The Vennbahn (German pronunciation: [ˈfɛnbaːn], "Fen Railway") is a former railway line that was built partly across what was then German territory by the Prussian state railways. It is now entirely in Belgium, because the trackbed of the line, as well as the stations and other installations, were made provisional Belgian territory in 1919 (permanent in 1922) under an article of the Treaty of Versailles.
This had the effect of creating six small exclaves of Germany on the line's western side,[1] of which five remain. The treaty (not the location of the trackbed, per se) also created one small Belgian counter-enclave, a traffic island inside a three-way German road intersection near Fringshaus which lasted until 1949.
The route is now a cycle way.[2]
- ^ German exclaves in Belgium (the exact number varies according to source)
- ^ "Vennbahn". Vennbahn Cycle Route. Retrieved 30 March 2018.