Vaals is a town in the southeastern Netherlands, in the province of Limburg. The municipality covers an area of 23.90 km² in the foothills of the Ardennes-Eifelrange.
The town is located in the extreme southeast of the Netherlands province Limburg, about 23 km east of Maastricht and 5 km west of the city centre of Aachen.
The municipality of Vaals also includes the following towns, villages and townships: Camerig, Cottessen, Harles, Holset, Lemiers, Mamelis, Melleschet, Oud Lemiers, Raren, Rott, Vijlen, Wolfhaag.
The municipality of Vaals borders on both Belgium and Germany. The two borders meet on the Drielandenpunt a few hundred meters from the highest point of the Netherlands, the Vaalserberg.
Vaals is the place in the Netherlands with the highest portion of German inhabitants (26%). With the last local elections on 7 March 2006 Georg Goetz, a German citizen with the Burgerbelang party, was elected into the local council (15 seats). A first in the history of the Netherlands. Vaals is governed since then by a coalition from CDA (5), Burgerbelang (4) and PvdA (3).
Tourism is regarded as the main source of income for Vaals. The neighbouring coal industry and textile industry were to a large extent lost starting from the 60's. Most inhabitants commute today to the larger neighbouring cities of Heerlen, Kerkrade and Maastricht as well as to Aachen and surroundings. A sixth of the population is classified as poor in the current national poverty monitor of the Netherlands. (...)
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