Liège
Liège,
Du. Luik, Ger. Lüttich, city (1991 pop. 194,596), capital of Liège prov., E Belgium, at the confluence of the Meuse and Ourthe rivers, near the Dutch and German borders. Greater Liège includes the suburbs of HerstalHerstal, Fr. Héristal, commune (1991 pop. 36,451), Liège prov., E Belgium, on the Meuse River, an industrial suburb of Liège. Herstal is the center of Belgium's armaments industry.
..... Click the link for more information. , OugréeOugrée
, town, Liège prov., E Belgium, on the Meuse River, a suburb of Liège. It is a center of heavy industry.
..... Click the link for more information. , and Grivegnée. The commercial center of the industrial Meuse valley, Liège is also an important transportation hub. It is located on the Albert CanalAlbert Canal,
waterway, c.80 mi (130 km) long, N Belgium, from the Meuse River to the Scheldt River; constructed 1930–39. The canal connects the important industrial region around Liège with the port of Antwerp, Belgium.
..... Click the link for more information. and on the Liège-Maastricht Canal and is the center of a road and rail network connecting Belgium and Germany. Manufactures include metal goods, armaments, motor vehicles, electrical and electronics equipment, chemicals, glass, and furniture.
The city is modern yet retains some historic buildings, including a cathedral (founded 971), the Church of the Holy Cross (10th cent.), the Church of St. Denis (10th–11th cent.), and the 16th-century Palace of Justice (the former residence of the prince-bishops). The city is the cultural center for Belgium's French-speaking population. It has a university (founded 1816) and a music conservatory. The composer César FranckFranck, César Auguste
, 1822–90, Belgian-French composer and organist. He studied at the conservatories of Liège and Paris, taking prizes in piano, composition, and organ.
..... Click the link for more information. was born there.
History
A growing trade center by the 10th cent., Liège became the capital of the extensive prince-bishopric of Liège, which included most of LiègeLiège
, Du. Luik, Ger. Lüttich, province (1991 pop. 999,646), 1,526 sq mi (3,952 sq km), E Belgium, bordering on Germany in the east. The chief cities are Liège (the capital), Verviers, Herstal, Huy, and Seraing.
..... Click the link for more information. prov. and parts of Limburg and Namur provs. This ecclesiastical state, part of the Holy Roman Empire, lasted until 1792. The strongly fortified city, key to the Meuse valley, suffered numerous sieges in its history. In the Middle Ages, Liège was a leading cultural center with important textile and metal industries.
In the late Middle Ages it was torn by bitter social strife. In the 14th cent. the workers (organized in guilds) won far-reaching concessions from the nobles and the wealthy bourgeoisie and began to take part in the city's government. The episcopal functionaries were placed (1373) under the supervision of a tribunal of 22 persons, 14 of whom were burgesses. This Peace of the Twenty-Two remained, albeit with interruptions, the basic guarantee of the constitutional liberty of the inhabitants of Liège until 1792. In 1465 the city became a protectorate of Burgundy; two years later, Charles the Bold, duke of Burgundy, abolished the citizens' communal liberties. The citizens of Liège, encouraged by Louis XI of France, rose in rebellion, but Charles forced Louis to assist him in suppressing the revolt and then sacked the city (1468).
As an episcopal principality, Liège remained technically a sovereign member of the Holy Roman Empire after the Netherlands passed (1477) under Hapsburg rule (see Netherlands, Austrian and SpanishNetherlands, Austrian and Spanish,
that part of the Low Countries that, from 1482 until 1794, remained under the control of the imperial house of Hapsburg. The area corresponds roughly to modern Belgium and Luxembourg.
..... Click the link for more information. ). In fact, however, the prince-bishops were dependent on the Spanish kings and, after 1714, the emperors. Liège flourished under prince-bishop Erard de la Marck in the 16th cent. and became a center for arms manufacture. In 1792 the French under Dumouriez entered the city. In the 19th cent., Liège was a center of Walloon particularism (see WalloonsWalloons
, group of people living in S Belgium who traditionally spoke a dialect of French called Walloon, but who today for the most part speak standard French. The Walloons, numbering some 3.
..... Click the link for more information. ), rapid industrial growth as one of the earliest modern steelmaking centers, and social unrest.
In World War I its fortifications, reputed to be among the strongest in Europe, fell (1914) to the Germans after a 12-day siege. In World War II, Liège was again taken (May, 1940) by the Germans. It was liberated (May, 1944) by U.S. forces, but during the Battle of the BulgeBattle of the Bulge,
popular name in World War II for the German counterattack in the Ardennes, Dec., 1944–Jan., 1945. More than a million men fought in what is also known as the Battle of the Ardennes. On Dec.
..... Click the link for more information. (Dec., 1944–Jan., 1945) it suffered considerable destruction from German rockets. In the 1950s and 60s, the decline of the steel industry led to massive unemployment, and Liège was again a center of social and political unrest.
Liège
(lyĕzh), Du. Luik, Ger. Lüttich, province (1991 pop. 999,646), 1,526 sq mi (3,952 sq km), E Belgium, bordering on Germany in the east. The chief cities are LiègeLiège,Du. Luik, Ger. Lüttich, city (1991 pop. 194,596), capital of Liège prov., E Belgium, at the confluence of the Meuse and Ourthe rivers, near the Dutch and German borders.
..... Click the link for more information. (the capital), VerviersVerviers
, commune (1991 pop. 53,482), Liège prov., E Belgium, on the Vesdre River and at the foot of the Ardennes. Manufactures of this industrial center include textiles, glass, and machinery. Nearby is a large reservoir, the Barrage de la Gileppe (built 1867–78).
..... Click the link for more information. , HerstalHerstal
, Fr. Héristal, commune (1991 pop. 36,451), Liège prov., E Belgium, on the Meuse River, an industrial suburb of Liège. Herstal is the center of Belgium's armaments industry.
..... Click the link for more information. , HuyHuy
, Du. Hoie, commune (1991 pop. 18,197), Liège prov., E Belgium, on the Meuse River; founded in the 9th cent. Huy produces paper, pottery, pewter, and machinery; grains are grown in nearby fields. Below the citadel (19th cent.
..... Click the link for more information. , and SeraingSeraing
, city (1991 pop. 60,838), Liège prov., E Belgium, on the Meuse River, near Liège. It is a major center of heavy industry. Nearby is Val Saint Lambert, one of the world's leading glassware-manufacturing centers. The Crystal Museum of Belgium is there.
..... Click the link for more information. . The province is French-speaking (see WalloonsWalloons
, group of people living in S Belgium who traditionally spoke a dialect of French called Walloon, but who today for the most part speak standard French. The Walloons, numbering some 3.
..... Click the link for more information. ) except in the eastern districts of EupenEupen
, town (1991 pop. 17,161), Liège prov., E Belgium, on the Vesdre River, near the German border. It is a center for the manufacture of soap, beer, and cables. Nearby is a major hydroelectric station. The districts of Eupen and Malmédy (c.
..... Click the link for more information. and MalmédyMalmédy
, commune (1991 pop. 10,291), Liège prov., E Belgium, near the German border. Economic mainstays are tourism and the manufacture of beer, paper, and tanning fluid.
..... Click the link for more information. , located near the German border, where the German language prevails. Liège is part of the industrial Meuse valley and of the agricultural Ardennes plateau. Some dairy farming and lumbering are in the province. The leading manufactures include machinery, armaments, and textiles.
Liège
(Luik), a province in eastern Belgium, in the basin of the Meuse River. Area, 3,900 sq km; population, 1,015,300 (1971). The city of Liege is the province’s capital. The province is an important industrial region of the country. Its leading industries include ferrous and nonferrous metallurgy, glass production, machine building (construction of railroad cars), and the production of electronic equipment, chemicals, and woolen articles.
Liège
a city in Belgium, at the confluence of the Meuse and Ourthe rivers; capital of Liege Province. Population, 147,300 (1971). A major transportation center, Liege is connected with Antwerp by the Albert Canal. The city is one of Belgium’s principal centers for heavy industry, its leading industries being ferrous and nonferrous metallurgy, machine building, metal-working, and coal mining (which was formerly the principal sector of the city’s economy). Chemical, rubber, and glass products, as well as clothing and crystal, are also produced. Liege, an important cultural center, is the site of a university (founded in 1817), the Academy of Arts, the Royal Conservatory of Music, the Museum of Archaeology and Decorative Arts, and the Museum of Fine Arts (with works from the Flemish, Belgian, French, and Dutch schools).
Liège developed from an episcopal residence, which was established around 720. Its significance was originally determined by its status as the main city of an ecclesiastical principality. Up until the 11th or 12th century, Liege was the largest city and most important cultural center in the medieval Netherlands. By the 14th century, after struggles against the sovereign, or prince-bishop, of the city, power was concentrated in the hands of the municipal guilds. After 1384 the guilds enjoyed total independence from the patrician class. In 1684 the prince-bishop abolished municipal self-government.
In the late 14th century coal mining was begun near Liege, which, together with the production of armaments, made the city an important industrial center in the 16th century. Taken by French troops numerous times during the wars of the 17th and 18th centuries, Liege and the rest of the ecclesiastical principality were annexed by France in 1795. In 1815 the city was made a part of the kingdom of the Netherlands, and in 1830, of Belgium. Liege was occupied by German troops from August 1914 to 1918 and from May 1940 to September 1944. An important strike, led by J. Lahaut, took place in the city on May 10, 1941. Liege was liberated by the forces of the Resistance Movement.
The oldest part of Liege is situated on the hilly northern bank of the Meuse River. It is the site of the Romanesque Church of St. Barthelemy (11th and 12th centuries), the Gothic Cathedral of St. Paul (13th to 15th centuries), and the churches of St. Croix (13th and 14th centuries) and St. Jacques (11th to 16th centuries; with Romanesque and Renaissance sections). Secular structures include the Court of Justice, which was formerly the palace of the prince-bishops (from the tenth century; 1145-64, master Hendrick van Leyen; 1526-36, architect Aert van Mulcken), the former meat markets (1545), and the classical Town Hall (1714-18).
In the 20th century a new part of Liege has been developing along the lines of the industrial regions of the southwest. Contemporary buildings include the Plaine-des-Manoeuvres housing complex (1956, architect C. Carlier) and the university and hospital complex (1970, architects S. L. Strebelle and S. Vandenhof).
REFERENCES
Gobert, T. Liège a travers les ages, vols. 1-6. Liège, 1924-29.Helin, E. Le Paysage urbain de Liège avant la rèvolution industrielle. Liège, 1963.