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Eupen | |
|---|---|
 City Parish Church of Saint Nicholas  Friedenskirche  Klötzerbahn street  Malmedyerstraße  Haus Grand Ry .jpg) View of Eupen fromMoorenhöhe | |
 Flag  Coat of arms | |
Location of Eupen  | |
  Eupen Location in Belgium Location of Eupen in the province of Liège  | |
| Coordinates:50°38′N06°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 km2 (37 sq mi) |
| Population (2018-01-01)[1] | |
• Total | 19,526 |
| • Density | 200/km2 (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]; formerFrench:Néau[neo]) is the capital ofGerman-speaking Community of Belgium and is a city andmunicipality in theBelgianprovince of Liège, 15 kilometres (9 miles) from theGerman border (Aachen), from theDutch border (Maastricht) and from the "High Fens" nature reserve (Ardennes). The town is also the capital of theEuroregionMeuse-Rhine.
First mentioned in 1213 as belonging to theDuchy of Limburg, possession of Eupen passed toBrabant,Burgundy, theHoly Roman Empire andFrance before being given in 1815 toPrussia, which became part of the newGerman Empire in 1871. In 1919, after theFirst World War, theTreaty of Versailles transferred Eupen and the nearby municipality ofMalmedy fromGermany to Belgium.
German remains the official language in Eupen (also spoken in the form of theEupen dialect), and the city serves as the capital for Belgium'sGerman-speaking Community. The city has a small university, theAutonome 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 theBelgian 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 km2 (40.05 sq mi) which gives apopulation density of 175.90 inhabitants per km2.
Eupen and the St. Nikolaus Chapel were first mentioned in 1213 as part of theDuchy of Limburg. In 1288, after theBattle of Worringen, the Duchy of Limburg was annexed byJohn I of Brabant. Brabant and Limburg were inherited byBurgundy in 1387, and Eupen was burnt to the ground during the war against theGuelders. Burgundy was dissolved in 1477 by theAustrianHabsburgs who then inherited Eupen after gaining both Limburg and Brabant.
HabsburgHoly 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 theDutch 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 receivedcity rights, giving it greater recognition and autonomy. Six years later, textile manufacture was introduced to the city.
In 1713, with theTreaty of Utrecht, Brabant and Limburg were returned to the Austrian Habsburgs. Revolutionary France took the city in 1794, incorporating it into theDépartement Ourthe,préfectureLiège andsous-préfectureMalmedy. Following theCongress of Vienna in 1815, Eupen became part of thePrussianRhine Province. All Prussian possessions became part of theGerman 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 inKettenis run by descendants of Nikolaus. The company became the famousSchunck.
After theFirst World War, the 1919Treaty of Versailles transferred Eupen and the nearby municipality ofMalmedy 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), creatingLake 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 theBattle of the Bulge.
In 1949, the left tower of the St Nikolaus Church burnt down. The city centre was affected byflooding in 1953. Eupen merged with themunicipality of Kettenis in 1976, amidst protest from that town.
In 1980, following a state reform ten years earlier, theGerman-Speaking Community of Belgium was established and Eupen was named as its capital.
Eupen has a cooloceanic climate with some continental influences due to it being elevated in comparison to most of Belgium. Eupen is also wetter and cloudier thanLiège in the valley to the west, as a result oforographic 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.[2]
| Climate data for Eupen (1991–2020 normals) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 3.9 (39.0) | 4.8 (40.6) | 8.6 (47.5) | 13.0 (55.4) | 16.8 (62.2) | 19.8 (67.6) | 21.8 (71.2) | 21.5 (70.7) | 17.7 (63.9) | 13.0 (55.4) | 7.9 (46.2) | 4.5 (40.1) | 12.8 (55.0) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 1.4 (34.5) | 1.8 (35.2) | 4.8 (40.6) | 8.2 (46.8) | 11.9 (53.4) | 14.9 (58.8) | 16.9 (62.4) | 16.6 (61.9) | 13.2 (55.8) | 9.5 (49.1) | 5.2 (41.4) | 2.1 (35.8) | 8.9 (48.0) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | −1.1 (30.0) | −1.2 (29.8) | 0.9 (33.6) | 3.4 (38.1) | 7.1 (44.8) | 10.0 (50.0) | 12.1 (53.8) | 11.7 (53.1) | 8.8 (47.8) | 5.9 (42.6) | 2.5 (36.5) | −0.2 (31.6) | 5.0 (41.0) |
| Averageprecipitation mm (inches) | 114.2 (4.50) | 99.9 (3.93) | 94.4 (3.72) | 69.1 (2.72) | 86.9 (3.42) | 98.2 (3.87) | 103.6 (4.08) | 110.2 (4.34) | 98.6 (3.88) | 91.4 (3.60) | 101.0 (3.98) | 128.2 (5.05) | 1,195.7 (47.09) |
| Average precipitation days(≥ 1 mm) | 15.0 | 13.6 | 13.5 | 11.0 | 12.5 | 12.1 | 13.0 | 12.6 | 11.7 | 12.9 | 14.5 | 16.9 | 159.3 |
| Mean monthlysunshine hours | 53 | 74 | 123 | 173 | 193 | 197 | 205 | 197 | 150 | 107 | 60 | 44 | 1,576 |
| Source:Royal Meteorological Institute[2] | |||||||||||||
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K.A.S. Eupen, founded in 1945, is the city's main association football club and play at the 8,000-capacityKehrwegstadion. 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,[3] returning to the top level, now known asBelgian First Division A, in 2016.
Places adjacent to Eupen | |
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Municipalities in theprovince of Liège,Wallonia | ||
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| Huy |  | |
| Liège | ||
| Verviers | ||
| Waremme | ||
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| International | |
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| National | |
| Geographic | |
