Selfkant (; nl, Selfkant or ''Zelfkant'' ;
Limburgish
Limburgish ( li, Limburgs or ; nl, Limburgs ; german: Limburgisch ; french: Limbourgeois ), also called Limburgan, Limburgian, or Limburgic, is a West Germanic language spoken in the Dutch and Belgian provinces of Limburg and in the neig ...
: ) is a municipality in the
Heinsberg district, in
North Rhine-Westphalia
North Rhine-Westphalia (german: Nordrhein-Westfalen, ; li, Noordrien-Wesfale ; nds, Noordrhien-Westfalen; ksh, Noodrhing-Wäßßfaale), commonly shortened to NRW (), is a state (''Land'') in Western Germany. With more than 18 million inha ...
, Germany. It is the most westerly municipality in Germany.
Geography
Isenbruch in Selfkant is the
most westerly point in Germany since 1919; before that, the position was held by
Gravelotte
Gravelotte (; german: Gravelotte) is a commune in the Moselle department in Grand Est in north-eastern France, 11 km west of Metz. It is part of the functional area (''aire d'attraction'') of Metz. Its population is 827 (2019).
From 1871 ...
, in
Alsace-Lorraine. Selfkant's border with the Netherlands is long, but the border with the rest of Germany is only long.
History
The most important domain in Selfkant in the Middle Ages was the castle and village of
Millen, the residence of the lords of Millen, which became part of the domain Heinsberg in 1282. In 1499 these were joined by the
duke of Jülich
Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are ranke ...
and Millen became the seat of an ''
Amtmann
__NOTOC__
The ''Amtmann'' or ''Ammann'' (in Switzerland) was an official in German-speaking countries of Europe and in some of the Nordic countries from the time of the Middle Ages whose office was akin to that of a bailiff. He was the most seni ...
''. The places Tüddern, Wehr, Süsterseel and Hillensberg belonged to the ''Amt''
Born and after 1709 to the ''Amt''
Sittard
Sittard (; ) is a city in the Netherlands, situated in the southernmost province of Limburg.
The town is part of the municipality of Sittard-Geleen and has almost 37.500 inhabitants in 2016.
In its east, Sittard borders the German municipa ...
.
From 1794 to 1815 Selfkant was part of the French canton Sittard (department of the
Roer
The Rur or Roer (german: Rur ; Dutch and li, Roer, , ; french: Rour) is a major river that flows through portions of Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands. It is a right (eastern) tributary to the Meuse ( nl, links=no, Maas). About 90 perce ...
). After 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 ...
it became part of the
Prussia
Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an e ...
n Rhine province. The border with the Netherlands which was then fixed continued to exist until shortly after the Second World War.
Tüddern
After the Second World War, on 23 April 1949, the Netherlands
annexed
Annexation (Latin ''ad'', to, and ''nexus'', joining), in international law, is the forcible acquisition of one state's territory by another state, usually following military occupation of the territory. It is generally held to be an illegal act ...
Selfkant as part of war reparations, and its inhabitants were given a Dutch passport with the special indication "to be treated as a Dutchman". The Dutch government appointed a country ''
landdrost {{Use dmy dates, date=December 2020
''Landdrost'' was the title of various officials with local jurisdiction in the Netherlands and a number of former territories in the Dutch Empire. The term is a Dutch compound, with ''land'' meaning "region" an ...
'' to head the governing board of the Tüddern 'office', as the Selfkant was renamed for administrative purposes. The governing board appointed by the Germans was sent home because it was contrary to the Dutch constitution. However, as a transitional measure for ex-German territories, the German governing board retained an advisory role.
At that time much was invested in such things as houses and roads. Parts of the area became
Dutchified, and the
Dutch
Dutch commonly refers to:
* Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands
* Dutch people ()
* Dutch language ()
Dutch may also refer to:
Places
* Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States
* Pennsylvania Dutch Country
People E ...
influence is still present.
In the Dutch period, the N274 road was built to provide a direct link between
Roermond
Roermond (; li, Remunj or ) is a city, municipality, and diocese in the Limburg province of the Netherlands. Roermond is a historically important town on the lower Roer on the east bank of the river Meuse. It received town rights in 1231. Ro ...
and
Heerlen
Heerlen (; li, Heële ) is a city and a municipality in the southeast of the Netherlands. It is the third largest settlement proper in the province of Limburg. Measured as municipality, it is the fourth municipality in the province of Limburg ...
. Even after 1963 the road remained a narrow strip or corridor of Dutch territory with no junctions with German roads, and no passport was needed to use it. On 25 February 2002 the road was returned to Germany and in the course of 2004 connections were made with several roads, among others with the B56 between
Gangelt and Süsterseel.
German municipality
In March 1957 official negotiations started between the Netherlands and
West Germany
West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 ...
concerning the return of the area, and on 1 August 1963 the area was returned to Germany in exchange for a payment of 280 million deutschmarks. From the existing 'office' of Tüddern the old municipalities of Havert, Hillensberg, Höngen, Millen, Süsterseel, Tüddern and Wehr were formed. Two months later, on 21 October 1963, the first municipal council elections under German authority were held.
The seven municipalities, with the municipality of Saeffelen from the Amt
Waldfeucht
Waldfeucht ( li, Vuch ) is a Municipalities of Germany, German municipality in the Heinsberg (district), Heinsberg district, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Federal Republic of Germany. It is situated on the border with the Kingdom of the Netherlands, ...
, were added to the municipality Selfkant on 1 July 1969.
With 233 inhabitants per km² Selfkant is considered a rural municipality. Because of the favourable price of land the municipality is nowadays very much in demand with young families. A lot of Dutch cross the border to build their own houses there. Roughly one quarter to one half of the inhabitants are Dutch. At the mayoral election of 2003 a Dutch inhabitant put himself forward as candidate.
Many residents are also stationed, work, or are family members of employees at the
NATO Air Base in Geilenkirchen. Tüddern alone has over 30 American families with the Gem. Selkant having dozens more. Many Canadians at the NATO base also live in Selfkant. English is quite prominent as a third language to Dutch and German in the whole area.
Gallery
Image:Höngen, kerk in straatzicht foto8 2011-03-16 13.47.JPG, Höngen, chapel (Sankt Lambertuskapelle) in the street
Image:Tüddern, kerk foto6 2011-03-20 09.49.JPG, Tüddern, church
Venn, Tueddern.jpg, Tuedderner Venn
References
External links
{{Authority control
Heinsberg (district)