Waremme (; nl, Borgworm, ; wa, Wareme) is a city and

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

Wallonia Wallonia (; french: Wallonie ), or ; nl, Wallonië ; wa, Waloneye or officially the Walloon Region (french: link=no, Région wallonne),; nl, link=no, Waals gewest; wa, link=no, Redjon walone is one of the three regions of Belgium—alo ...

located in the

province of Liège A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions outs ...

, in

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

. The city is located on the River

Geer Geer (; wa, Djer) is a municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Liège, Belgium. On January 1, 2006, Geer had a total population of 2,854. The total area is 23.62 km² which gives a population density of 121 inhabitants per km� ...

( nl, Jeker), in the

loessic Loess (, ; from german: Löss ) is a clastic, predominantly silt-sized sediment that is formed by the accumulation of wind-blown dust. Ten percent of Earth's land area is covered by loess or similar deposits. Loess is a periglacial or aeolian ...

Haspengouw The Hesbaye ( French, ), or Haspengouw (Dutch and Limburgish, ) is a traditional cultural and geophysical region in eastern Belgium. It is a loamy plateau region which forms a watershed between the Meuse and Scheldt drainage basins. It has been ...

region. The economy is based on the cultivation of cereals and sugar beet, and on the food industry. The municipality includes the following districts:

Bettincourt Bettincourt ( wa, Betincoû; nl, Bettenhoven) is a village of Wallonia and a district of the municipality of Waremme, located in the province of Liège, Belgium. The village was a municipality of its own before the 1977 fusion of municipalit ...

, Bleret, Bovenistier, Grand-Axhe, Lantremange, Oleye, and Waremme.

History

Several findings were unearthed near Waremme containing remnants of

Neolithic The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several parts ...

and

Bronze Age The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second pri ...

settlements. The main

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

road linking

Bavai Bavay () is a commune in the Nord department in the Hauts-de-France region of northern France. The town was the seat of the former canton of Bavay. The inhabitants of the commune are known as ''Bavaisiens'' or ''Bavaisiennes'' Geography Bavay ...

Cologne Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western States of Germany, state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 m ...

passed right through the territory.

Tumuli A tumulus (plural tumuli) is a mound of earth and stones raised over a grave or graves. Tumuli are also known as barrows, burial mounds or ''kurgans'', and may be found throughout much of the world. A cairn, which is a mound of stones buil ...

and Roman

villa A villa is a type of house that was originally an ancient Roman upper class country house. Since its origins in the Roman villa, the idea and function of a villa have evolved considerably. After the fall of the Roman Republic, villas became s ...

s were found nearby. Romans have also left a

horse burial Horse burial is the practice of burying a horse as part of the ritual of human burial, and is found among many Indo-European speaking peoples and others, including Chinese and Turkic peoples. The act indicates the high value placed on horses in ...

. The medieval hamlet of ''Woromia'' was cited for the first time in 965. On February 5, 1078, ''Woromia'' was ceded to the

Prince-Bishopric of Liège The Prince-Bishopric of Liège or Principality of Liège was an Hochstift, ecclesiastical principality of the Holy Roman Empire that was situated for the most part in present-day Belgium. It was an Imperial State, Imperial Estate, so the List of ...

, together with its castle, five mills, and six breweries. Waremme 050910 (6)

By 1215, with its 815 inhabitants, it had grown to town size. Its frontier position near the

Duchy of Brabant The Duchy of Brabant was a State of the Holy Roman Empire established in 1183. It developed from the Landgraviate of Brabant and formed the heart of the historic Low Countries, part of the Burgundian Netherlands from 1430 and of the Habsburg Neth ...

, however, attracted several raids from the duke, causing it to be burnt to the ground and rebuilt at least a couple of times. In the 14th century, the town built a market place and a hospital, slowly becoming an important regional center, where coins were issued and important meetings held. During his conquest of the Prince-Bishopric of Liège,

Charles the Bold Charles I (Charles Martin; german: Karl Martin; nl, Karel Maarten; 10 November 1433 – 5 January 1477), nicknamed the Bold (German: ''der Kühne''; Dutch: ''de Stoute''; french: le Téméraire), was Duke of Burgundy from 1467 to 1477. ...

burnt the city once more in 1468. In the 16th century, the town became one of the 21 ''bonnes villes'' (main cities) of the prince-bishopric. In 1748, a quarter of the city was again destroyed by fire, this time accidentally. In 1792, the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...

ary troops entered the city and closed the convents. Three years later, the Prince-Bishopric of Liège was dissolved and the city became

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

. The 19th century was prosperous, thanks to the advent of the railways linking

Mechelen Mechelen (; french: Malines ; traditional English name: MechlinMechelen has been known in English as ''Mechlin'', from where the adjective ''Mechlinian'' is derived. This name may still be used, especially in a traditional or historical contex ...

Ans Ans or ANS or ''variation'', may refer to: Places * Ans, Belgium, a municipality in Belgium * Ans, Denmark, a village in Denmark * Angus, Scotland, UK; a council area by its Chapman code * Ainsdale railway station, England, UK (by station code ...

, and the construction of two sugar refineries and several schools. In 1904, Guillaume Moës established his engine and locomotive company

Ateliers Moës-Freres Ateliers Moës-Freres was an engineering company based in Waremme, Belgium, specialising in engines and locomotives. The company was founded in 1904 by Guillaume Moës (1854–1929). The company saw its greatest success between the First and Seco ...

in Waremme; they continued manufacturing in the town until October 2013.

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

did not bring any destruction to the city, except for that of the old surrounding walls.

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, however, was a lot worse as half of the city was destroyed by air raids, only days before

Liberation Day Liberation Day is a day, often a public holiday, that marks the liberation of a place, similar to an independence day. Liberation marks the date of either a revolution, as in Cuba, the fall of a dictatorship, as in Portugal, or the end of an oc ...

. The city then counted about 5,000 inhabitants.

Attractions

*The City Hall dates from 1900. *The town's main church dates from 1881 and houses 14th-century baptismal fonts. *A natural reserve can also be found on the territory of Waremme.

People born in Waremme

Edmond Leburton Edmond Jules Isidore Leburton (18 April 1915 – 15 June 1997) was a Belgian politician who served as the prime minister of Belgium from 1973 to 1974. He first entered Parliament representing Huy, Belgium. Prime Minister of Belgium Leburton ...

, prime minister of Belgium in the 1970s (1915–1997)

Twin towns – sister cities

Waremme is twinned with: *

Skopje Skopje ( , , ; mk, Скопје ; sq, Shkup) is the capital and largest city of North Macedonia. It is the country's political, cultural, economic, and academic centre. The territory of Skopje has been inhabited since at least 4000 BC; r ...

, North Macedonia *

Gérardmer Gérardmer (; or archaic ''Geroldsee'', and ''Giraumoué'' in local Vosgian) is a commune in the Vosges department in Grand Est in northeastern France. Population Culture The Festival international du film fantastique de Gérardmer (literally ...

, France *

Gallinaro Gallinaro is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Frosinone in the Italian Lazio region. It is about east of Rome and about east of Frosinone. Geography Gallinaro is located in the Comino Valley and is crossed by Rio Mollo, a tributary ...

, Italy

References

External links

Official web site
(in

) {{Authority control Cities in Wallonia Municipalities of Liège Province Belgium geography articles needing translation from French Wikipedia