The administrative points of reference for the region were the sub-prefecture of Malmedy and the prefecture of Liège. Until then, the Eupen area had belonged to the Duchy of Limburg, the area of Sankt Vith area to the Duchy of Luxembourg, and Schönberg and Manderfeld to the Electorate of Trier, while Malmedy had formed a double abbey with Stavelot.
East Belgium for Dummies
The Ourthe Département (1794-1815)
Over the course of the French Revolution (1789), extensive territories were annexed to France. In 1794, for example, the Ourthe Department was created, which for the first time bound together Eupen, Sankt Vith, and Malmedy together into an administrative unit within a modern nation state.