Moresnet
| Neutral Moresnet | ||||||||||
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French: Moresnet Neutre German: Neutral-Moresnet Dutch: Neutraal-Moresnet Esperanto: Neŭtrala Moresneto |
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| neutral zone | ||||||||||
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3 Neutral Moresnet
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| Capital | Kelmis | |||||||||
| Languages | Esperanto · French · German · Dutch | |||||||||
| Government | Condominium | |||||||||
| Mayor | ||||||||||
| • | 1817–1859 | Arnold Timothée de Lasaulx | ||||||||
| • | 1918–1920 | Pierre Grignard | ||||||||
| History | ||||||||||
| • | Agreement of Aachen | June 26, 1816 | ||||||||
| • | Annexation by Belgium | January 10, 1920 | ||||||||
| Area | ||||||||||
| • | 1900 | 3.5 km² (1 sq mi) | ||||||||
| • | 1914 | 3.6 km² (1 sq mi) | ||||||||
| Population | ||||||||||
| • | 1900 est. | 3,000 | ||||||||
| Density | 857.1 /km² (2,220 /sq mi) | |||||||||
| • | 1914 est. | 3,500 | ||||||||
| Density | 972.2 /km² (2,518 /sq mi) | |||||||||
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Neutral Moresnet (French pronunciation: [mɔ.ʁɛ.nɛ]) was a small Belgian–Prussian condominium that existed from 1816 to 1920 between present-day Belgium and Germany. Its northernmost border point at the Vaalserberg connected it to a quadripoint shared additionally with the Dutch Province of Limburg, which today is known as Three‑Country Point. Prior to Belgian independence in 1830, the territory was a Dutch–Prussian condominium. During the First World War, the territory was annexed into Germany, although the allies did not recognise the annexation.
The former territory is now in the Belgian municipality of Kelmis. Today, it is especially of interest to Esperantists because of initiatives to found an Esperanto‑speaking state, named Amikejo (lit. "friendship place"), on the territory in the early 20th century.
After the demise of Napoleon's Empire, the Congress of Vienna of 1814–15 redrew the European map, aiming at creating a balance of power. One of the borders to be delineated was the one between the newly founded United Kingdom of the Netherlands and the Kingdom of Prussia. Both parties could agree on the larger part of the territory, as borders mostly followed older lines, but the district of Moresnet proved problematic, mainly because of the valuable zinc spar mine called Altenberg (German) or Vieille Montagne (French) located there. Both the Netherlands and Prussia were keen to appropriate this resource, which was needed in the production of zinc and brass—at that time, Bristol in England was the only other place where zinc ore was processed.
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