Landmark Mazée

Landmark between France and Belgium.
With the peace of Utrecht in 1713, the southern border of the southern Netherlands ended. It is also the end of a period when the French king Louis XIV showed an unbridled desire to conquer. In general, the present southern border of Belgium was closed at that time.
This was not the case for this region. It was a patchwork of enclaves belonging to either the southern Netherlands, France or the Prinsbishopric of Liege and governed locally by vassals.
In 1772, in order to facilitate the passage of goods and people and reduce conflicts and nuisances at the borders, France and the Principality of Liege agreed to exchange part of their territory. Thus, France received a parcel of enclaves and in exchange it received a territorial extension around Givet. Among other things, the fortified village of Hierges is in French hands.
The demarcation of the new border has taken place with these landmarks. On one side you can see the coat of arms of France, on the other you can see the coat of arms of the Prinsbiscay de Liège. Each landmark is numbered with a Roman numeral and, at the top, a notch indicates the direction to the next bollard. 25 years later, after some 800 years, the Principality of Liege was to be dissolved in the aftermath of the French Revolution. However, the frontier of what would later become an independent Belgium was already established here at that time.....
You will also notice the markings of the local hiking trail "Les Bornes frontières", dark blue checks. This 8 km long local hiking trail along a certain number of remarkable landmarks was marked out in 1991 on the occasion of the Walloon Year of the Small Heritage. Nothing special, it's not that this loop walk, with 2 other local trails in 1995, is the first in Wallonia to be marked by a new waypoint system.
In the meantime, things have changed again. In 2007, the Signage Regulations were further amended. For walkers, only colored rectangles (in 4 possible colors) are allowed, more shapes. This decree entered into force in 2007, with a transitional period of 5 years. The blue check we see here should have turned into a rectangle!

Willem Vandenameele