Buursink, Jan

Ehlers, Nicole

English

Research Papers in Economics

THE BINATIONAL CITY OF EURODE
JAN BUURSINK & NICOLE EHLERS
DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN GEOGRAPHY
FACULTY OF POLICY SCIENCES
UNIVERSITY OF NIJMEGEN
1 INTRODUCTION
The subject of our paper is the formation of an urban community that consists of two
municipalities at both sides of the Dutch-German frontier in the area of Aix-la-Chapelle
(Aachen). In 1997 the Dutch municipality of Kerkrade and the German municipality of
Herzogenrath decided to enter into a narrow cooperation with each other, with the
prospect of even a merger, and to present themselves under the name of Eurode as one
bordercrossing community. We call this the binational city of Eurode.
  Such a construction is rather unique, although we know of some comparable projects
elsewhere in Europe. This project of the binational city of Eurode is more ambitious
than the well-known projects of regional cooperation along many borders in the
European Union that are called euregions. Realizing Eurode means spadework, for both
local authorities experience a lot of problems that result from the different national
administrative frameworks. Kerkrade and Herzogenrath are, respectively, a Dutch city
and a German city, not only because they are situated in different countries, but above
all because they are the products of two different institutional frameworks. Therefore,
both local authorities consider to ask for becoming an exceptional case, in order to be
able to carry on their intentions.
  Our research project has been started earlier this year (1999), so we are only in the
initial phase. Our main topic is not, as would perhaps be expected, the institutional and
politico-administrative complications and constraints with which the policymakers are
confronted, but the attitudes and feelings of both local populations that are involved.
This was our decision, because of our theoretical interests in questions of local identities
and sense of place. But the local authorities of the Eurode project too expressed their
strong interest in this topic, for they want to know what ordinary people think and want
with regard to this specific project of cooperation. Because history plays a prominent
role in the project, we too pay full attention to this dimension in the research design.
After this introduction the paper consists of 3 sections:
1 The conceptual framework
2 Description of the local situation
3 The reseach design.
1 THE CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK
The notion of the binational city is as new as the phenomenon itself is. Therefore, first
some remarks with regard to this concept. Besides the international border situation,there is the element of two neighbour cities that can be considered as double cities (twin
cities).
A double city is a pair of two cities of almost the same size that are situated very close
to each other, as such an almost contiguous urban area. Nevertheless, the two urban
nodes are clearly recognizable with their particular city centre. Moreover, the
inhabitants of both cities are fully aware of their own local identity. The Twin Cities
Minneapolis and Saint Paul are possibly the most famous and best known examples of
that situation. But all over the world pairs of neighbour cities are to be found that can be
considered as double or twin cities.
  Spatial closeness is, however, not enough to be called a double or twin city. In our
opinion a necessary condition is a sense of having common interests and belonging
together. At the same time a tradition of rivalry and competition is not uncommon. One
may suppose that this tradition of rivalry is enhanced by their closeness and sameness of
size. Like kids of the same family twin cities share feelings of communality and
competition.
  The realization of common interests is first of all felt by local politicians and
administrators, who sooner or later are confronted with common problems and interests,
that ask for cooperation. Rivalry and competition are undesired and even wrong at that
level. In starting concrete projects of cooperation they soon will earn the sympathy of
leaders of trade and industry, chambers of commerce, and so on. It is, however, more
difficult to get involved the ordinary inhabitant, who cherishes his feelings of dislike to
his neighbours.
  Normally, this needs not be a real problem. Only when very far-reaching plans are
proposed, such as a merger of the two cities that up to then were independent admini-
strative entities. This situation occurred in the case of the Dutch double city of Enschede
and Hengelo some years ago. Their mayors and city councils planned a merger of both
cities, but could not win the support of their inhabitants. In particular, the people of the
smaller city Hengelo (75,000 inh.) opposed the merger. The project has been postponed,
but has been picked up again by the regional and national authorities in 1998.
  The unanswered question remains: why should such rather large cities merge, instead
of cooperate narrowly and heartily where necessary? A merger of two or three small
municipalities is to be defended, because of economies of scale that are to be expected in
the administratve apparatus. But this argument does not hold for cities as the above
mentioned. The only argument that has been put forward repeatedly was that after the
merger the new city would be the 5th city of the country and that it would better to be
positioned on the European map! Such arguments are not very convincing to citizens.
From the many questions and themes for research we selected the attitudes and reactions
of the local population, in response to the plans and intentions of their city councils, as
our first subject. Because in the above-mentioned case of Enschede-Hengelo the
expectation of many citizens was that after the merger local taxes would be much higher
in Hengelo, we thought it would be preferable to find a case where this issue did not
influence the attitude of the inhabitants.
  The announcement of the aspired cooperation and integration - not to speak of a
merger  - of the border cities of Kerkrade (NL) and Herzogenrath (G) offered new
opportunities for research. Our department had already a long tradition of research on
border issues, not in the last place because the city of Nijmegen is situated at the Dutch-
German border. Border studies will be the trade mark of its research programme. So, a
case study of a double city that crosses the border fits very well in the programme.
  Before entering this case by describing its geographical characteristics that are of
importance to our analysis, we first have to point at the existence of a rather largenumber of double cities at state borders. We will not have the opportunity to elaborate
on this special category of border double cities, such as along the U.S.-Mexico border
and along the German-Polish border river Oder-Neisse. Both lines of border twin cities
have their own history, which is narrowly tied up with the dividing function of the state
border. This is also true for Eurode, as the new border-crossing twin city in Kerkrade
and Herzogenrath is called.
2  EURODE: A SHORT PORTRAIT
The Eurode project is, as a matter of fact, a correction of history, for about two
centuries ago, the places of Kerkrade and Herzogenrath, belonged already together, as a
small semi-independent territory between Prussia and the Netherlands. People spoke
(and speak) a common dialect that differs significantly from the official languages as
well as from other regional dialects. The area was called Land of Hertogenrade, or Land
of Rode. During the Congress of Vienna (1814), however, they were separated, against
the will of the then local authorities. A road, called Newstreet, became the dividing line.
This road plays a very prominent role in the relations between the two parts and in the
history of the region. During the fixation of the border there were some quarrels and
disputes between both countries (Prussia and The Netherlands), because of the
importance of the Newstreet as a trade route and the presence of coal mines in the area
(Venner 1981). Figure 1 shows the situation around 1860. The road from Herzogenrade
to Holz und further southwards is the road from Aachen to Geilenkirchen that later has
been called ‘Neustraß’ and which has been the border between both countries since
1816.
  So, the villages of Kerkrade and Herzogenrath gradually developed into centres of a
mining district, although this did not happen before the end of the 19th century. Around
these historical centres a number of new mining villages developed, with the
consequence that the area today is characterized by a rather dispersed settlement pattern.
Coal mining, however, disappeared from the area. The mines were closed in the 1970s
and today only the remembrance of the mining period is kept alive by the presence of
some relics. Kerkrade and Herzogenrath remained however the main centres, also after a
recent administrative reform at both sides of the border. It is not without importance to
know that the city of Aix-la-Chapelle (Aachen) is very close, as is the larger mining
town of Heerlen in the Netherlands, nor is the attractive city of Maastricht far away. So,
the urban function of both Kerkrade and Herzogenrath is rather restricted. Both cities
meet each other physically in the Newstreet, one side of the road being Dutch territory
and the other German.
The drawing of the border line in 1815 did not mean that the people of Kerkrade and
Herzogenrath estranged from each other (Scholtes 1981). During the whole 19th century
intensive social contacts existed between the people at both sides of the border and many
men worked in the mine at the other side of the frontier. The German language was very
common in Kerkrade, in the church as well as in the school and most people of Kerkrade
read a German newspaper. We have to remark that in the 19th century in the whole
region the feeling of belonging to the Netherlands was not very strongly developed
(Knippenberg 1998).
  This changed, however, drastically with the outbreak of the First World War in 1914,
during which the Netherlands remained neutral. Both the Dutch and the Germans set up
the guarding of the frontier. The Germans built a 2 metres high barbed wire
entanglement in the Newstreet, to prevent deserters and smugglers. The Newstreet nolonger was a neutral street. The Dutch inhabitants were no longer allowed to leave their
houses by the front door. Windows and doors were sealed up with barbed wire. For the
first time the inhabitants of the Newstreet experienced the existence of a physical
frontier (Braad 1994).
  After the First World War a German-Dutch commission of arbitration determined the
exact course of the border. As a consequence, the road (Newstreet) itself became
German. In 1936 the Germans built a by-road (Grenzumgehungsstrasse), so that the
traffic between Herzogenrath and Aix-la-Chapelle did not have to use the Newstreet
anymore. Soon afterwards the barbed wire (2,5 m.) wall appeared again. The Second
World War caused anti-German feelings in the Dutch area, which was a new
phenomenon in this region with intensive social relations crossing the border.
  After the war, contacts were restored (Frensch 1999). It is not surprising that the
beginning of the cross border cooperation started at the Newstreet. As early as in 1965
the idea of one common street was raised. But the barbed wire still was there, although
it had been lowered in 1957 (from 2 m. to 1,20 m.). In 1968 the Newstreet was
reconstructed, the barbed wire was replaced by concrete blocks. The line of these blocks
divided both communities and expressed the existence of the frontier. From 1970
onward the inhabitants were allowed to cross the line everywhere. In 1988 for the first
time a considerable number of people came together to protest against the presence of
the blocks, that ultimately were removed in 1993.
  Cooperation at the municipal level started in about the same period, with the signing of
the Friendshipmanifest (13 July 1991). With the aid of the Interreg Fund an action
programme was formulated, in order to improve the economic and socio-cultural
situation of the area by common plans (Aktieprogramma 1991). On the basis of the
Friendship charter of 1991 a further important step was done in 1997, when both
municipalities decided to become a 'federation' that occupies itself with all municipal
tasks for the whole territory of both municipalities, as far as Dutch and German
legislation does allow this.
  The border crossing federation is named 'Eurode', a name that already was in circulati-
on for some time. This name is composed of two elements and, by that, of two philosop-
hies. The meaning of the first syllable is clear, it refers to Europe. The second syllable,
'rode', is a toponym that is to be found in many place names in the area (ending with -
rode, rade, rath, roth), meaning 'reclamation of land' (Schrijnemakers 1984). So, the new
name contains a very familiar element that should contribute to its acceptance. However,
in this way Eurode is not only a succesful reference to the past, but also a symbolic
reference to the future of Europe, where - so to say - new ideal reclamations within the
existing wood of national identities have to be made.
  In the meantime, it is thought to be of importance to strengthen the feeling of belonging
together among the local populations by stressing the common history. The reference to
the common history is the leading thread running through the social construction of the
binational city. The most famous building of the area that expresses its past is the abbey
of Rolduc, built in 1104 and which was also the starting point of the economic
development (mining) of the area (see Haas 1986).
3  THE PEOPLE'S INTEREST
The social construction of Eurode as a binational city is our main theoretical concept
and research question: how can new place-bound identities be created in the minds of
ordinary citizens? That is, in what manner does the social construction of cities find itsway in general, how can it be influenced and manipulated and, third, how is this process
present in the project of Eurode?
  As we started our project just half a year ago, there are  as yet only questions and no
answers. Do we bring forward the right questions and do we, at least, have some
indications? To start with the last, from previous cases (Enschede/Hengelo) we learnt
that the response of the local populations at far-reaching plans for cooperation and
merger are not without importance. Cities are not objects of experimentation for their
authorities and administrators, cities are first of all places where people want to feel
themselves at home. Therefore, they cherish their local identity.
  With regard to the opinion citizens have about Eurode we only have a very limited
indication of the acceptance of Eurode as an idea by people of Kerkrade thanks to an
investigation carried out in 1998 (Crutz 1998). It appeared that a not negligible minority
of them had rather negative opinions on the idea of one common city. It also appears
that many people oppose, or feel it difficult to accept, the new name that is given to the
binational city. Moreover, the municipality of Kerkrade participates in another -
completely Dutch - project of regional cooperation, called Parkstad (Park City)
Limburg. This is perhaps not only embarassing for some people, but it also is offending,
because this new name is intended to replace - and do forget - the remembrance of the
mining period. Formerly the area was called the Eastern Mining Area, and although this
was a very prosaic name, many families whose life has been narrowly connected with
coal mining, are a little bit touchy in this respect. Moreover, Parkstad misses any
reference to whatever local toponym. Parkstad can be everywhere. And to make it still
more complex, it is to be expected that inhabitants of other quarters of the polynucleated
municipality Kerkrade are much less involved in the Eurode project than the inhabitants
of the proper place of Kerkrade. But this question of local sentiments is part of our
research plan.
  At this very moment we are trying to adapt the theory and notions of Anssi Paasi to
our case. Therefore, my concluding remarks will touch upon these notions and their
applicability in the context of the Eurode project.
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Het ontstaan van de oostelijke rijksgrens van Limburg in regionaal perspectief. In

Rode: de oudste nederzettingsgeschiedenis van het Land van Rode.

Samenwerking tussen de grensgemeenten Kerkrade en Herzogenrath

Territories, Boundaries, and Consciousness: The Changing Geographies of the Finnish-Russian Border.

The incorporation of Limburg in the Dutch State. Not published paper of the

Vermeldenswaardige feiten en gebeurtenissen van 1700-1900.

The bi-national city of Eurode

http://www-sre.wu-wien.ac.at/ersa/ersaconfs/ersa99/Papers/a255.pdf

The bi-national city of Eurode

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