Vaals

Coordinates: 50°46′N 6°1′E / 50.767°N 6.017°E / 50.767; 6.017
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Vaals
Vols
View of Vaals
View of Vaals
Flag of Vaals
Coat of arms of Vaals
Highlighted position of Vaals in a municipal map of Limburg
Location in Limburg
Coordinates: 50°46′N 6°1′E / 50.767°N 6.017°E / 50.767; 6.017
CountryNetherlands
ProvinceLimburg
Government
 • BodyMunicipal council
 • MayorReg van Loo (independent)
Area
 • Total23.90 km2 (9.23 sq mi)
 • Land23.89 km2 (9.22 sq mi)
 • Water0.01 km2 (0.004 sq mi)
Elevation200 m (700 ft)
Highest elevation322.7 m (1,058.7 ft)
Population
 (January 2021)[5]
 • Total10,084
 • Density422/km2 (1,090/sq mi)
DemonymVaalzer
Time zoneUTC+1 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+2 (CEST)
Postcode
6290–6295
Area code043
Websitewww.vaals.nl
Dutch topographic map of the municipality of Vaals, June 2015

Vaals (Dutch: [vaːls] ; Ripuarian: Vols [ˈvɔls])[tone?] is a town in the extreme southeastern part of the Dutch province of Limburg, itself in the southeast of the Netherlands.

The municipality covers an area of 23.90 km2 (9.23 sq mi).It is situated in the western foothills of the ArdennesEifelrange and lies some 23 km (14 mi) east of Maastricht and 5 km (3.1 mi) west of the German city of Aachen.

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

History[edit]

View of Vaals

Vaals' actual 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Vaals is first mentioned in historical documents in the year 1041.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 is therein 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 his donation from any land closer to the nearby city of Aachen, then the Holy Roman capital, 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.

Clermont House at Vaals

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 Clermonts, who moved from then Prussian Aachen to Vaals in 1761. They established a prosperous linen factory which went on to attract custom from as far afield as Prussia, Austria, Poland and even Russia. In 1717 Tsar Peter the Great had supposedly visited the Von Clermonts. In 1803, Napoleon Bonaparte, Emperor of France, and his wife Josephine de Beauharnais visited Vaals and stayed in the family's recently constructed Bloemendal Castle.

The Conference of Vienna in 1815 determined that the city of Aachen was to be assigned to Prussia while Vaals went to the Kingdom of the Netherlands. 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, 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.

Four-Border-Point

Despite Dutch neutrality being declared long before World War II, Vaals was occupied by German forces on the first day of hostilities in western Europe - May 10th 1940.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 arising. 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 shopping centre for especially Germans. In fact, the village of Vaals can be interpreted as a Dutch suburb to the German city of Aachen. A quarter of the inhabitants are German and the village is well embedded in the Aachen local transport system. The dialect of Vaals is a part of the Middle German Dialects and is the form of Dutch most deviant from Standard Dutch. Together with the dialect of Cologne, it is a part of the Ripuarian language family. It sounds more German than Dutch, partially explained because German has been the shared cultural language of the municipality for centuries, and in some ways, it still is.

Population[edit]

The municipality of Vaals comprises four villages and nine townships. Vaals' vicinity to Germany has resulted in a present day population that is approximately one quarter German in origin.[citation needed]

Villages[edit]

Number of inhabitants per 1/1/2005:

Dutch name Limburgian name Inhabitants
Vaals Vols 7360
Vijlen Viele 1340
Lemiers Lemieësj 780
Holset Hozelt 160
(Source: CBS)

Hamlets[edit]

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

  • Camerig
  • Cottessen
  • Harles
  • Mamelis
  • Melleschet
  • Raren
  • Rott
  • Wolfhaag

Politics[edit]

Parties Seats 2006 Seats 2010 Seats 2014
Faction Scheffers-Free and Independent (V&O) 2 3 4
CDA 5 3 3
Local! - - 3
PvdA 3 3 2
Affordable and Sustainable Vaals (B&DV) - 2 1
Civil Interests 4 1 -
VVD 1 - -
Pro Vaals - 1 -
Total 15 13 13

No other district in Netherlands has a higher portion of German inhabitants (26%) than does Vaals. In the local elections on 7 March 2006, Georg Götz—a German citizen with the "Burgerbelang" (Civil Interests) party—was elected into the local council, a first in the history of the Netherlands. On 3 March 2010, he repeated his success with his own party "Betaalbaar & Duurzaam Vaals" (B&DV, Affordable & Sustainable Vaals). Babette Lemmer, a fellow German citizen[citation needed], from "Vrij & Onafhankelijk" (V&O, Free & Independent) was also elected into the local council. Since that time, Vaals has been administered by a coalition of PvdA (social democrats), B&DV, and V&O.

Economy[edit]

Tourism is regarded as the main source of income for Vaals. The neighbouring coal industry and textile industry were to a large extent lost starting from the 1960s. Most inhabitants commute today to the larger neighbouring cities of Heerlen, Kerkrade and Maastricht as well as to Aachen and surroundings. A sixth of the population is classified as poor in the current national poverty monitor of the Netherlands.

Notable people[edit]

See also[edit]

Gallery[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Burgemeester & Wethouders" [Mayor & Aldermen] (in Dutch). Gemeente Vaals. Retrieved 1 December 2013.
  2. ^ "Kerncijfers wijken en buurten 2020" [Key figures for neighbourhoods 2020]. StatLine (in Dutch). CBS. 24 July 2020. Retrieved 19 September 2020.
  3. ^ "Postcodetool for 6291AT". Actueel Hoogtebestand Nederland (in Dutch). Het Waterschapshuis. Retrieved 1 December 2013.
  4. ^ "Wat is het Normaal Amsterdams Peil (NAP)?" [What is the Amsterdam Ordnance Datum]. rijksoverheid.nl (in Dutch). Government of the Netherlands. Archived from the original on 3 December 2013. Retrieved 1 December 2013.
  5. ^ "Bevolkingsontwikkeling; regio per maand" [Population growth; regions per month]. CBS Statline (in Dutch). CBS. 1 January 2021. Retrieved 2 January 2022.
  6. ^ Dutch Wiki, John Bröcheler

External links[edit]