Liège, 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)
"Le Quinze Août" celebration takes place annually on 15 August in Outremeuse and celebrates the Virgin Mary. It is one of the biggest folkloric displays in the city, with a religious procession, a flea market, dances, concerts, and a series of popular games. Nowadays these celebrations start a few days earlier and last until the 16th. Some citizens open their doors to party goers, and serve "peket", the traditional local alcohol. This tradition is linked to the important folkloric character Tchantchès (Walloon for François), a hard-headed but resourceful Walloon boy who lived during Charlemagne's times. Tchantchès is remembered with a statue, a museum, and a number of puppets found all over the city.
Liège hosts one of the oldest and biggest Christmas Markets in Belgium.
Sport
The city has a number of football teams, most notably Standard de Liège, who have won several championships, and R.F.C. de Liège, one of the oldest football clubs in Belgium. It is also known for being the club who refused to release Jean-Marc Bosman, a case which led to the Bosman ruling.
In Spring Liège also hosts the Liège–Bastogne–Liège cycle race, the oldest of the classic cycle races. The circuit starts from the city of Liège, goes to the city of Bastogne and returns to finish in the Liège suburb of Ans. The second half contains most of the climbs in the race, such as the Stockeu, Haute-Levée, La Redoute, Saint-Nicolas and the Col de Forges. With the 2009 Vuelta a España visiting Liège after four stages in the Netherlands, Liège is the only city that can boast having hosted stages of all three cycling Grand Tours.
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
Liège is also a very important transport and logistics centre:
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.
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)
"Le Quinze Août" celebration takes place annually on 15 August in Outremeuse and celebrates the Virgin Mary. It is one of the biggest folkloric displays in the city, with a religious procession, a flea market, dances, concerts, and a series of popular games. Nowadays these celebrations start a few days earlier and last until the 16th. Some citizens open their doors to party goers, and serve "peket", the traditional local alcohol. This tradition is linked to the important folkloric character Tchantchès (Walloon for François), a hard-headed but resourceful Walloon boy who lived during Charlemagne's times. Tchantchès is remembered with a statue, a museum, and a number of puppets found all over the city.
Liège hosts one of the oldest and biggest Christmas Markets in Belgium.
Sport
The city has a number of football teams, most notably Standard de Liège, who have won several championships, and R.F.C. de Liège, one of the oldest football clubs in Belgium. It is also known for being the club who refused to release Jean-Marc Bosman, a case which led to the Bosman ruling.
In Spring Liège also hosts the Liège–Bastogne–Liège cycle race, the oldest of the classic cycle races. The circuit starts from the city of Liège, goes to the city of Bastogne and returns to finish in the Liège suburb of Ans. The second half contains most of the climbs in the race, such as the Stockeu, Haute-Levée, La Redoute, Saint-Nicolas and the Col de Forges. With the 2009 Vuelta a España visiting Liège after four stages in the Netherlands, Liège is the only city that can boast having hosted stages of all three cycling Grand Tours.
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
Liège is also a very important transport and logistics centre:
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.
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