Early History
Eupen and the its St. Nikolaus Chapel were first mentioned in 1213 as part of the Duchy of Limburg. In 1288, after the Battle of Worringen, the Duchy of Limburg was annexed by John I of Brabant. Brabant and Limburg were conquered by Burgundy in 1387, and Eupen was burnt to the ground during the war against the Guelders. Burgundy was dissolved in 1477 by the Austrian Habsburgs who then inherited Eupen after gaining both Limburg and Brabant.
Habsburgs and Germans
Habsburg Holy Roman Emperor Charles V granted Eupen the privilege to conduct two markets per year in 1544. In 1555, both Brabant and Limburg were passed to the Spanish branch of the Habsburgs. Ten years later, Protestantism was mentioned for the first time in the town. In 1582, during the Dutch Revolt against the Spanish Habsburgs, rebels burnt Eupen but did not take control of it. Bubonic plague reached Eupen in 1635, with devastataing consequences. Eupen obtained its own court of law in 1648, and in 1674 received city rights, giving it greater recognition and autonomy. Six years later, textile manufacture was introduced to the city.
In 1713, with the Treaty of Utrecht, Brabant and Limburg were returned to the Austrian Habsburgs. Revolutionary France took the city in 1794, incorporating it into the D�partement Ourthe, pr�fecture Li�ge and sous-pr�fecture Malmedy. Following the Congress of Vienna in 1815, Eupen became part of the Prussian Rhine Province. All Prussian possessions became part of the German Empire in 1870, while Eupen itself enjoyed its popularity as a spa town.
20th century
After the First World War, the 1919 Treaty of Versailles transferred Eupen and the nearby municipality of Malmedy from Germany to Belgium. The effect led to the formation of extreme right-wing Nazi-like groups in Eupen. In 1940, the German Third Reich invaded Belgium; in an attempt to revert Versailles Eupen and Malmedy were annexed to Germany
