Rutten (French: ''Russon'') is a village in the

Tongeren Tongeren (; ; ; ) is a city and former municipality located in the Belgian province of Limburg, in the southeastern corner of the Flemish region of Belgium. Tongeren is the oldest town in Belgium, as the only Roman administrative capital wit ...

municipality of the Limburg province in the

Flemish Community The Flemish Community (, ) is one of the three institutional communities of Belgium, established by the Belgian constitution and having legal responsibilities only within the precise geographical boundaries of the Dutch-language area and of the ...

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

. The village is located in the Haspengouw region, and was a separate municipality until its merger into Tongeren in 1977.

History

The village was mentioned as Riuti in 1065. The area had been inhabited since prehistory, and two

tumuli A tumulus (: tumuli) is a mound of Soil, earth and Rock (geology), stones raised over a grave or graves. Tumuli are also known as barrows, burial mounds, mounds, howes, or in Siberia and Central Asia as ''kurgans'', and may be found through ...

and several Roman villas have been discovered. In 1408, the Battle of Othée between the

Prince-Bishop of Liège A prince-bishop is a bishop who is also the civil ruler of some secular principality and sovereignty, as opposed to '' Prince of the Church'' itself, a title associated with cardinals. Since 1951, the sole extant prince-bishop has been the B ...

and the citizens of Liège, took place near the village. After the conquest of

Maastricht Maastricht ( , , ; ; ; ) is a city and a Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the southeastern Netherlands. It is the capital city, capital and largest city of the province of Limburg (Netherlands), Limburg. Maastricht is loca ...

in 1632 by the

Dutch Republic The United Provinces of the Netherlands, commonly referred to in historiography as the Dutch Republic, was a confederation that existed from 1579 until the Batavian Revolution in 1795. It was a predecessor state of the present-day Netherlands ...

, Rutten was one of the '' redemptiedorpen'' (redemptive villages) who remained independent by paying taxes to both the Dutch Republic and the

Duchy of Brabant The Duchy of Brabant, a Imperial State, state of the Holy Roman Empire, was established in 1183. It developed from the Landgraviate of Brabant of 1085–1183, and formed the heart of the historic Low Countries. The Duchy comprised part of the Bu ...

. In 1785, the village officially became part of the Netherlands by the Treaty of Fontainebleau. In 1843, the right bank of the

Meuse The Meuse or Maas 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 total length of . History From 1301, the upper ...

became Belgian Limburg by the

Treaty of Maastricht The Treaty on European Union, commonly known as the Maastricht Treaty, is the foundation treaty of the European Union (EU). Concluded in 1992 between the then-twelve member states of the European Communities, it announced "a new stage in the p ...

, and from then on Rutten was a Belgian village. In 1977, the municipality of Rutten merged into Tongeren.

Sights

The Hamal Castle is located near Rutten, and was home to the lord of the village. The castle was first mentioned in 1214. The current castle dates from the late 18th century. The Holy Cottage (Dutch: Heilig Huisje) is located on a hill near Rutten with a view on the village and the Basilica of Tongeren. It is a chapel dedicated to the Battle of Othée, and dates back to the 15th century. The current chapel dates from the 18th century. Rutten's townscape is protected by the Flemish regional government.

Events

On 1 May the Saint Evermarus Festivities are held. The festivities remember the murder of the pilgrim in 968 by the knight Hacco in Rutten. First there is a procession followed by a re-enactment of the murder in which the audience is supposed to play along.

References

External links

{{Commons category-inline Former municipalities of Limburg (Belgium) Tongeren Populated places in Limburg (Belgium)