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| Vaalserberg | |
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 The highest point in the Netherlands |
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  Vaalserberg
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| Elevation | 322.7 metres (1,059 ft) |
| Location | Limburg,  Netherlands |
| Coordinates | Coordinates: |
| Translation | Mount Vaals (English) |
The Vaalserberg ("Mount Vaals") is a mountain 322.7 metres (1,059 ft) in height, the highest point in the Netherlands. It is located in the province of Limburg, at the southeasternmost edge of the country in the municipality of Vaals, near the eponymous town, some three kilometres west of Aachen.
Three-Country Point
The Vaalserberg is also noted for being the location where the borders of three countries intersect, giving its summit the name of Drielandenpunt ("Three-Country Point") in Dutch, or Dreiländereck ("Three-Country Corner") in German, or Trois Frontières ("Three Borders") in French.
The touching countries are the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany. Between 1830 and 1919 it even was a Vierlandenpunt or "Four-Country Point"; see Moresnet for the now missing fourth one. This border intersection has made the Vaalserberg a well-known tourist attraction in the Netherlands with a tower on the Belgian side (Dutch: Boudewijntoren; French: Tour Baudouin) offering a grand panorama of the surrounding landscape. This tidy and urbanised development stands in marked contrast to the rough cinder parking area that makes up the Belgium sector and the wooded nature reserve on the German side.
Four-borders road
The road leading up to this point on the Dutch side is called the "Viergrenzenweg" ("four-borders road"), probably because of the former neutral Moresnet, while the roads in Belgium "Route des Trois Bornes" and Germany "Dreiländerweg" only refer to three.1
References
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Border triangle Vaalserberg |
