Border between Germany and the Netherlands on the Lower Rhine (cannon fire line)

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Map of the Lower Rhine region with the German-Dutch border running parallel east of the Maas

The German-Dutch border on the Lower Rhine , also known as the “ cannon fire line ”, which runs near the Maas , forms the section of the state border between Germany and the southeast of the Netherlands and between the Dutch province of Limburg , the state of North Rhine-Westphalia with the administrative districts of Düsseldorf and Cologne and the corresponding districts of Kleve , Viersen and Heinsberg .

history

prehistory

Obergeldern from 1547 to 1712/14

The area of ​​the former district of Geldern and the northern part of the Dutch province of Limburg, as the upper quarters of the Duchy of Geldern, have often been the subject of territorial disputes in their history. It became part of the Spanish Netherlands through the Treaty of Venlo in 1543 . The Dutch province of Gelderland has been named after the city of Geldern ever since .

With the Treaty of Utrecht in 1579, Geldern became part of the United Netherlands , but was occupied by the Spanish-Habsburg army in 1587 .

The War of the Spanish Succession took place from 1701 to 1713/1714 . After the end of the War of Succession, in the Peace of Utrecht in 1713, the Geldrian upper quarters , which had remained with Spain until then, were distributed to four powers ( Austria , the States General , Prussia and the Duchy of Jülich ). The largest part of the former upper quarter fell to the Prussians as the Duchy of Geldern with Prussian shares .

In the Peace of Basel (1795), however, part of it and in the Peace of Lunéville (1801) the whole fell to France as the Rur department .

Congress of Vienna 1815

At the Congress of Vienna (1815) the entire Rhineland was awarded to Prussia. Part of the former upper quarter of the Duchy of Geldern was one of them. However, the areas west of the Meuse were ceded to the Netherlands , taking into account a narrow strip running parallel to the east .

With the resolutions of the Congress of Vienna, the area of ​​the district of Geldern , consisting of part of the Duchy of Geldern from pre-revolutionary times, which had belonged to Prussia since 1713, returned to Prussia in 1815 after it was conquered by France in 1794. The western border, at the same time the state border with the Kingdom of the Netherlands , was drawn at a distance of about one cannon shot east of the Meuse ("cannon fire line") through the middle of a historically coalesced area and a unified population. This border is still current, which still forms the border between Germany and the south-east of the Netherlands.

Dutch remained colloquial until around 1850 and was only gradually replaced by Standard German .

After 1945

After the Second World War , the Netherlands planned to annex large areas along the German-Dutch border from 1945 onwards . However, with this project they failed before the Allied High Commission . In the Paris Six Power Agreement of March 22, 1949, the Netherlands was responsible for the administration of the areas of Selfkant (with several localities) and Elten as well as other smaller strips of territory along the German-Dutch border from December 31, 1937 to completion of a peace treaty.

The Federal Government had since 1950 is the return of these areas and the treaty lands hard. The latter were agricultural areas on both sides of the German-Dutch border, the use of which was regulated by the treaties between the Netherlands and Prussia of 1816 (Treaty of Kleve). After the end of the war, the lands of German owners on Dutch territory, like the rest of the German property, were transferred to the Dutch state as enemy property and some of them were sold again, while the Dutch farmers continued to exercise their treaty rights on their lands on the German border.

tourism

Maasduinen National Park

The cross-border nature park Maas-Schwalm-Nette offers numerous cycling tours. The Dutch national parks De Maasduinen , De Meinweg , De Groote Peel and Hoge Veluwe are close by . ( See also National Parks in the Netherlands .)

literature

  • History of the district of Geldern; A sketch; first part 1816 - 1866; by Gregor Hövelmann ; Geldern 1974; Published by the Oberkreisdirektor of the district of Geldern; Complete production Butzon & Bercker Kevelaer , page 18: The establishment of the state border

Individual evidence

  1. ^ The so-called cannon firing line Rheinische Post from January 24th, 2015 / Local
  2. ^ Cabinet minutes online: 165th cabinet meeting on January 9, 1957 , at bundesarchiv.de, accessed on September 16, 2014
  3. ^ Border adjustment: Ehrenschuld , Der Spiegel , 33/1958, accessed on September 16, 2014
  4. ^ Niederrhein-maas.de, Between the Rhine and the Maas
  5. ↑ niederrhein-tourismus.de, OUT AM NIEDERRHEIN

Web links