Kelmis (; french: La Calamine, ) is a

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the ...

located in the

Belgian Belgian may refer to: * Something of, or related to, Belgium * Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent * Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German *Ancient Belgian language, an extinct languag ...

province of

Liège Liège ( , , ; wa, Lîdje ; nl, Luik ; german: Lüttich ) is a major city and municipality of Wallonia and the capital of the Belgian province of Liège. The city is situated in the valley of the Meuse, in the east of Belgium, not far fro ...

, named for the historical deposits of

calamine Calamine, also known as calamine lotion, is a medication used to treat mild itchiness. This includes from sunburn, insect bites, poison ivy, poison oak, and other mild skin conditions. It may also help dry out skin irritation. It is applied ...

(

zinc Zinc is a chemical element with the symbol Zn and atomic number 30. Zinc is a slightly brittle metal at room temperature and has a shiny-greyish appearance when oxidation is removed. It is the first element in group 12 (IIB) of the periodi ...

ore) nearby. , the population was 10,881; the area is and the

population density Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPopu ...

is . The municipality consists of the following sub-municipalities: Kelmis proper,

Hergenrath Hergenrath () or Hergenraedt ( Standard Dutch: ''Hergenraat''; Limburgish: ''Herjent'') is a village and sub-municipality in Belgium. It is located in the municipality of Kelmis in Liège Province, part of Wallonia. It is part of the German-spe ...

, and

Neu-Moresnet Neu-Moresnet is a village and sub-municipality of Kelmis in the German-speaking community of the province of Liège, Wallonia, Belgium. The village was founded as Prussian-Moresnet ( German: ''Preußisch-Moresnet'') as part of the Lower Rhine Pr ...

. The territory around the

Vieille Montagne Vieille Montagne was a zinc mine in Kelmis (La Calamine), a town in Belgium between Liège and Aachen. The mine's name is French for "old mountain", and this is also reflected in its German name, (earlier, ). The mine was once a bone of contenti ...

mine in Kelmis was Neutral Moresnet, a neutral

condominium A condominium (or condo for short) is an ownership structure whereby a building is divided into several units that are each separately owned, surrounded by common areas that are jointly owned. The term can be applied to the building or complex ...

the Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

and

Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an e ...

(later

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to ...

and

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...

) from 1816 to 1919, with the Mayor of Kelmis nominated by two commissioners from the neighbouring countries. Although there were attempts by locals at making it evolve into a fully independent

microstate A microstate or ministate is a sovereign state having a very small population or very small land area, usually both. However, the meanings of "state" and "very small" are not well-defined in international law.Warrington, E. (1994). "Lilliputs ...

, all of them were thwarted and it remained under double-sovereignty and neutrality until its eventual annexation by Belgium after the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

. There is a war memorial to German soldiers from Kelmis who were killed during the Franco-Prussian War, located in the Aachener Strasse, and one to inhabitants of Kelmis who were killed in the First and

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

s, located in the Kirchplatz (French: ''Place de l'Église''). A small museum in Kelmis, the ''Museum Vieille Montagne'', includes exhibits on Neutral Moresnet. Of the 60 border markers for the territory, more than 50 are still standing. In the nineteenth century a

Low Dietsch Low Dietsch ( nl, Platdiets, li, Platduutsj, french: francique rhéno-mosan or ) refers to a handful of transitional Limburgish– Ripuarian dialects spoken in a number of towns and villages (e.g., Gemmenich, Hombourg, Montzen, Welkenraedt). Th ...

dialect was spoken in Kelmis. Today Kelmis is German-speaking. It has facilities for French speakers and is one of the nine municipalities of the

German‑speaking Community of Belgium The German-speaking Community (german: links=no, Deutschsprachige Gemeinschaft, or DG; french: links=no, Communauté germanophone; nl, links=no, Duitstalige Gemeenschap), since 2017 also known as East Belgium (german: links=no, Ostbelgien), is ...

References

External links

* * * Capitals of former nations Neutral Moresnet {{Liege-geo-stub

See also

References

External links