
The Belgium–Netherlands border separates
Belgium
Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to ...
and the
Netherlands
)
, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
and is long.
Belgium and the Netherlands 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 ...
. This means there are no permanent border controls at this border.
On the Belgian side, the border is shared by four Flemish provinces (out of the five in the
Flemish Region
The Flemish Region ( nl, Vlaams Gewest, ),; german: Flämische Region usually simply referred to as Flanders ( nl, link=no, Vlaanderen ) ; german: link=no, Flandern is one of the three regions of Belgium—alongside the Walloon Region and ...
). From west to east:
West Flanders
)
, settlement_type = Province of Belgium
, image_flag = Flag of West Flanders.svg
, flag_size =
, image_shield = Wapen van West-Vlaanderen.svg
, shield_size =
, image_map ...
,
East Flanders
, native_name_lang =
, settlement_type = Province of Belgium
, image_flag = Flag of Oost-Vlaanderen.svg
, flag_size =
, image_shield = Wapen van O ...
,
Antwerp and
Limburg (Belgium)
Limburg ( nl, Limburg, ; li, Limburg or ''Wes-Limburg'' ; french: Limbourg, ) is a province in Belgium. It is the easternmost of the five Dutch language, Dutch-speaking provinces that together form the Flemish Region, Region of Flanders, one of ...
. A small part is shared by the Walloon province of
Liège, which also includes the German-speaking
East Cantons. At the Dutch side, the border is shared by three provinces:
Zeeland
, nl, Ik worstel en kom boven("I struggle and emerge")
, anthem = "Zeeuws volkslied"("Zeelandic Anthem")
, image_map = Zeeland in the Netherlands.svg
, map_alt =
, m ...
,
North Brabant
North Brabant ( nl, Noord-Brabant ; Brabantian: ; ), also unofficially called Brabant, is a province in the south of the Netherlands. It borders the provinces of South Holland and Gelderland to the north, Limburg to the east, Zeeland to th ...
and
Limburg.
Between Belgian and Dutch Limburg, the border is mostly formed by 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 ...
(Maas) river. The other parts of the border is mostly on land. The city of
Baarle-Hertog
(; french: Baerle-Duc, ) is a Flemish municipality of Belgium, much of which consists of a number of small Belgian enclaves fully surrounded by the Netherlands.
Parts of are surrounded by the Dutch province of North Brabant, but it is part of ...
forms a Belgian
exclave
An enclave is a territory (or a small territory apart of a larger one) that is entirely surrounded by the territory of one other state or entity. Enclaves may also exist within territorial waters. ''Enclave'' is sometimes used improperly to deno ...
in the Netherlands. The border is complicated there, with Dutch exclaves inside it.
The eastern end point is the
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 ...
(together with Germany) at
Vaalserberg.
History

Boundary treaties of 1842 and 1843
The border between Belgium and the Netherlands came into existence with the secession of the southern provinces of the Netherlands that became Belgium. Although the secession took place in 1830 (
Belgian Revolution
The Belgian Revolution (, ) was the conflict which led to the secession of the southern provinces (mainly the former Southern Netherlands) from the United Kingdom of the Netherlands and the establishment of an independent Kingdom of Belgium.
...
and was recognised by the Netherlands in 1839 with the
Treaty of London The Treaty of London or London Convention or similar may refer to:
*Treaty of London (1358), established a truce between England and France following the Battle of Poitiers
*Treaty of London (1359), which ceded western France to England
*Treaty of ...
, the border between the two countries was only delimited by the Boundary Treaty signed in the Hague on 5 November 1842, and the
Convention of Maastricht of 8 August 1843. The Hague Treaty delimited the border in general terms while the Maastricht Convention delineated the boundary with detailed descriptions and maps on a 1:10,000 or, where necessary, 1:2,500 scale. A total of 365 border posts were erected to indicate the border.
While the two treaties resulted in the finalisation and demarcation of the main border between the two countries, it left the complicated territorial situation in
Baarle unresolved. The current Belgian enclaves as well as Dutch counter-enclaves which has resulted in what has been called the world's most complicated international boundary, is a continuation of land ownership from the feudal age. Several subsequent negotiations failed to resolve the territorial issues here.
Wire of Death
During
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...
, an
electric fence
An electric fence is a barrier that uses electric shocks to deter people or animals from crossing a boundary. The voltage of the shock may have effects ranging from discomfort to death. Most electric fences are used for agricultural fencing ...
was installed along the border by the
German Army, called the
Wire of Death
The Wire of Death ( nl, Dodendraad, german: Todesdraht, french: Fil De La Mort) was a lethal electric fence created by the German military to control the Dutch–Belgian frontier after the occupation of Belgium during the First World War.
Term ...
.
Border changes
At least two border changes have occurred in recent history with regard to the Belgium–Netherlands border.
Terneuzen
A realignment of the border took place near
Terneuzen
Terneuzen () is a city and municipality in the southwestern Netherlands, in the province of Zeeland, in the middle of Zeelandic Flanders. With almost 55,000 inhabitants, it is the most populous municipality of Zeeland.
History
First mentione ...
in 1999.
Meuse River

On 1 January 2018, a border realignment together with a corresponding territorial swap between Belgium and the Netherlands took place along 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 ...
River near
Eijsden
Eijsden (; li, Èèsjde ) is a village situated in the very south of the European country the Netherlands. It is located in the southwestern part of the province of Limburg.
Until 1 January 2011, Eijsden was the main village in a municipalit ...
in
Limburg Province. The realignment straightened and simplified the border by making it run along the current Meuse River alignment.
Previously, the border curved between the left and right bank of the river as it followed its old course prior to dredging and straightening between 1960 and 1980. These curves resulted in several pieces of territory being cut off from the main part of the country by the river. This posed some legal complications including difficulties in policing and law enforcement as this would require access by enforcement personnel via a foreign country. These territories became known for drug trafficking and prostitution. The complications were brought to focus when a headless torso was found in one of these territories which belonged to Belgium in 2014. To reach that piece of territory to conduct investigations, Belgian police had to travel by boat and faced various difficulties including not having a place to dock their boats.
Hailed as an example of good diplomacy and successful negotiated solutions to border problems, the treaty for the territorial swap and border realignment was signed in 2016.
The territorial swap saw Belgium giving a total of 40.45 acres of land to the Netherlands comprising two uninhabited riverine peninsulas, previously cut off from "mainland" Belgium by Dutch territory, known as Presqu’île de L’llal and Presqu’île d’Eijsden. In return, the Netherlands gave Presqu’île Petit-Gravier which was 7.63 acres in size, to Belgium.
See also
*
Belgium–Netherlands relations
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Belgium-Netherlands border
European Union internal borders
Borders of Belgium
Borders of the Netherlands
International borders