Vaals (; ) is a town in the extreme southeastern part of the Dutch province of

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 ...

, itself in the southeast of the Netherlands. The municipality covers an area of .It is situated in the western foothills of the

Ardennes The Ardennes ( ; ; ; ; ), also known as the Ardennes Forest or Forest of Ardennes, is a region of extensive forests, rough terrain, rolling hills and ridges primarily in Belgium and Luxembourg, extending into Germany and France. Geological ...

–

Eifel The Eifel (; , ) is a low mountain range in western Germany, eastern Belgium and northern Luxembourg. It occupies parts of southwestern North Rhine-Westphalia, northwestern Rhineland-Palatinate and the southern area of the German-speaking Com ...

range and lies some east 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 ...

and west of the German city of

Aachen Aachen is the List of cities in North Rhine-Westphalia by population, 13th-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, 27th-largest city of Germany, with around 261,000 inhabitants. Aachen is locat ...

. Vaals directly adjoins both Belgium and Germany. As such three national borders meet at a point known as the Drielandenpunt and very near the highest point in the Netherlands, the

Vaalserberg The Vaalserberg (; ) is a hill with a height of above Amsterdam Ordnance Datum, NAP and is the highest point in the Netherlands#Geography, European part of the Netherlands. The Vaalserberg is located in the province of Limburg (Netherlands), ...

. The Vaalserberg was previously known as " Hubertusberg", so named for the eighth century St.Hubertus.

History

Vaals' name is derived from Latin, one of very few such geographical names in the Netherlands. The south of the Dutch province of Limburg, which included 'Vallis', was previously part of the Roman Empire, the local region having been centred on the present day German city of Cologne (Colonia Claudia Ara Agrippinensium). Vaals is first mentioned in historical documents in the year 1041. The village was referred to as either Vals or Vallis, meaning valley. In that time Holy Roman Emperor Henry III donated land to the Abbey of St. Adalbert. To distinguish this from any land closer to the nearby city of

, it is specifically referred to as being "in the valley" – in Vallis. Vaals' geographical location in Europe meant that it eventually came to lie on the boundary between traditional Catholic and emerging Protestant powers. Commencing in the 16th century Catholic Spain sought to suppress a Protestant uprising in its Dutch territories. During the resulting war a force loyal to Protestant William of Orange in 1568 passed through Vaals and looted the Catholic St. Paul's Church. In 1661 Vaals became a part of the Republic of the United Netherlands. As such it attracted entrepreneurs who developed it into a prosperous manufacturing hub. One prominent industrial family of the era were the

Von Clermont The term () is used in German surnames either as a nobiliary particle indicating a noble patrilineality, or as a simple preposition used by commoners that means or . Nobility directories like the often abbreviate the noble term to ''v.'' I ...

s, who moved from then Prussian

to Vaals in 1761. They established a prosperous linen factory which went on to attract custom from as far afield as

Prussia Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...

, Austria, Poland and even Russia. In 1717 Tsar

Peter the Great Peter I (, ; – ), better known as Peter the Great, was the Sovereign, Tsar and Grand Prince of all Russia, Tsar of all Russia from 1682 and the first Emperor of Russia, Emperor of all Russia from 1721 until his death in 1725. He reigned j ...

had supposedly visited the Von Clermonts. In 1803,

Napoleon Bonaparte Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

, Emperor of France, and his wife

Josephine de Beauharnais Josephine may refer to: People *Josephine (given name), a given name (including a list of people with the name) * Josephine (singer), a Greek pop singer Places * Josephine, Texas, United States *Josephine County, Oregon, a county located in the ...

visited Vaals and stayed in the family's recently constructed Bloemendal Castle. The Conference of Vienna in 1815 determined that the city of

was to be assigned to

while Vaals went to the

Kingdom of the Netherlands The Kingdom of the Netherlands (, ;, , ), commonly known simply as the Netherlands, is a sovereign state consisting of a collection of constituent territories united under the monarch of the Netherlands, who functions as head of state. The re ...

. Belgium declared its independence from the Netherlands in 1830, the new nation including Vaals within its boundaries. In 1839 Vaals was reassigned by the Treaty of London to the Netherlands. This treaty also created the small

Neutral Territory of Moresnet Neutral Moresnet (, , , ) was a small Belgian–Prussian condominium in western Europe that existed from 1816 to 1921 and was administered jointly by the United Kingdom of the Netherlands (Belgium after its independence in 1830) and the Kingdo ...

, the new borders of which met up with those of Belgium, the Netherlands and Prussia at a point just outside Vaals. While Moresnet had a flag (Black-White-Blue), it had no head of state or government. It was created by neighbouring European powers wanting to regulate the mining of deposits of tin, then a notably scarce metal, that existed within its boundaries. The ''Viergrenzenweg'' ("Four-Borders-Road") still exists in Vaals, a reminder of the era lasting from 1839 to 1919, after which Moresnet was absorbed into Belgium. Expanding industrialization and protectionist policies outside the Netherlands during the 19th century directly contributed to the notable decline of manufacturing in Vaals after 1840. Thereafter a regional resort town gradually emerged, catering mainly to the neighbouring Germans. Vaals came to be referred to as 'Vaalser Paradies', even acquiring several casinos during the period. To further cross border economic activity a tram line was constructed joining Aachen to Vaals by 1922 and extending across southern Limburg to Maastricht in 1924. Vierlandenpunt1

Despite Dutch neutrality being declared long before World War II, Vaals was occupied by German forces on May 10th 1940, the first day of hostilities in western Europe. German occupation lasted for over four years, Vaals being liberated by advancing Allied forces in September 1944. Post-war recovery was initially slow and was responsible for a viable smuggling trade. The 'Owls of Vaals', as the cross border night-time smugglers came to be known, prospered, dealing in such commodities as coffee, chocolate and tobacco. To this day Vaals is a tourist site, gathering its income mostly from German, Belgian and Dutch tourists as well as being a retail centre, especially for the Germans. As such the town of Vaals can be seen as the Dutch

suburb A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area. They are oftentimes where most of a metropolitan areas jobs are located with some being predominantly residential. They can either be denser or less densely populated ...

of the German city of

. Approximately a quarter of the inhabitants are German. Vaals is also well integrated into Aachen's public transport system. The German

dialect A dialect is a Variety (linguistics), variety of language spoken by a particular group of people. This may include dominant and standard language, standardized varieties as well as Vernacular language, vernacular, unwritten, or non-standardize ...

spoken in Vaals is a form of Middle German and only distantly related to Standard Dutch. Together with a number of other dialects spoken in western Germany it is a part of the

Ripuarian language Ripuarian ( ) or Ripuarian Franconian is a German dialect group, part of the West Central German language group. Together with the Moselle Franconian which includes the Luxembourgish language, Ripuarian belongs to the larger Central Franconian ...

family.

Population

The municipality of Vaals comprises four villages and nine

township A township is a form of human settlement or administrative subdivision. Its exact definition varies among countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, this tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, Canad ...

s. Vaals' vicinity to Germany has resulted in a present day population that is approximately one quarter German in origin.

Villages

Number of inhabitants on 1/1/2005:

Hamlets

As well as the official villages and towns, the Vaals municipality also includes a number of townships:

Politics

Economy

Tourism is regarded as the main source of income for Vaals. The neighbouring coal and textile industries were largely lost starting from the 1960s. Most inhabitants commute today to the larger neighbouring cities of

Heerlen Heerlen (; ) is a city and a Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the southeast of the Netherlands. It is the third largest settlement proper in the province of Limburg (Netherlands), Limburg. Measured as municipality, it is the f ...

Kerkrade Kerkrade (; Kerkrade dialect, Ripuarian: ; ; or ''Kirchrath'') is a town and a Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the southeast of Limburg (Netherlands), Limburg, the southernmost province of the Netherlands. It forms part of the P ...

and

as well as to

and surroundings. A sixth of the population is classified as poor in the current national poverty monitor of the Netherlands.

Notable people

John Bröcheler John Bröcheler (born 21 February 1945) is a Dutch operatic baritone who began as a concert singer, specialising in contemporary music such as the world premiere of Mauricio Kagel's ''Mare Nostrum''. His appearance at the Dutch National Opera in ...

(born 1945 in Vaals) a bass baritone opera singer * Eddy Verheijen (born 1946 in Vaals) a retired speed skater, competed at the

1972 Winter Olympics The 1972 Winter Olympics, officially the and commonly known as Sapporo 1972 (), were a winter multi-sport event held from February 3 to 13, 1972, in Sapporo, Hokkaido Prefecture, Japan. It was the first Winter Olympic Games to take place outside ...

Ronald Waterreus Ronald Katarina Martinus Waterreus (; born 25 August 1970) is a Dutch former footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He notably played for PSV Eindhoven and Rangers, before ending his career at New York Red Bulls in the Major League Soccer. Club ...

(born 1970 in Lemiers) a Dutch former football goalkeeper with 423 club caps