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Moresnet or Neutral Moresnet or Altenberg[1] was a tiny European territory of about 3.5 km² (1.4 mi²) that existed from 1816 to 1919. Its two large neighbors (Netherlands and Prussia) could not agree on who should own it, deciding therefore to make it a neutral territory where both would share control equally. It was located some 7 km (4 mi) southwest of Aachen, directly south of where the borders of Germany, Belgium, and the Netherlands intersect on the Vaalserberg.
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Rise
During the Congress of Vienna of 1815 the European map was significantly redrawn to accommodate the new political balance of power. One of the borders to be delineated was the one between the new United Kingdom of the Netherlands and the Kingdom of Prussia. For the most part both parties agreed on the border as it mostly followed older lines, but in the mairie (district) of Moresnet there was a problem. Between the villages of Moresnet and Neu-Moresnet lay the valuable zinc mine called Vieille Montagne (French) or Altenberg (German). Both the Netherlands and Prussia were keen to include this resource in their territory. On 26 June 1816 a compromise was reached: the mairie of Moresnet would be divided into three parts. The village of Moresnet itself would become Dutch, Neu-Moresnet would become part of Prussia, and the mine and the adjacent village of Kelmis (La Calamine in French) would, for the mean time, become neutral territory with both nations establishing a joint administration for the area. Formal installation of border demarcation markers for the territory occurred on 23 September 1818. The new territory of Neutral Moresnet had a more or less triangular shape with the base being the main road from Aachen to Liège. The village and mine lay just to the north of this road. Beside it two straight lines went northwards coming ever closer to each other until they finally met on the Vaalserberg. When Belgium gained its independence from the Netherlands in 1839 the land on the Dutch side came under Belgian control and therefore the Belgians took over the position of co-administrator (though technically the Dutch never formally ceded control). The territory was governed by two royal commissioners, one from each neighbor. In 1859, it was granted a greater measure of self-administration when a mayor and a council of ten members were installed, with the mayor appointed by the two commissioners. The council, as well as a welfare committee and a school committee, were appointed by the mayor and served an advisory function only. The people had no voting rights.[2] Life in Neutral Moresnet was dominated by the zinc mine as the major employer, which attracted many workers from the neighboring countries, though the total population of the territory never exceeded 3000. Living in the territory had several benefits. Among these were the low taxes (the national budget being fixed at 2,735 fr. throughout its history), the absence of import tariffs from both neighboring countries, and low prices compared to just across the border. Many immigrants settled in Moresnet so they would be exempt from military service, but in 1854 Belgium began to conscript its citizens who had moved to Moresnet, and Prussia did likewise in 1874. From then on, the exemption applied only to descendants of the original inhabitants.[3] A downside to their special status was the fact that people from Neutral Moresnet were considered to be stateless and were not allowed a military of their own. Most services such as the mail were shared between Belgium and Prussia (in a fashion similar to Andorra). There were five schools in the territory, and Prussian subjects could attend the schools in Prussian Moresnet (Neu-Moresnet).
Fall
When the mine was exhausted in 1885, doubts arose about the continued survival of Neutral Moresnet. Several ideas were put forward to establish the territory as a more independent entity, amongst which were a gambling casino and a postal service with its own stamps, though this last idea was thwarted by the local government. A casino was established in August 1903 after all such resorts in Belgium were forced to close. The Moresnet casino operated under strict limitations, permitting no local resident to gamble, and no more than 20 persons to gather at a time. The venture was abandoned, however, when the Prussian King threatened to partition the territory or cede it to Belgium in order to end the gambling. Around this same time, Moresnet boasted three distilleries for the manufacture of gin.[4] The most remarkable initiative came from Dr. Wilhelm Molly, who in 1908 proposed making Neutral Moresnet the world's first Esperanto-speaking state, named Amikejo ("place of friendship"). The proposed national anthem was an Esperanto march of the same name. A number of Kelmis residents learned Esperanto and a rally was held in Kelmis in support of the idea of Amikejo on 13 August 1908. However, time was running out for the tiny territory. Neither Belgium nor Germany had ever surrendered its original claim to it. Around 1900 Germany in particular was taking a more aggressive stance towards the territory and was accused of sabotage and of obstructing the administrative process in order to force the issue. In 1914, during World War I, Germany invaded Belgium, leaving Moresnet at first "an oasis in a desert of destruction"[5], but the Germans annexed the area in 1915. Articles 32-33 of the post-war Treaty of Versailles of 1919 settled the matter of the "temporary neutrality" established a hundred years earlier by awarding the territory of Neutral Moresnet to Belgium, along with the German municipalities of Eupen and Malmedy.[6] The Germans briefly re-annexed the area during World War II, but it was returned to Belgium in 1944. Under Belgian administration the territory became the commune of Kelmis (La Calamine), which in 1977 absorbed the neighboring communes of Neu-Moresnet and Hergenrath. Today, Dr. Molly's vision of an Esperanto state inspires interest in the territory's history among the Esperantists of the world. A small museum in Neu-Moresnet, the Göhltal Museum (Musée de la Vallée de la Gueule), includes exhibits on Neutral Moresnet. Of the 60 border markers for the territory, more than 50 are still standing.
The Four Borders
It is worthy of note that while the roads leading from Germany and Belgium to the "Three Country Point" on the Vaalserberg today bear the names, respectively, of "Three Country Way" (Dreiländerweg) and "Three Boundary Stones Road" (Route des Trois Bornes), that coming from the Netherlands – "Four Borders Way" (Viergrenzenweg) – continues to recall the fact that once four territories met here.[7]
References
- ^ "The Moresnet Republic; Belgium Expects the District to Revert to Her" New York Times 20 September 1903, page 5
- ^ Shackleton, Robert (1914), Unvisited Places of Old Europe, p 161
- ^ Hoch, Charles (1882), The Neutral Territory of Moresnet, trans. William Warren Tucker, p 13
- ^ "Awaiting a Crisis in Belgium," New York Times, Sept 13, 1903
- ^ Musgrave, George Clarke (1918). Under Four Flags for France, p. 8
- ^ Peace Treaty of Versailles Articles 32-33
- ^ Google Maps: the Vaalserberg , near Aachen, Germany
