St Nikolaus church in Eupen

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 km² which gives a population density of 175.90 inhabitants per km².

After the end of the First World War, the Treaty of Versailles placed Eupen and the neighboring municipality of Malmedy from 1920 to 1925 under Belgian administration, in the form of the Gouvernement Eupen-Malmedy under General Herman Baltia. The region was eventually subject to a plebiscite to determine whether the region would be permanently separated from Germany and annexed to Belgium. However, the vote was not secret, since the ballots required the name and postal address of each voter. Fearing expulsion if they voted for Germany, the populations of Eupen and Malmedy voted to join Belgium.

Eupen is the seat of the Council of the German speaking community in Belgium and the official language in Eupen is German. There is also a small University College in Eupen, the Autonome Hochschule in der deutschsprachigen Gemeinschaft, offering bachelor degrees in Education and Nursing.

Historical sketch

Map of Belgium in 1843: Eupen and the East Cantons were then German.

• 1213 First documentary mention of Eupen and the St. Nikolaus Chapel in the Duchy of Limburg.
• 1288 Following the Battle of Worringen the Duchy of Limburg is annexed by John I. of Brabant.
• 1387 Brabant and Limburg fall to the house of Burgundy. Eupen is burned to the ground during the war against Guelders.
• 1477 Brabant and Limburg (with Eupen) become an (Austrian) Habsburg possession.
• 1544 Emperor Charles V. grants Eupen the privilege to conduct two markets per year.
• 1555 Brabant and Limburg (with Eupen) become a Spanish-Habsburg possession.
• 1565 First mention of Protestantism in Eupen.
• 1582 Eupen is burned down by Dutch troops.
• 1635 The plague devastates the town's population.
• 1648 Eupen obtains its own court of law.
• 1674 Eupen obtains city rights.
• 1680 Introduction of textile manufacture.
• 1713 With the Treaty of Utrecht Brabant and Limburg (with Eupen) revert back to the Austrian Habsburgs.
• 1794 Eupen is annexed by Revolutionary France and becomes part of the département Ourthe, préfecture Liège, sous-préfecture Malmedy.
• 1815 Following the Congress of Vienna, Eupen becomes part of Prussia's Rhine Province.
• 1919 Treaty of Versailles transfers Eupen to Belgium.

External links

• Official Homepage
• Tourist Info

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