One of the more noticeable features of the province of Limburg is the small & narrow section linking the area around Maastricht to the rest of the province. This apparently has its roots in the formation of the province of Limburg from former Prussian lands (Some forms of Limburgian refer to Germany and Germans as Prussia and Prussians) in the convention of Vienna in 1815. At this convention land was allocated to the Netherlands in order to keep the French surrounded by strong nations [yeah..., right]. At the time, Belgium was still part of the Netherlands (until the rebellion in 1830, in which Limburg tried to become Belgian, but ultimately failed). This explains why the Dutch border has such a shape, but the thin part already existed before the belgian rebellion. Though the area has always been kind of a mess (interactive map in the left frame here), there is no logical reason for this. The reason that is mentioned, however, is that the width of the province was determined by the width of a canon shot. How this fits into everything I have yet to find out.
The other thing is the German region of Selfkant, which is now the most western german municipality. Some people may know it as the (former) Dutch municipality of Tudderen, which it was for a limited amount of time. After the second world war the Dutch wanted compensation for damages from the Germans. The way this was organised was by transferral of German land to the Netherlands, Selfkant being one such area. This happened in 1949 and stayed that way until 1963 when Germany paid 280 million DM to get the area back. In the meantime, however, the Netherlands had built a main road linking Roermond and Heerlen through the area. This road wasn't handed back until 2002. As the road had no level crossings with German roads, the road could be used without the necessity of carrying a passport. In fact, if you look at the satellite images in google maps (here) there are now still only two level crossings in the stretch of 'Niederländische Durchgangstrasse'.
The other thing is the German region of Selfkant, which is now the most western german municipality. Some people may know it as the (former) Dutch municipality of Tudderen, which it was for a limited amount of time. After the second world war the Dutch wanted compensation for damages from the Germans. The way this was organised was by transferral of German land to the Netherlands, Selfkant being one such area. This happened in 1949 and stayed that way until 1963 when Germany paid 280 million DM to get the area back. In the meantime, however, the Netherlands had built a main road linking Roermond and Heerlen through the area. This road wasn't handed back until 2002. As the road had no level crossings with German roads, the road could be used without the necessity of carrying a passport. In fact, if you look at the satellite images in google maps (here) there are now still only two level crossings in the stretch of 'Niederländische Durchgangstrasse'.
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