The earthquake of 1692, which touched the area of Verviers, as well as being responsible for landslides, took place in the valley of Warche east of Bévercé (in the south of the junction with the brook of Trô Maret).

Between this date and 1794, the history of Malmedy is linked to the Princely Abbey of Stavelot-Malmedy, a clerical microstate ruled by a prince-abbot.

Seventy-seven successive prince abbots of the Germanic Holy Roman Empire and the County of Logne led the state.

However, a rivalry grew up rapidly between the two towns, because Saint Remacle decided to choose Stavelot as the main city of the Principality.

[3] After the defeat of Napoléon in 1815, during the Congress of Vienna, the decision was made to link Malmedy, a Romance and Walloon town, to Prussia, a Germanic state.

From this moment, the government under Chancellor Bismarck implemented a policy of Germanisation: In schools, lessons in French were banned and the German language was mandatory.

But when the defeat of the German Empire was proclaimed, Malmedy and the other eastern cantons were annexed to Belgium by virtue of the Treaty of Versailles.

Malmedy and neighbouring Eupen were subject to a plebiscite to determine whether the region would be separated from Germany and annexed to Belgium.

The plebiscite ballots required registration of the names and addresses of the pro-German voters (the others were assumed to be pro-Belgian), and the German-speaking population of Eupen and Malmedy were intimidated.

In 1944, during the Battle of the Bulge, the area was the site of the Malmedy massacre, where 84 American prisoners of war were killed by Nazi SS troops under the command of Joachim Peiper.

On 23, 24 and 25 December 1944 the city was bombed repeatedly by the United States Army Air Forces in a series of friendly fire incidents.

Approximately 200 civilians were killed in the attacks, while the number of American casualties has never been revealed by the United States Department of Defense.

Despite all the changes, the Malmedians seem to have preserved the qualities recognised by an 18th-century English chemist when he stated, "The inhabitants of Malmedy are honest, skillful, opulent, gracious, sociable and courteous towards foreigners.

Malmedy's high precipitation is commonly affecting the nearby Spa-Francorchamps race track, known for its treacherous weather conditions.