Eupen

From Free net encyclopedia

Image:Eupen-Nicolas-Church.JPG Eupen is a municipality located in the Belgian province of Liège, 15 km from the German border (Aachen), from the Dutch border (Maastricht) and from the nature reservation "Hohes Venn" (Ardennes).

On January 1st, 2005 Eupen had a total population of 18,038 (8,769 males and 9,269 females). The total area is 103.74 km² which gives a population density of 173.88 inhabitants per km².

At the end of the First World War, Eupen and neighboring Malmedy districts were subject to a plebiscite to determine whether the region would be separated from Germany and annexed to Belgium. The plebiscite ballots required names and postal addresses of the voters. Fearing deportation, the populations of Eupen and Malmedy voted to join Belgium, which annexed both on March 6, 1925.

Eupen is the seat of the Council of the German speaking community in Belgium and the official language in Eupen is German, although Dutch was widely spoken in Eupen in the 18th century. There is also a small University College in Eupen, the Autonome Hochschule in der deutschsprachigen Gemeinschaft, offering bachelor degrees in Education and Nursing.

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