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Eupen
Municipality
City Parish Church of Saint NicholasFriedenskircheKlötzerbahn streetMalmedyerstraßeHaus Grand RyView of Eupen from Moorenhöhe
FlagCoat of arms
Location of Eupen
EupenLocation in Belgium Location of Eupen in the province of Liège
Coordinates: 50°38′N 06°02′E / 50.633°N 6.033°E / 50.633; 6.033
Country	Belgium
Community	German-speaking Community of Belgium
Region	Wallonia
Province	Liège
Arrondissement	Verviers
Government
• Mayor	Claudia Niessen (Ecolo)
• Governing party/ies	Ecolo, PFF, SPplus!
Area
• Total	96 km (37 sq mi)
Population
• Total	19,526
• Density	200/km (530/sq mi)
Postal codes	4700, 4701
NIS code	63023
Area codes	087
Website	www.eupen.be

Eupen (German: [ˈɔʏpn̩] , French: [øpɛn] , Dutch: [ˈøːpə(n)] ; Ripuarian: Ööpe [ˈøːpə]; Walloon: Neyåw [nɛjɑːw]; former French: Néau [neo]) is the capital of German-speaking Community of Belgium and is a city and municipality in the Belgian province of Liège, 15 kilometres (9 miles) from the German border (Aachen), from the Dutch border (Maastricht) and from the "High Fens" nature reserve (Ardennes). The town is also the capital of the Euroregion Meuse-Rhine.

First mentioned in 1213 as belonging to the Duchy of Limburg, possession of Eupen passed to Brabant, Burgundy, the Holy Roman Empire and France before being given in 1815 to Prussia, which became part of the new German Empire in 1871. In 1919, after the First World War, the Treaty of Versailles transferred Eupen and the nearby municipality of Malmedy from Germany to Belgium.

German remains the official language in Eupen (also spoken in the form of the Eupen dialect), and the city serves as the capital for Belgium's German-speaking Community. The city has a small university, the Autonome Hochschule Ostbelgien [de; nl], offering bachelor's degrees in Education and Nursing. In 2010, Eupen's association football team, K.A.S. Eupen, became the first club from the German-speaking Community to play in the Belgian Pro League.

On 1 January 2006, Eupen had a total population of 18,248 (8,892 males and 9,356 females). The total area is 103.74 km (40.05 sq mi) which gives a population density of 175.90 inhabitants per km.

History

Early history

Eupen and the St. Nikolaus Chapel were first mentioned in 1213 as part of the Duchy of Limburg. In 1288, after the Battle of Worringen, the Duchy of Limburg was annexed by John I of Brabant. Brabant and Limburg were inherited by Burgundy in 1387, and Eupen was burnt to the ground during the war against the Guelders. Burgundy was dissolved in 1477 by the Austrian Habsburgs who then inherited Eupen after gaining both Limburg and Brabant.

Habsburgs and Germans

Habsburg Holy Roman Emperor Charles V granted Eupen the privilege to conduct two markets per year in 1544. In 1555, both Brabant and Limburg were passed to the Spanish branch of the Habsburgs. Ten years later, Protestantism was mentioned for the first time in the town. In 1582, during the Dutch Revolt against the Spanish Habsburgs, rebels burnt Eupen but did not take control of it. Bubonic plague reached Eupen in 1635, with devastating consequences. Eupen obtained its own court of law in 1648, and in 1674 received city rights, giving it greater recognition and autonomy. Six years later, textile manufacture was introduced to the city.

In 1713, with the Treaty of Utrecht, Brabant and Limburg were returned to the Austrian Habsburgs. Revolutionary France took the city in 1794, incorporating it into the Département Ourthe, préfecture Liège and sous-préfecture Malmedy. Following the Congress of Vienna in 1815, Eupen became part of the Prussian Rhine Province. All Prussian possessions became part of the German Empire in 1871, while Eupen itself enjoyed its popularity as a spa town.

Records show that a weaver named 'Schunck' was established as early as 1776. His eldest son, Nikolaus Severin Schunck (1799–1865), had six sons, of whom the third oldest, Arnold, would later found the firm in Heerlen. The youngest son, Joseph, remained at the weaving mill and there is still a weaving mill in Kettenis run by descendants of Nikolaus. The company became the famous Schunck.

20th century

After the First World War, the 1919 Treaty of Versailles transferred Eupen and the nearby municipality of Malmedy from Germany to Belgium. The effect led to the formation of National Socialist groups in Eupen. From 1938 the Vesdre Dam was constructed (completed in 1950), creating Lake Eupen. In 1940, Nazi Germany invaded Belgium; in an attempt to reverse Versailles, Eupen and Malmedy were annexed to Germany. In September 1944, American forces reached Eupen which became a centre of fierce fighting in the Battle of the Bulge.

In 1949, the left tower of the St Nikolaus Church burnt down. The city centre was affected by flooding in 1953. Eupen merged with the municipality of Kettenis in 1976, amidst protest from that town.

In 1980, following a state reform ten years earlier, the German-Speaking Community of Belgium was established and Eupen was named as its capital.

Climate

Eupen has a cool oceanic climate with some continental influences due to it being elevated in comparison to most of Belgium. Eupen is also wetter and cloudier than Liège in the valley to the west, as a result of orographic lift due to the elevation change. As a result of this along with frequent winter frosts, Eupen gets a significant snowfall amount by Belgian standards. It also gets 16 ice days on average each year, as in the day staying below 0 °C (32 °F), along with 71 frost days.

Culture

• Rhenish Carnival occurring around Rosenmontag.
• Municipal Museum, Gospertstrasse
• IKOB: Museum of Contemporary Art
• Permanent exhibition of paintings at the Christian Silvain Foundation
• BRF: Belgischer Rundfunk, is the public-service broadcasting organisation serving the German-speaking Community of Belgium.

Sport

K.A.S. Eupen, founded in 1945, is the city's main association football club and play at the 8,000-capacity Kehrwegstadion. In 2010, after winning a play-off, the side became the first club from the German-speaking Community to reach the country's top flight, then known as the Belgian Pro League. They were relegated after one season, returning to the top level, now known as Belgian First Division A, in 2016.

Notable people

See also

• List of protected heritage sites in Eupen
• Belgian UFO wave
• Oehl

References

1. "Wettelijke Bevolking per gemeente op 1 januari 2018". Statbel. Retrieved 9 March 2019.
2. ^ "Klimaatstatistieken van de Belgische gemeenten" (PDF) (in Dutch). Royal Meteorological Institute. Retrieved 17 August 2023.
3. League table snapshot for Jupiler Pro League season 2010–11 as of Jun 01, 2011 Archived 12 October 2013 at the Wayback Machine

External links

• Official Homepage
• Tourist Info
• Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Eupen" . Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.

v t e Places adjacent to Eupen
Welkenraedt Lontzen Raeren Baelen Eupen Roetgen (DE-NW) Simmerath (DE-NW) Waimes Monschau (DE-NW)

v t e Municipalities in the province of Liège, Wallonia
Huy	Amay Anthisnes Burdinne Clavier Engis Ferrières Hamoir Héron Huy Marchin Modave Nandrin Ouffet Tinlot Verlaine Villers-le-Bouillet Wanze
Liège	Ans Awans Aywaille Bassenge Beyne-Heusay Blegny Chaudfontaine Comblain-au-Pont Dalhem Esneux Flémalle Fléron Grâce-Hollogne Herstal Juprelle Liège Neupré Oupeye Saint-Nicolas Seraing Soumagne Sprimont Trooz Visé
Verviers	Amel Aubel Baelen Büllingen Burg-Reuland Bütgenbach Dison Eupen Herve Jalhay Kelmis Lierneux Limbourg Lontzen Malmedy Olne Pepinster Plombières Raeren Sankt Vith Spa Stavelot Stoumont Theux Thimister-Clermont Trois-Ponts Verviers Waimes Welkenraedt
Waremme	Berloz Braives Crisnée Donceel Faimes Fexhe-le-Haut-Clocher Geer Hannut Lincent Oreye Remicourt Saint-Georges-sur-Meuse Waremme Wasseiges
Bold indicates cities Italic indicates municipalities with language facilities

• Eupen
• Cities in Wallonia