Oost Castle

Oost is a village (and a former municipality) in the south of the Netherlands. There it is situated near the "Maas" ("Meuse") river in the southwestern part of the province of Limburg. Oost is the larger part of the merged administrative population centre of Oost-Maarland, which is part of the municipality of Eijsden-Margraten. This municipality borders with Belgium to the south and to the west. To the west that border mostly corresponds with the Meuse river. As Oost is situated in the westernmost part of this municipality, to the west its outlying area borders the Meuse river and Belgium. Oost has more than 600 inhabitants and is situated 7 kilometers (4.3 mi) south of the city of Maastricht and 3 kilometers north of Eijsden, which is the largest place in the municipality.

Oost-Maarland is a village in the south east of the European country Netherlands. There it is an administrative population centre in the Eijsden-Margraten municipality, which forms part of the Province of Limburg. In fact Oost-Maarland consists of two separate places with a different history. One is the village and former municipality of Oost, whereas the other is an in a distance of a few hundred metres separately to the southeast situated township called Maarland. Oost-Maarland is located some 3 km north of Eijsden, the biggest place in the municipality and 7 kilometers (4.3 mi) south of Maastricht, the provincial capital. In its northeast it borders Rijckholt and in its east and southeast the Sint Geertruid part of the Savelsbos hillside forest, which is part of the "Margraten plateau". In the west it borders the Meuse river, across which marks the border with Belgium, specifically the Liège province of Wallonia. Inbetween Maarland and this forest since a few decennia passes the E25 highway. In between Oost and Maarland passes the railroad Liège-Maastricht. The former station on this location however doesn't exist any more. Of the total number of about 960 inhabitants Oost has some more than 600 and Maarland some more than 300.

Gronsveld (Limburgish: Groêselt or Groéselt) is a village in the Dutch province of Limburg. It is part of the municipality of Eijsden-Margraten and situated southeast of the municipality of Maastricht, to which it is bordering. Gronsveld was a separate municipality until 1982, when it was merged with Eijsden. The municipality also included Rijckholt, Eckelrade, Heugem (now part of Maastricht) and Honthem. The derivation of the name is uncertain, although it is commonly accepted to be quite literally referring to its evergreen pastures, and indeed the village is favourably situated at the foot of the Margraten Plateau which retains water in its bedrock. This provides for a constant gentle irrigation, and the lush clay soil carried here by the river Meuse is excellent for growing fruit trees.

Eijsden-Margraten (Dutch pronunciation: [ˌɛizdəˈmɑrɣraːtə(n)]; (Limburgish: Èèsjde-Mergraote) is a municipality situated in the very south of the Netherlands. There it is located in the southeastern part of the province of Limburg. This municipality was formed in 2011 from the former municipalities of Eijsden and Margraten, that both consisted of a number of separately situated villages. As a result, the nowadays Eijsden-Margraten municipality consists of 28 villages and townships, spread out over 15 administrative centres. As of 2011, it has a population of about 25,000. Eijsden-Margraten is one of the most southerly municipalities 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, at Eijsden enters its third and final flowing country, the Netherlands. From here on its name in Dutch is "Maas". Running northward to Eijsden-Margraten'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 municipality, after having passed through a few of its villages.

The Internationaal Museum voor Familiegeschiedenis (known in English as the International Museum for Family History, or in short "The Family Museum") is a museum located in the former Ursuline Convent in Eijsden, Netherlands. As a museum with a focus on genealogy and family history, it is the first museum of its kind in the world. The Ursuline sisters commissioned Pierre Cuypers to renovate and extend the building in 1899. It is probable that Cuypers entrusted part of the project to Johannes Kayser, a Dutch architect notable for his neogothic designs.The museum focuses especially on genealogy, DNA-research, the life and work of Eugène Dubois, human evolution, heraldry, Charlemagne, family law and the working lives of our ancestors. the museum also houses the office, archives and collections of the International Qajar Studies Association. The museum is a "Public Benefit Organisation" (Algemeen nut beogende instelling) and it has won awards such as the 'VVV price for innovation'.The advisory board of the museum includes notable figures such as former Prime Minister of the Netherlands Dries van Agt, American historian at Yale University Ned Blackhawk, professor Michel Hockx of the University of Notre Dame, professor of Russian and Inner Asian history at Brock University David Schimmelpenninck van der Oye, and professor Tudor Parfitt.

Eijsden (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈɛizdə(n)] (listen); Limburgish: Èèsjde [ˈɛːʒdə]) is a village situated in the very south of the European country the Netherlands. It is located in the southwestern part of the province of Limburg. Until 1 January 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 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 Maas. Running northward to Eijsden's west it locally forms the westerly frontier of the last mentioned country with Belgium. Its Belgian border across the Meuse is Lanaye, a village of Liège Province in Wallonia, whereas its border to the south is the Voerstreek exclave of Limburg province in Flanders. A smaller stream, the Voer, coming from Belgium, drains into the Meuse river in this place.

Breust is a former village in the Dutch province of Limburg. It is located in the municipality of Eijsden-Margraten, and is now a neighbourhood of Eijsden. Breust was a separate municipality until 1828, when the area was divided between the municipalities of Eijsden and Sint Geertruid.

Eijsden Castle (Dutch:Kasteel Eijsden) is a moated manor house with several farm buildings, a gatehouse and castle park, in Eijsden-Margraten, Limburg, Netherlands. The current castle was built in 1637 and is located next to the river Maas. The castle is a rijksmonument. Also other parts of the terrain are separately listed, making a total of 27 rijksmonuments. It is part of the Top 100 Dutch heritage sites, established in 1990 by the Department for Conservation.

The Voer (Dutch, pronounced [vuːr]; French: Fouron) is a small river in Belgium and the Netherlands. It is a right-bank tributary to the river Meuse. It has three (creek-) tributaries of its own: the Veurs, the Noor and the Beek. The source of the Voer is near the village of Sint-Pieters-Voeren in the Belgian province of Limburg. The river crosses the Belgian-Dutch border between 's-Gravenvoeren and Mesch, and flows into the river Meuse at Eijsden. The Voer's total length is about 12 kilometres (7.5 mi). It lends its name to the Voeren municipality as well as to the villages 's-Gravenvoeren, Sint-Pieters-Voeren and Sint-Martens-Voeren through which it passes.

Eijsden railway station (Edn) is the railway station of Eijsden, Limburg, the Netherlands. The station, which is the southernmost railway station in the Netherlands, opened on 24 November 1861, and was closed between 10 December 2006 and 11 December 2011. The railway station is located on the railway line between Liège-Guillemins (Belgium) and Maastricht (Netherlands). Only trains of the National Railway Company of Belgium between the two stations call in Eijsden; Nederlandse Spoorwegen trains don't serve the station. When the National Railway Company of Belgium extended the InterCity line between Brussels-South and Liège-Guillemins to Maastricht, the regular local service between Liège-Guillemins and Maastricht was halted. The InterCity trains were too long to halt in Eijsden, so the railway station was closed. A new busline was opened between Maastricht and the railway station in Visé (Belgium) to serve Eijsden. After the closure of the railway station, citizens of Eijsden formed the committee "Trein Terug In Eijsden" (Return the Train To Eijsden), which aims to reopen the railway station. Overhead lines at the station carry 3 kV direct current, like the Belgian railway network, whereas the Dutch railway network carries 1.5 kV. Regular Dutch electric trains are not able to reach Eijsden unless they are multi-system units. As of 11 December 2011 Eijsden is again being served by Belgian trains, thus reopening the station after a 5-year closure.

The fortified position of Liège (French: position fortifiée de Liège [PFL]) was established after the First World War by Belgium to block the traditional invasion corridor through Belgium between Germany and France. In the First World War the Belgian Army held up the Germans for a week at Liège, delaying the German invasion of France, caused Belgium to consider a similar defensive strategy. Belgium rebuilt the Liège fortifications and extended them onto the Pays de Herve (Herve plateau) closer to Germany, using the most advanced fortification technology available. The PFL was divided into the modern defensive line, anchored on the Albert Canal by Fort Eben-Emael and extending to the south through a planned five additional forts, designated PFL I and the ring of forts around Liège. Liège commanded crucial road and rail crossings of the Meuse and was as strategically important in the 1930s as in 1914. The modernized Liège forts were called PFL II. In 1936, Belgium's neutrality was proclaimed again by King Leopold III of Belgium in a vain attempt to forestall another invasion, preventing France from being able to make use of the Belgian defences and territory in the forward defence of France. At the outbreak of the Second World War, Belgian defences had to resist alone until France could advance into Belgium after its neutrality had been violated. Again the fortifications could not hold the Germans.

The Battle of Fort Eben-Emael was a battle between Belgian and German forces that took place between 10 May and 11 May 1940, and was part of the Battle of Belgium and Fall Gelb, the German invasion of the Low Countries and France. An assault force of German paratroopers, Fallschirmjäger, was tasked with assaulting and capturing Fort Eben-Emael, a Belgian fortress whose strategic position and strong artillery emplacements dominated several important bridges over the Albert Canal. These carried roads which led into the Belgian heartland and were what the German forces intended to use to advance. As some of the German airborne forces assaulted the fortress and disabled the garrison and the artillery pieces inside it, others simultaneously captured three bridges over the Canal. Having disabled the fortress, the airborne troops were then ordered to protect the bridges against Belgian counter-attacks until they linked up with ground forces from the German 18th Army. The battle was a strategic victory for the German forces, with the airborne troops landing on top of the fortress with gliders and using explosives and flamethrowers to disable the outer defences of the fortress. The Fallschirmjäger then entered the fortress, killing some defenders and containing the rest in the lower sections of the fortress. Simultaneously, the rest of the German assault force had landed near the three bridges over the Canal, destroyed several pillboxes and defensive positions and defeated the Belgian forces guarding the bridges, capturing them and bringing them under German control. The airborne troops suffered heavy casualties during the operation, but succeeded in holding the bridges until the arrival of German ground forces, who then aided the airborne troops in assaulting the fortress a second time and forcing the surrender of the remaining members of the garrison. German forces were then able to use two bridges over the Canal to bypass Belgian defensive positions and advance into Belgium to aid in the invasion of the country. The bridge at Kanne was destroyed, forcing German engineers to construct a new bridge.