Liege

Liège, Walloon: Lidje; German: Lüttich; Latin: Leodium; Limburgish: Luuk; Luxembourgish: Léck; until 17 September 1946 the city's name was written Liége, with the acute accent instead of a grave accent) is a major city and municipality of Belgium located in the province of Liège, of which it is the economic capital, in Wallonia, the French-speaking region of Belgium.
The city is situated in the valley of the Meuse River, near Belgium's eastern borders with the Netherlands and Germany, where the Meuse meets the Ourthe. It is in the former sillon industriel, the industrial backbone of Wallonia. The Liège municipality includes the former communes of Angleur, Bressoux, Chênée, Glain, Grivegnée, Jupille-sur-Meuse, Rocourt, and Wandre.
The city is the principal economic and cultural centre of Wallonia. As of October 2011, Liège has 196,496 inhabitants. The metropolitan area, including the outer commuter zone, covers an area of 1,879 km2 and has a total population of 749,110 as of 1 January 2008. This includes a total of 52 municipalities, a.o. Herstal and Seraing. Liège ranks as the third most populous city in Belgium, after Brussels and Antwerp, and the fourth municipality after Antwerp, Gent and Charleroi. (note that the size of the municipality can be relatively small compared to the real size of the agglomeration)


Main sights


The 16th century palace of the Prince-Bishops of Liège is built on the Place St Lambert, where the old St. Lambert's Cathedral used to stand before the French Revolution. An archeological display, the Archeoforum, can be visited under the Place St Lambert.
The perron on the nearby Place du Marché was once the symbol of justice in the Prince-Bishopric and is now the symbol of the city. It stands in front of the 17th century city hall.
The present Liège Cathedral, dedicated to Saint Paul, contains a treasury and Saint Lambert’s tomb. It is one of the original seven collegiate churches, which include the German-Romanesque St Bartholomew's Church (Saint Barthélémy) and the church of St Martin.
The church of Saint-James (Saint-Jacques) is probably the most beautiful medieval church in Liège. It is built in the so-called Flamboyant-Gothic style, while the porch is early Renaissance. The statues are by Liège sculptor Jean DelCour. Saint-Jacques also contains 29 spectacular 14th century misericords.
The main museums in Liège are: MAMAC (Museum of Modern & Contemporary Art), Museum of Walloon Life, and Museum of Walloon Art & Religious Art (Mosan art). The Curtius Museum is an elegantly furnished mansion from the 17th century along the Meuse River, due to reopen in March 2009 as the expanded Grand Curtius museum housing the collections of the archaeology, decorative arts, religious art and Mosan art museums.
Other sites of interest include the historical city centre (the Carré), the Hors-Château area, the Outremeuse area, the parks and boulevards along the Meuse river, the Citadel, the 400 steps stairway "Montagne de Bueren", leading from Hors-Château to the Citadel, 'Mediacite' shopping mall designed by Ron Arad Architects and the Liège-Guillemins train station designed by Santiago Calatrava.


Economy


In the past, Liège was one of the most important steel-makng centres in Europe. Starting in 1817, John Cockerill extensively developed the iron and steel industry. The industrial complex of Seraing was the largest in the world. It once boasted numerous blast furnaces and mills. Although now a mere shadow of its former self, steel production and the manufacture of steel goods remain important.
Liège has also been an important centre for gunsmithing since the Middle ages and the arms industry is still strong with the headquarters of FN Herstal. The economy of the region is now diversified, the most important centres are: Mechanical industries (Aircraft engine and Spacecraft propulsion), space technology, information technology, biotechnology and also production of water, beer or chocolate. A science park south east of the city, near the University of Liège campus, houses spin-offs and high technology businesses.


Transport


The city possesses the third largest river port in Europe directly connected to Antwerp, Rotterdam and Germany via the Meuse river and the Albert Canal.
In 2011 Liège Airport was the 7th most important cargo airport in Europe. The airport is strongly focused on cargo although a new passenger terminal opened in 2005 is used mainly for charters. It is the main hub and the headquarter of TNT Airways.
Trains from Liège-Guillemins provide direct railway connections with Brussels, Antwerp, Namur and Charleroi, Luxembourg, Maastricht in the Netherlands, Paris in France, and Aachen in Germany. The city is also connected to the high-speed network. Train times are 40 minutes to Brussels and 2h13 to Paris with the Thalys train. The German ICE links Liège with Aachen, Cologne and Frankfurt. Two new high-speed lines (HSL 2 and HSL 3) have been built to connect Liège to the high-speed network.
The highway network around Liège has 7 branches and is very important for national and international traffic.


Famous inhabitants


Pippin the Younger (in French: Pépin le Bref), King of the Franks (born in Jupille, 8th century)
Charlemagne, King of the Franks, then crowned emperor (birth in Liège uncertain, 8th century)
Alger of Liège, learned priest (11th century)
William of St-Thierry, theologian and mystic (11th century)
Johannes Ciconia (14th century), composer, Master of the Ars Nova
Jean d'Outremeuse, writer and historian (14th century)
Jacques Arcadelt, composer (16th century)
Hubert Naich, composer (16th century)
Lambert Lombard, painter (1505–1566)
Theodor de Bry, engraver (1528–1598)
Louis De Geer Introducer of Walloon Blast furnaces in Sweden (1587–1652]
Linus of Liège (1595–1675) Counter-reformation critic of Isaac Newton
Gérard de Lairesse, painter (1640–1711)
André Ernest Modeste Grétry, composer (1741–1813)
Hubert Joseph Walther Frère-Orban, statesman (1812–1896)
César Franck, composer (1822–1890)
Zénobe Gramme, inventor (1826–1901)
José Dupuis, creator of many roles in Offenbach's opéras-bouffes (1833–1900)
Georges Nagelmackers founder of the Compagnie Internationale des Wagons-Lits (1845–1905)
Eugène Ysaÿe, composer and violinist (1858–1931)
Emile Digneffe, lawyer and politician (1858–1937)
Gustave Serrurier-Bovy Architect and furniture designer (1858–1910)
Charles Magnette, lawyer and politician (1863–1937)
Richard Heintz, Post-Impressionist painter (1871–1929)