A traffic island is a small area in the middle of an intersection that is
out of bounds to traffic. Like the circle of land the Arc de Triomphe is on
in the Champs Elysees: a huge intersection, but the traffic is forced to go
around the island.
Here, with the junction of three roads, there was at one point a traffic
island, the area mapked with a P (foir parking area) on the current map. In
the past, at the eastern end was another shor section of road allowing
traffic fomr the east road to connect with the south road.
Hence the two boundary stones there, one on either side of the old
connection, 779 and 780.
Now this is soley for entering the parking area, as one can also do on the
other side, immediately above the M of Monschau on the southern road.
Why is this area special?
Not so much now, but from 1949 (or possibly earlier, I have not throroughly
investigated the treaties), this island was a Belgian counter enclave.
The island belonged to Belgium. Hence the boundary stones. The roads
surrounding it belonged to Germany, forming a Y shape, each stalk of the Y
ending at the Vennbahn railroad, at Roetgen in the west, Lammersdorf in the
east or Monschau in the south. The Vennbahn and the rest of the land within
it was Belgian, part of the Eupen-Melmedy cession from Germany in 1919.
IN the 1950s treaty, Belgium relinquished control of all the land north of
the Roetgen-Lammersdorf road, EXCEPT the Vennbahn, and including the traffic
island. In return Germany ceded the southern road, from the island to
Monschau.
This was the most major change to the Roetgen-Monschau enclaves since their
creation.
BW
>From: "Peter Smaardijk" <smaardijk@...>
>Reply-To: BoundaryPoint@yahoogroups.com
>To: BoundaryPoint@yahoogroups.com
>Subject: [BoundaryPoint] Re: Roetgen/Monschau enclaves
>Date: Wed, 06 Jun 2001 12:05:43 -0000
>
>Some things are not entirely clear to me, though:
>1. What is a traffic island (purely a language thing)? Is it the
>parking lot due east of Fringshaus?
>2. Why is this spot so special then? Was it any different from the
>area south-east of it at any time?
>
>Btw: The road is the Bundesstrasse 258, meaning it is maintained by
>Federal services (L means Landstrasse, K means Kreisstrasse, meaning
>they are under Fed. Land and District services, respectively). This
>road has been named N (=Nationalstrasse) 258 in Belgium, without
>changing the number. So B258 in de, and N258 in be. As you say, the
>road is maintained by Germany. A situation not unlike Dutch road N274
>in Germany. I don't know whether this road also has a German
>designation.
>
>Peter S.
>
>--- In BoundaryPoint@y..., "Brendan Whyte" <brwhyte@h...> wrote:
> > The road junction from Roetgen (west) Monschau (south) and
> > Lammersdorf(east).
> > The blank southern area is Belgium proper, the north with the
>details, the
> > larger of the two roegten enclaves.
> > The roads west and eats are German to their edges, then Belgium
>kicks in.
> > The traffic island is on top of a hill, so the railway, Belgian,
>winds
> > around the hill to the far north, via Lammersdorf then south to
>Monschau.
> >
> > according to the US Geographers "International Boundary Study No7,
>June 30
> > 1961 Belgium-Germany Boundary":
> > "Before 1949 the three roads had been in Germany while the
>territory on all
> > sides was under Belgian administration. In 1949 the roads were
>provisionally
> > transferred to Belgium. The 1958 solution saw the cession of
>Belgian
> > territory north of the roads and the return of the two east west
>segments to
> > Germany. In turn Germany ceded the north south stretch of highway
>to
> > Belgium."
> > ...
> > "Since Article 7 of the Bonnb Convention on Relations provides that
>the
> > final determination of the boundaries of Germany must await a peace
> > settlement of the whole of Germany, these frontier arrangements are
> > necessarily provisional."
> >
> > Treaties covering the tripoint to enclaves area are:
> >
> > Treaty of Vienna 9 June 1815. In effect 1816-1919 and 1940-45.
>Basic line of
> > boundary.
> >
> > Boundary Treaty, Prussia and Netherlands, 26 June 1816. Detailed
> > delimitation of Congress of Vienna treaty boundary.
> >
> > Treaty of London, 19 April 1839. Belgian independence.
> >
> > Treaty of Versailles, 28 June 1919.Articles 31-35 detached Moresnet
>and
> > eupen-Malmedy fomr Germany.
> >
> > Report of the Belgian-German Boundary Demarcation Commission,
>Aachen 6 Nov
> > 1922. Very detailed technical report was published in Moniteur
>Belge, the
> > Belgian govt gazette, 7 March 1925 as an annex to the law
>incorporating the
> > lands into the Belgian provincial structure.
> >
> > Treaty between Be and De, Aachen 10 May 1935. Two small parcels of
>land,
> > 1.7sq km ceded by Belgium allowing extension of Aachen freight
>yards.
> >
> > Report of the Western German Frontier Demarcation Commission -
>Southern
> > Group- Belgian-German Frontier, Arlon (Belgium)9 Sept 1949
> > 7 parcels of German land provisionally placed under Belgian
>administration.
> > 20sq km, 500 inhabitants.
> >
> > Treaty between the FRG and the Kingdom of Belgium concerning
>rectification
> > of the German-Belgian boundary and other questions, Brussels, 24
>Sept 1956.
> > While the 1949 changes had reduced/eliminated some problems of
>border admin,
> > customs control, communications and stream polluting, they had
>created
> > others. This treaty sought a compromise.
> >
> > BW
> >
> >
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