Eijsden (; ) is a village situated in the very south of the

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

an country the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

. It is located in the southwestern part of the

province A province is an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire, Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

of Limburg. Until 1 January 2011, Eijsden was the main village in a municipality with the same name. On that date this municipality merged with the neighbouring one of Margraten, resulting in nowadays Eijsden-Margraten municipality, in which Eijsden again is the biggest place. This village is one of the most southerly places in the Netherlands, for in its south it is extending up to the most southerly part of the border between the Netherlands and

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

. The

Meuse river The Meuse or Maas is a major European river, rising in France and flowing through Belgium and the Netherlands before draining into the North Sea from the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta. It has a total length of . History From 1301, the upp ...

, coming from

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

and Belgium, here enters its third and final flowing country, the Netherlands. From here on its name in Dutch is ''Maas''. Running northward to Eijsden's west it locally forms the westerly frontier of the last mentioned country with Belgium. Its Belgian border across the Meuse is Lanaye, a village of

Liège Province Liège ( ; ; ; ; ) is the easternmost province of the Wallonia region of Belgium. Liège Province is the only Belgian province that has borders with three countries. It borders (clockwise from the north) the Dutch province of Limburg, the ...

Wallonia Wallonia ( ; ; or ), officially the Walloon Region ( ; ), is one of the three communities, regions and language areas of Belgium, regions of Belgium—along with Flemish Region, Flanders and Brussels. Covering the southern portion of the c ...

, whereas its border to the south is the Voerstreek exclave of Limburg province in

Flanders Flanders ( or ; ) is the Dutch language, Dutch-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, la ...

. A smaller stream, the

Voer The Voer (Dutch, ; ) is a small river in Belgium and the Netherlands. It is a right-bank tributary to the river Meuse. It has three (creek-) tributaries of its own: the ''Veurs'', the ''Noor (Meuse), Noor'' and the ''Beek''. The source of the Voer ...

, coming from Belgium, drains into the Meuse river in this place.

History

Eijsden is one of the older places in the country. Its name is supposed to be derived of the Germanic word for aspen forest. Excavations have revealed a

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

settlement. In the Middle Ages, this settlement developed to a village. After the (feudal) Middle Ages, in the seventeenth century Eijsden gained in economic strength because of its position near the Dutch-Belgian frontier on the Meuse river. Its function as a trading and shipping centre attracted settlement of well-to-do merchants from

Holland Holland is a geographical regionG. Geerts & H. Heestermans, 1981, ''Groot Woordenboek der Nederlandse Taal. Deel I'', Van Dale Lexicografie, Utrecht, p 1105 and former provinces of the Netherlands, province on the western coast of the Netherland ...

. This period of prosperity ended in the Napoleonic era when, for a time, the area ceased to be a frontier.

Former municipality

The former Eijsden municipality was composed of several population centres, of which the one named Eijsden was the largest, with 7000 inhabitants. The other population centres (now all part of "Eijsden-Margraten") were: * Breust * Hoog- en Laag Caestert * Gronsveld * Mariadorp * Mesch * Oost-Maarland * Rijckholt *

Constituting quarters

Nowadays the administrative population centre of Eijsden in the municipality of Eijsden-Margraten is formed by several neighbourhoods of which most are more or less separately situated and have their own history: * Breust, the most northern part of the place, is a former municipality of its own, now forming one quarter with Eijsden itself and including several newbuilt neighbourhoods. * Eijsden itself. * Mariadorp, situated to the east of Eijsden itself. * Laag-Caestert, together with Hoog-Caestert and Withuis forming the southern part of the place. * Hoog-Caestert, situated to the east of Laag-Caestert. * Withuis, situated to the east of Hoog-Caestert. In fact this is only the northerly part of the relevant township; the other part is situated across the frontier in

Economy

Apart from trading and shipping, the Eijsden economy traditionally has had an agricultural character, with a focus on fruit growing. At one time, in Eijsden the Netherlands' largest local fruit tree area was situated. In the second half of the 20th century, many orchards were replaced by housing, dairy farming and industry. In 1870, a zinc white factory brought industrial activity to the municipality, along with jobs and air pollution. The number of jobs originally was about 700; by now some 300 are left. As a result of the relatively vast housing projects in the northern part, Eijsden nowadays is largely residential.

Sights

*The seventeenth century Renaissance style castle of Eijsden (according to the relevant Unesco-list) is one of the top hundred buildings in the country. * A stylish former monastery, nowadays housing Museum het Ursulinenconvent - International Museum for Family History. * The historical "Vroenhof" central square. * Four monumental water mills on the Voer river. * Two centuries old church buildings.

Music

In the municipality of Eijsden two military bands are based, 'the blue' and 'the red', of which the former in competition contests competes in the second highest international division and the latter in the highest. In 2009 and 2013, the 'red', the Koninklijke Harmonie Sainte Cécile, was the winner in the World Concert Division of the four-yearly World Music Contest, a competition for professional, amateur and military bands, held in

Kerkrade Kerkrade (; Kerkrade dialect, Ripuarian: ; ; or ''Kirchrath'') is a town and a Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the southeast of Limburg (Netherlands), Limburg, the southernmost province of the Netherlands. It forms part of the P ...

. The 'blue', the "Koninklijke Oude Harmonie Sainte Cécile", finished second in the First Concert Division.Results WMC 2013

Famous natives of Eijsden

* Jo Bonfrère, footballer * Eugène Dubois, anatomist/anthropologist * Jo Maas, former cyclist, stage winner and seventh in end-classification of 1978

Tour de France The Tour de France () is an annual men's multiple-stage cycle sport, bicycle race held primarily in France. It is the oldest and most prestigious of the three Grand Tour (cycling), Grand Tours, which include the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a ...

* Jacques Vriends, Dutch writer of children's books

Gallery

File:Eijsden-Grenspaal 47 (NL).JPG,

Meuse The Meuse or Maas is a major European river, rising in France and flowing through Belgium and the Netherlands before draining into the North Sea from the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta. It has a total length of . History From 1301, the upper ...

river enters the

at Eijsden File:Eijsden-011.jpg, Eijsden's 17th-century castle at Laag-Caestert File:Eijsden-Diepstraat.JPG, View of a historical street, the Diepstraat, that (downwards) leads to the river bank

References

External links

*
Historical pictures of Eijsden on old postcards
{{Authority control Belgium–Netherlands border crossings Municipalities of the Netherlands disestablished in 2011 Former municipalities of Limburg (Netherlands) Populated places in Limburg (Netherlands) Eijsden-Margraten