th- ...

. The German states which share the international border are (from north to south)

Lower Saxony Lower Saxony (german: Niedersachsen ; nds, Neddersassen; stq, Läichsaksen) is a German state (') in northwestern Germany. It is the second-largest state by land area, with , and fourth-largest in population (8 million in 2021) among the 16 ...

and

North Rhine-Westphalia North Rhine-Westphalia (german: Nordrhein-Westfalen, ; li, Noordrien-Wesfale ; nds, Noordrhien-Westfalen; ksh, Noodrhing-Wäßßfaale), commonly shortened to NRW (), is a States of Germany, state (''Land'') in Western Germany. With more tha ...

while on the Dutch side, the provinces are

Groningen Groningen (; gos, Grunn or ) is the capital city and main municipality of Groningen province in the Netherlands. The ''capital of the north'', Groningen is the largest place as well as the economic and cultural centre of the northern part of t ...

Drente Drenthe () is a province of the Netherlands located in the northeastern part of the country. It is bordered by Overijssel to the south, Friesland to the west, Groningen to the north, and the German state of Lower Saxony to the east. As of Novem ...

Overijssel Overijssel (, ; nds, Oaveriessel ; german: Oberyssel) is a Provinces of the Netherlands, province of the Netherlands located in the eastern part of the country. The province's name translates to "across the IJssel", from the perspective of the ...

Gelderland Gelderland (), also known as Guelders () in English, is a province of the Netherlands, occupying the centre-east of the country. With a total area of of which is water, it is the largest province of the Netherlands by land area, and second by ...

and

Limburg Limburg or Limbourg may refer to: Regions * Limburg (Belgium), a province since 1839 in the Flanders region of Belgium * Limburg (Netherlands), a province since 1839 in the south of the Netherlands * Diocese of Limburg, Roman Catholic Diocese in ...

Disputes

The maritime border is disputed in a part of the Ems estuary outside the Dollart bay, where Germany has the view that the state border runs on the left bank of the Ems, while the Netherlands regards the

Thalweg In geography and fluvial geomorphology, a thalweg or talweg () is the line of lowest elevation within a valley or watercourse. Under international law, a thalweg is the middle of the primary navigable channel of a waterway that defines the bounda ...

as its border. This is based on interpretations of old treaties. Germany relies on a bill of enfeoffment from 1464, when German Emperor Frederick III raised Ulrich I, the son of a local chieftain to the status of Imperial Count, in which the

County of East Frisia The County of East-Frisia ( Frisian: Greefskip Eastfryslân; Dutch: Graafschap Oost-Friesland) was a county (though ruled by a prince after 1662) in the region of East Frisia in the northwest of the present-day German state of Lower Saxony. Coun ...

It is described as "von der Westeremse osterwards" (thus including the Ems). According to the Netherlands, this has lapsed in the

French period In Northern European historiography, the term French period (french: Période française, german: Franzosenzeit, nl, Franse tijd) refers to the period between 1794 and 1815 during which most of Northern Europe was controlled by Republican or Napo ...

– after the incorporation in France of both areas of

West Frisia West Frisia ( la, Frisia Occidentalis) is a term that, when used in an international context, refers to the traditionally Frisian areas that are located west of the Dollart (i.e. in the present-day Netherlands). Along with East Frisia and North ...

(now part of the Dutch provinces of

and

Friesland Friesland (, ; official fry, Fryslân ), historically and traditionally known as Frisia, is a province of the Netherlands located in the country's northern part. It is situated west of Groningen, northwest of Drenthe and Overijssel, north of ...

) and

East Frisia East Frisia or East Friesland (german: Ostfriesland; ; stq, Aastfräislound) is a historic region in the northwest of Lower Saxony, Germany. It is primarily located on the western half of the East Frisian peninsula, to the east of West Frisia ...

(now part of the German state of

). Thus according to international law, the boundary should be at the center of the navigation channel. In 2014 the two nations' foreign ministers met to put an end to the dispute. It was decided that the border should remain ambiguous and responsibility for the region in question shared.

Border crossings

There are at least 60 official road crossings and six railway crossings of the border. Both countries are part of the

Schengen Area The Schengen Area ( , ) is an area comprising 27 European countries that have officially abolished all passport and all other types of border control at their mutual borders. Being an element within the wider area of freedom, security and j ...

and the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...

, so there are minimal or non-existent border controls. Motorways crossing the border: Railways crossing the border: *

Ihrhove–Nieuweschans railway The Ihrhove–Nieuweschans railway is an international railway line running from Ihrhove near Leer in Germany to Bad Nieuweschans in the Netherlands. The line was opened in 1876. Ihrhove is situated on the north-south Emsland Railway, between ...

Almelo–Salzbergen railway The Almelo–Salzbergen railway is an important Dutch and German 54 kilometre long railway line, that connects Almelo with Salzbergen, offering a rail link between the Netherlands and Germany. History The railway was opened by the Spoorweg-Maat ...

* Dortmund–Enschede railway * Oberhausen–Arnhem railway *

Viersen–Venlo railway The Viersen–Venlo railway is a railway line running from Viersen in Germany to Venlo in the Netherlands. The line was opened in 1866 by the Bergisch-Märkische Railway Company. Formerly used by international passenger trains between The Hague and ...

Sittard–Herzogenrath railway The Sittard–Herzogenrath railway is a railway line running from Sittard in the Netherlands to Herzogenrath in Germany, passing through Heerlen. The line was opened in 1896. History The line was nationalized in 1899. In World War II, cross-bor ...

Border treaties

The modern border today is the result of centuries of border negotiations and agreements between the states and other political entities in the region, such as the

Kingdom of Prussia The Kingdom of Prussia (german: Königreich Preußen, ) was a German kingdom that constituted the state of Prussia between 1701 and 1918.Marriott, J. A. R., and Charles Grant Robertson. ''The Evolution of Prussia, the Making of an Empire''. Re ...

Kingdom of Hannover The Kingdom of Hanover (german: Königreich Hannover) was established in October 1814 by the Congress of Vienna, with the restoration of George III to his Hanoverian territories after the Napoleonic era. It succeeded the former Electorate of Han ...

and the

United Provinces of the Netherlands The United Provinces of the Netherlands, also known as the (Seven) United Provinces, officially as the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands (Dutch: ''Republiek der Zeven Verenigde Nederlanden''), and commonly referred to in historiography ...

, of which Germany and the Netherlands ultimately became the modern day

successor states Succession of states is a concept in international relations regarding a successor state that has become a sovereign state over a territory (and populace) that was previously under the sovereignty of another state. The theory has its roots in 19th- ...

. Many of the border agreements and treaties drawn up between these states were adopted by subsequent treaties and remain in force today.List of treaties provided in the footnotes of

Prussia and the Netherlands

Treaties with Prussia largely delimited and provided for the demarcation of the southern portion of the Germany–Netherlands border from

Losser Losser () is a municipality and a town in the eastern Netherlands. It is at the eastern end of the A1 motorway. Population centres Losser The oldest known reference to Losser dates from the tenth century.Stenvert, R. et al. (1998). ''Monumenten ...

south to

Vaals Vaals (; Ripuarian: ) is a town in the extreme southeastern part of the Dutch province of Limburg, which is in the southeastern part of the Netherlands. The municipality covers an area of in the foothills of the Ardennes–Eifelrange a ...

. Among the agreements and treaties were: ; 31 May 1815 : Treaty between Great Britain, Austria, Prussia, and Russia, and Netherlands, signed in Vienna as part of the

Congress of Vienna The Congress of Vienna (, ) of 1814–1815 was a series of international diplomatic meetings to discuss and agree upon a possible new layout of the European political and constitutional order after the downfall of the French Emperor Napoleon B ...

; 26 June and 7 October 1816 : Boundary Treaties between the Kingdom of Prussia and the Kingdom of the Netherlands signed in Aachen and Cleves ; 23 September 1818 : General Record drawn up between the Kingdom of the Netherlands and the Kingdom of Prussia concerning the frontier lines, signed in Emmerich ; 11 December 1868 : Treaty between the Kingdom of the Netherlands and the Kingdom of Prussia concerning the frontier line between the two States at several points between the province of Limburg and the district of Aachen signed in Aachen ; 30 October 1823 : Instruments between the Kingdom of the Netherlands and the Kingdom of Prussia concerning abolition of the right of pasturage in fallow land (jus compascui) signed in Münster ; 11 April 1827 : Further Agreement between the Kingdom of the Netherlands and the Kingdom of Prussia modifying the partial frontier along Gelderland fixed by the Agreement of 30 October 1823 and abolishing the right of pasturage in fallow land ; 23 June 1843 : Final Protocol, with annexes, between the Kingdom of the Netherlands and the Kingdom of Prussia fixing the frontier line between Netterden and Vrasselt; signed in Emmerich ; 12 August 1872 : Agreement between the Kingdom of the Netherlands and the Kingdom of Prussia defining the frontier line between the Netherlands commune of Dinxperlo and the Prussian commune of Suderwick; signed in Dinxperlo ; 22 August 1879 : Agreement between the Kingdom of the Netherlands and the Kingdom of Prussia concerning the frontier line between the two States at the Netherlands commune of Winterswijk and the Prussian commune of Barlo, signed in Winterswijk ; 12 May 1880 : Agreement between the Kingdom of the Netherlands and the Kingdom of Prussia defining the frontier between Eibergen and Ammeloe, signed in Eibergen ; 16 August 1883 : Agreement between the Kingdom of the Netherlands and the Kingdom of Prussia adjusting the frontier between Eibergen and Ammeloe, signed in Bentheim ; 1 and 31 August 1882 : Agreement between the Kingdom of the Netherlands and the Kingdom of Prussia fixing the State frontier at and in the section of the Buiten Aa lying between boundary stones No. 202 and 202a, which has been abandoned and filled in as a result of the construction in Netherlands territory of the Nieuwe Statenzijl (New State Dike-lock) signed in Aurich/Groningen; with Additional Declaration in Aurich/Groningen on 27 April and 29 May 1883.

Hannover and the Netherlands

Treaties with Hannover largely delimited and provided for the demarcation of the northern portion of the Germany–Netherlands border north of

. Among the agreements and treaties were: ; 2 July 1824 : Frontier Treaty between the Kingdom of Hanover and the Kingdom of the Netherlands relating to the course of the frontier signed in Meppen ; 12 September 1825 : Instrument between the Kingdom of the Netherlands and the Kingdom of Hanover defining the frontiers ; 14 and 19 March 1863 : Exchange of declarations between the Netherlands and Hanoverian Governments fixing the frontier line in the Dollard, signed in The Hague and Hannover

Paris Protocol 1949

The Paris Protocol of 22 March 1949, following World War II, the commission made 19 provisional changes in the frontier allowing the Netherlands to annex pieces of German territory totaling 26 square miles and 487 acres. The annexation was based on the Report by the Demarcation Commission of the Netherlands–German Frontier, signed at The Hague on 10 December 1949. The Netherlands annexed pieces of German territory as part of

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

reparations.

Treaties with Germany

; 8 April 1960 : "Treaty between the Kingdom of the Netherlands and the Federal Republic of Germany concerning the course of the common frontier, the boundary waters, real property situated near the frontier, traffic crossing the frontier on land and via inland waters, and other frontier questions", known in short as the "Frontier Treaty", was signed in The Hague. This treaty, which came into effect on 10 June 1963, provided for the return of most of the German territories annexed by the Netherlands under the Paris Protocol of 1949, thus establishing the land boundary of the two countries that exists to this day.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Germany-Netherlands border European Union internal borders Borders of Germany Borders of the Netherlands International borders