Editing Kelmis

{{Infobox Belgium municipality
| name = Kelmis
| picture = KelmisView.jpg
| picture-legend = View of Kelmis
| map = Kelmis Liège Belgium Map.svg
| map-legend = Location of Kelmis in the province of Liège
| arms = BE Kelmis COA.svg
| flag = Flagge Kelmis.svg
| region = {{BE-REG-WAL}}
| community = {{BE-DE}}
| province = {{BE-PROV-LG}}
| arrondissement = [[Arrondissement of Verviers|Verviers]]
| nis = 63040
| pyramid-date = 
| 0-19 = 
| 20-64 = 
| 65 = 
| foreigners = 
| foreigners-date = 
| mayor = [[Daniel Hilligsmann]]  (Elan)
| majority = [[Christlich Soziale Partei (Belgium)|CSP]]/[[Humanist Democratic Centre|cdH]] - SP/[[Socialist Party (Belgium)|PS]]
| postal-codes = 4720–4728
| telephone-area = 087
| web = [http://www.kelmis.be/ www.kelmis.be]
| coordinates = {{coord|50|42|N|06|00|E|region:BE|display=inline,title}}
}}
'''Kelmis''' ({{IPA|de|ˈkɛlmɪs}}; {{langx|fr|La Calamine}}, {{IPA|fr|la kalamin|pron}}) is a [[Municipalities of Belgium|municipality]] located in the [[Belgium|Belgian]] province of [[Liège (province)|Liège]], named for the historical deposits of [[Calamine (mineral)|calamine]] ([[zinc]] ore) nearby. {{As of|2011}}, the population was 10,881; the area is {{convert|18.1|km2}}, and the [[population density]] is {{convert|{{#expr:10881/18.1 round 1}}|PD/sqkm}}.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://ng3.economie.fgov.be/ni/municipalkeyfigures/FR/slide/slide_63040.pdf#page=2 |title=Votre commune en chiffres: La&nbsp;Calamine |date=2012 |page=2 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160316211351/http://ng3.economie.fgov.be/ni/municipalkeyfigures/FR/slide/slide_63040.pdf#page=2 |archive-date=16 March 2016 |url-status=live |language=fr |publisher=[[SPF Economie]] |format=PDF }}</ref>

The municipality comprises the following [[deelgemeente|sub-municipalities]]: Kelmis proper, [[Hergenrath]], and [[Neu-Moresnet]].

The territory around the [[Vieille Montagne]] [[zinc]] mine in Kelmis was [[Neutral Moresnet]], a neutral [[condominium (international law)|condominium]] of [[United Kingdom of the Netherlands|the Netherlands]] and [[Prussia]] (later [[Belgium]] and [[German Empire|Germany]]) from 1816 to 1919, with the Mayor of Kelmis nominated by two commissioners from the neighbouring countries. Although there were attempts by locals to make it evolve into a fully independent [[microstate]], all of them were thwarted, and it remained under double sovereignty and neutrality until its eventual annexation by Belgium after the [[First World War]].

There is a war memorial to German soldiers from Kelmis who were killed during the [[Franco-Prussian War]], located in the Aachener Strasse,<ref>[https://www.tracesofwar.com/sights/94568/Memorial-Franco-Prussian-War-Kelmis.htm] Traces of War site, Memorial Franco-Prussian War, Kelmis. Accessed 11 June 2021.</ref> and one to inhabitants of Kelmis who were killed in the First and [[Second World War]]s, located in the Kirchplatz (French: ''Place de l'Église'').<ref>[https://www.tracesofwar.com/sights/50457/War-Memorial-Kelmis.htm] Traces of War site, War Memorial, Kelmis. Accessed 11 June 2021.</ref>

A small museum in Kelmis, the ''Museum Vieille Montagne'', includes exhibits on Neutral Moresnet. Of the 60 border markers for the territory, more than 50 are still standing.<ref>{{cite web |last=Berns |first=Eef |title=In search of the bordermarkers of Moresnet |year=2002 |url=http://www.grenspalen.nl/archief/index.html |access-date=1 September 2008}}</ref>

In the nineteenth century, a [[Low Dietsch]] dialect was spoken in Kelmis. Today, Kelmis is [[German language|German-speaking]]. It has facilities for [[French Community of Belgium|French speakers]], and is one of the nine municipalities of the [[German‑speaking Community of Belgium]].

[[Image:KelmisChurch.jpg|thumb|none|160px|Church in the centre of Kelmis]]

==See also==
* [[List of protected heritage sites in Kelmis]]

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==External links==
* {{Official website}}
* {{Commons category-inline}}
* {{wikivoyage-inline|Kelmis}}

{{Geographic location
|Centre = Kelmis
|N  = ''[[Vaalserberg|Vaalserberg (Three-Country Point)]]''
|NE = [[Aachen]] ([[Germany|DE]]-[[North Rhine-Westphalia|NW]])
|SE = [[Raeren]]
|S  = [[Lontzen]]
|W  = [[Plombières]]
}}
{{Municipalities in Liège}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Kelmis| ]]
[[Category:Capitals of former nations]]
[[Category:Neutral Moresnet]]
{{Liege-geo-stub}}