Vaalserberg

Seen look at the Vaalserberg from Aachen

The Vaalserberg is 322.7 m with the highest natural elevation of the European part of the Netherlands.

Geography

Over the mountain pass the state borders between Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands; the triangle (Dutch: Drielandenpunt ) lies exactly on the summit. The mountain is thus partly in North Rhine -Westphalia, in the Dutch province of Limburg and Wallonia, where the German -speaking Community of Belgium has a share.

The Vaalserberg is located about five kilometers southwest of Aachen city center and two kilometers south of Aachen- Vaalserquartier and as far south of Vaals. On the Belgian side are Calamine and Gemmenich.

History

About the ridge of the mountain Vaalser was already in the late Middle Ages, from south to north the fortified with the Aachen Landgraben limit of the former Aachen Empire.

From 1839 to 1919, the Vaalserberg with the disputed territory Neutral Moresnet as the fourth country was even a quadrangle ( Vierlandenpunt ) what the name of the access road on the Dutch side - Viergrenzenweg - still remembers.

About 120 m south of the border triangle runs the Gemmenicher tunnel ( in Belgium " Botzelaer tunnel "), and an approximately 870 m long, 1872 erected double-track tunnel of rail freight line from Aachen ( Germany ) to Liege ( Belgium), in northeast-southwest direction through the Vaalserberg.

In 1928, the peculiar boundary monument was inaugurated on the German- Dutch-Belgian border. The boundary monument consists of three stones, which formerly stood on the border. The new demarcation in 1926, the three stones were replaced by a. The municipality of Vaals thereupon sent away from the border of the ancient stones as a historical landmark back on.

The mountain has its status as the highest mountain in the Netherlands lost on October 10, 2010, when the dissolution of the Netherlands Antilles, the Caribbean island of Saba was incorporated with the 877 m high volcano Mount Scenery as " special municipality " in the Netherlands.

Aachen Adlerstein

Gemmenichertunnel

Grenzdenkmal (1928 )

Tourism triangle

The border triangle combination and the local tourist facilities have turned to a well-known tourist attraction in the Netherlands, the Vaalserberg.

On the hill is approximately 34 m high Baldwin Tower (Tour Baudouin and Koning Boudewijntoren ), which was named after the Belgian King Baudouin. It is located on the Belgian side, 6 m apart from the German and 20 meters away from the Dutch border. From its observation deck, which is accessible by both lift and walk, a panorama of the surrounding area including

• Belgium, on Gemmenich the High Fens, Herve and the former Neutral Moresnet in La Calamine and Plombières
• Germany between the Eifel and Aachen,
• The Netherlands between Heerlen and Maastricht.

The counterpart on the Dutch side is the newly built Wilhelmina tower with staircase. Wooden stairs and lift to the top; the peak has a height of 353.5 m above sea level. From the " Skywalk " one has a good view, even through the frosted glass directly under your feet.

The tourist infrastructure includes several restaurants, snack bars, bike and hiking trails, amusement park, children's playground, and the so -called " triangle Maze ", a hedge maze with extra doors and water fountains; The aim is to find the center of what the visitor needs on average about 45 minutes.

Highest point

Wilhelmina Tower

Baldwin Tower