Eijsden 5.06

Eijsden should not be confused with the village of Eisden in the Belgian province of Limburg. Eijsden (Èèsjde) is a place situated in the very south of the European country The Netherlands. There it is located in the southeastern part of the province of Limburg.Until January 1, 2011 Eijsden was the main village in a municipality with the same name. On that date this municipality merged with the neighbouring one of Margraten, resulting in nowadays Eijsden-Margraten municipality, in which Eijsden (with about 7.000 inhabitants) again is the biggest place.This village is one of the most southerly places in the Netherlands, for in its south it is extending up to the most southerly part of the border between the Netherlands and Belgium.The Meuse river, coming from France and Belgium, here enters its third and final flowing country, the Netherlands. From here on its name in Dutch is (de (= the)) "Maas". Running northward to Eijsden's west it locally forms the westerly frontier of the last mentioned country with Belgium.A smaller stream, the Voer, coming from Belgium, drains into the Meuse river in this place.HistoryEijsden is one of the older places in the country. Its name is supposed to be derived of the Germanic word for aspen forest. Excavations have revealed a Roman settlement. In the Middle Ages, this settlement developed to a village. After the (feudal) Middle Ages, in the seventeenth century Eijsden gained in economic strength because of its position near the Dutch-Belgian frontier on the Meuse river. Its function as a trading and shipping centre attracted settlement of well-to-do merchants from Holland. This period of prosperity ended in the Napoleonic era when, for a time, the area ceased to be a frontier.