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22-473: Eupen ( German: [ˈɔʏpn̩] , French: [øpɛn] , Dutch: [ˈøːpə(n)] ; Ripuarian : Ööpe [ˈøːpə] ; Walloon : Neyåw [nɛjɑːw] ; former French : Néau [neo] ) is the capital of German-speaking Community of Belgium and is a city and municipality in the Belgian province of Liège , 15 kilometres (9 miles) from

44-675: A centre of fierce fighting in the Battle of the Bulge . In 1949, the left tower of the St Nikolaus Church burnt down. The city centre was affected by flooding in 1953 . Eupen merged with the municipality of Kettenis in 1976, amidst protest from that town. In 1980, following a state reform ten years earlier, the German-Speaking Community of Belgium was established and Eupen was named as its capital. Eupen has

66-423: A cool oceanic climate with some continental influences due to it being elevated in comparison to most of Belgium. Eupen is also wetter and cloudier than Liège in the valley to the west, as a result of orographic lift due to the elevation change. As a result of this along with frequent winter frosts, Eupen gets a significant snowfall amount by Belgian standards. It also gets 16 ice days on average each year, as in

88-644: Is granted to a select group of municipalities by a royal decree or by an act of law. During the Middle Ages , towns had defined privileges over surrounding villages. As the nobility strengthened their power over regions in feudal Europe, they bestowed on towns the rights to organize annual fairs, levy tolls or build walls and other defense works. Under the French occupation of Belgian provinces, these privileges were abolished and replaced by an honorific title of city (Dutch: stad , French: ville ). This

110-675: The Battle of Worringen , the Duchy of Limburg was annexed by John I of Brabant . Brabant and Limburg were inherited by Burgundy in 1387, and Eupen was burnt to the ground during the war against the Guelders . Burgundy was dissolved in 1477 by the Austrian Habsburgs who then inherited Eupen after gaining both Limburg and Brabant. Habsburg Holy Roman Emperor Charles V granted Eupen the privilege to conduct two markets per year in 1544. In 1555, both Brabant and Limburg were passed to

132-703: The German border ( Aachen ), from the Dutch border ( Maastricht ) and from the " High Fens " nature reserve ( Ardennes ). The town is also the capital of the Euroregion Meuse-Rhine . First mentioned in 1213 as belonging to the Duchy of Limburg , possession of Eupen passed to Brabant , Burgundy , the Holy Roman Empire and France before being given in 1815 to Prussia , which became part of

154-686: The German Empire in 1871, while Eupen itself enjoyed its popularity as a spa town. Records show that a weaver named 'Schunck' was established as early as 1776. His eldest son, Nikolaus Severin Schunck (1799–1865), had six sons, of whom the third oldest, Arnold, would later found the firm in Heerlen. The youngest son, Joseph, remained at the weaving mill and there is still a weaving mill in Kettenis run by descendants of Nikolaus. The company became

176-624: The Netherlands , especially Kerkrade ( Kirchroa ), where it is perceived as a variety of Limburgish and legally treated as such. The name derives from the Ripuarian Franks ( Rheinfranken ), who settled in the area from the 4th century onward. The most well known Ripuarian dialect is Kölsch , the local dialect of Cologne . Dialects belonging to the Ripuarian group almost always call themselves Platt (spelled plat in

198-532: The Netherlands) like Öcher Platt (of Aachen ), Bönnsch Platt (of Bonn ), Eischwiele Platt (of Eschweiler ), Kirchröadsj plat (of Kerkrade ), or Bocheser plat (of Bocholtz ). Most of the more than one hundred Ripuarian dialects are bound to one specific village or municipality. Usually there are small distinctive differences between neighbouring dialects (which are, however, easily noticeable to locals), and increasingly bigger differences between

220-705: The Spanish branch of the Habsburgs. Ten years later, Protestantism was mentioned for the first time in the town. In 1582, during the Dutch Revolt against the Spanish Habsburgs, rebels burnt Eupen but did not take control of it. Bubonic plague reached Eupen in 1635, with devastating consequences. Eupen obtained its own court of law in 1648, and in 1674 received city rights , giving it greater recognition and autonomy. Six years later, textile manufacture

242-573: The day staying below 0 °C (32 °F), along with 71 frost days. K.A.S. Eupen , founded in 1945, is the city's main association football club and play at the 8,000-capacity Kehrwegstadion . In 2010, after winning a play-off, the side became the first club from the German-speaking Community to reach the country's top flight, then known as the Belgian Pro League. They were relegated after one season, returning to

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264-682: The famous Schunck . After the First World War , the 1919 Treaty of Versailles transferred Eupen and the nearby municipality of Malmedy from Germany to Belgium. The effect led to the formation of National Socialist groups in Eupen. From 1938 the Vesdre Dam was constructed (completed in 1950), creating Lake Eupen . In 1940, Nazi Germany invaded Belgium; in an attempt to reverse Versailles, Eupen and Malmedy were annexed to Germany. In September 1944, American forces reached Eupen which became

286-532: The first club from the German-speaking Community to play in the Belgian Pro League . On 1 January 2006, Eupen had a total population of 18,248 (8,892 males and 9,356 females). The total area is 103.74 km (40.05 sq mi) which gives a population density of 175.90 inhabitants per km. Eupen and the St. Nikolaus Chapel were first mentioned in 1213 as part of the Duchy of Limburg . In 1288, after

308-1157: The important geographic transition into the flat-lands coming down from the Middle Rhine . The Ripuarian varieties are related to the Moselle Franconian languages spoken in the southern Rhineland ( Rhineland-Palatinate and Saarland ) in Germany, to the Luxembourgish language in Luxembourg , and to the Low Franconian Limburgish language in the Dutch province of Limburg . Most of the historic roots of Ripuarian languages are in Middle German , but there were other influences too, such as Latin , Low German , Dutch , French and Southern Meuse-Rhenish ( Limburgish ). Several elements of grammar are unique to Ripuarian and do not exist in

330-537: The more distant dialects. These are described by a set of isoglosses called the Rhenish fan in linguistics. The way people talk, even if they are not using Ripuarian, often allows them to be traced precisely to a village or city quarter where they learned to speak. About a million people speak a variation of Ripuarian dialect, which constitutes about one quarter of the inhabitants of the area. Penetration of Ripuarian in everyday communication varies considerably, as does

352-826: The new German Empire in 1871. In 1919, after the First World War , the Treaty of Versailles transferred Eupen and the nearby municipality of Malmedy from Germany to Belgium. German remains the official language in Eupen (also spoken in the form of the Eupen dialect ), and the city serves as the capital for Belgium's German-speaking Community . The city has a small university, the Autonome Hochschule Ostbelgien  [ de ; nl ] , offering bachelor's degrees in Education and Nursing. In 2010, Eupen's association football team, K.A.S. Eupen , became

374-852: The other languages of Germany . The French Community of Belgium as well as the Netherlands officially recognise some Ripuarian dialects as minority languages , and the European Union likewise follows. Varieties are or include: The transcription from Münch, in which the grave accent (`) and macron (¯) represent, respectively, accent 1 and 2 in the Central/Low Franconian pitch accent . Ripuarian (excluding City- Colognian ) emphasised personal pronouns: City status in Belgium City status in Belgium

396-513: The percentage of Ripuarian speakers from one place to another. In some places there may only be a few elderly speakers left, while elsewhere Ripuarian usage is common in everyday life. Both in the genuine Ripuarian area and far around it, the number of people passively understanding Ripuarian to some extent exceeds the number of active speakers by far. Speakers are centred on the German city of Köln ( Cologne ). The language's distribution starts from

418-505: The title. Even with Belgian independence (1831-) this list was scarcely changed. After the merging of municipalities throughout Belgium in 1977, some towns had the opportunity to apply for the title of city . The request had to be based on historical facts such as having the title before the French occupation or during the Middle Ages or had to be based on the development of a high population in their urban centres. 44 towns were granted

440-648: The top level, now known as Belgian First Division A , in 2016. Ripuarian language It is spoken in the Rhineland south of the Benrath line — from northwest of Düsseldorf and Cologne to Aachen in the west and to Waldbröl in the east. The language area also comprises the north of the German-speaking Community of Belgium as well as the southern edge of the Limburg province of

462-616: Was imposed upon the Belgian provinces by order of the French Convention Nationale on 2 Brumaire Year II (23 October 1793). A number of towns lost their title of city. At the time of Dutch rule and incorporation into the United Kingdom of the Netherlands (1815–1830), some towns recovered their city title. On 30 May 1825, a royal decree was published and included the list of the towns that were granted

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484-687: Was introduced to the city. In 1713, with the Treaty of Utrecht , Brabant and Limburg were returned to the Austrian Habsburgs. Revolutionary France took the city in 1794, incorporating it into the Département Ourthe , préfecture Liège and sous-préfecture Malmedy . Following the Congress of Vienna in 1815, Eupen became part of the Prussian Rhine Province . All Prussian possessions became part of

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