The south of the Dutch province of Limburg, which included 'Vallis', was previously part of the Roman Empire, the local region having been centred on the present day German city of Cologne (Colonia Claudia Ara Agrippinensium).

Vaals' geographical location in Europe meant that it eventually came to lie on the boundary between traditional Catholic and emerging Protestant powers.

During the resulting war a force loyal to Protestant William of Orange in 1568 passed through Vaals and looted the Catholic St. Paul's Church.

In 1803, Napoleon Bonaparte, Emperor of France, and his wife Josephine de Beauharnais visited Vaals and stayed in the family's recently constructed Bloemendal Castle.

This treaty also created the small Neutral Territory of Moresnet, the new borders of which met up with those of Belgium, the Netherlands and Prussia at a point just outside Vaals.

It was created by neighbouring European powers wanting to regulate the mining of deposits of tin, then a notably scarce metal, that existed within its boundaries.

Expanding industrialization and protectionist policies outside the Netherlands during the 19th century directly contributed to the notable decline of manufacturing in Vaals after 1840.

To further cross border economic activity a tram line was constructed joining Aachen to Vaals by 1922 and extending across southern Limburg to Maastricht in 1924.

Despite Dutch neutrality being declared long before World War II, Vaals was occupied by German forces on May 10th 1940, the first day of hostilities in western Europe.