Engis (; wa, Indji) is a
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 ...
of
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,
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 ...
.
On 1 January 2006 Engis had a total population of 5,686. The total area is 27.74 km² which gives a
population density
Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPopul ...
of 205 inhabitants per km².
The municipality consists of the following
districts
A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...
:
Clermont-sous-Huy, Engis and
Hermalle-sous-Huy
Hermalle-sous-Huy is a district of the municipality of Engis, located in the province of Liège in Wallonia, Belgium.
During the Middle Ages
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the lat ...
.
In 1829, in this village,
Philippe-Charles Schmerling
Philippe-Charles or Philip Carel Schmerling (2 March 1791 Delft – 7 November 1836, Liège) was a Dutch/Belgian prehistorian, pioneer in paleontology, and geologist. He is often considered the founder of paleontology.
In 1829 he discovered ...
discovered the first
Neanderthal
Neanderthals (, also ''Homo neanderthalensis'' and erroneously ''Homo sapiens neanderthalensis''), also written as Neandertals, are an extinct species or subspecies of archaic humans who lived in Eurasia until about 40,000 years ago. While th ...
ever,
Engis 2
Engis 2 refers to part of an assemblage, discovered in 1829 by Dutch physician and naturalist Philippe-Charles Schmerling in the lower of the Schmerling Caves. The pieces that make up Engis 2 are a partially preserved calvaria (cranium) and ass ...
, the damaged skull of a young child. This was before the 1856 discovery of the
Neanderthal type specimen in the
Neander Valley
The Neandertal (, also , ; sometimes called "the Neander Valley" in English) is a small valley of the river Düssel in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, located about east of Düsseldorf, the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia. T ...
. Its importance was not recognised until 1936.
Pollution fatalities
In late 1930 and early 1931, several thousand cases of acute pulmonary attacks occurred in the Meuse valley, centered on Engis, and 60 people died. A commission of inquiry set up by the Belgian government concluded that the cause was poisonous waste gases, primarily sulfur dioxide, emitted by the many factories in the valley and the furnaces used by the population, in conjunction with unusual climatic conditions coupled with the unique topographic characteristics of the area.
[Batta, G., Firket, J., and Leclerc, E.: Les problemes de pollution de l'atmosphere. G. Thone, Liege, 1933 (pp. 260-327).] Others have claimed that the deaths were the result acute
fluorine
Fluorine is a chemical element with the symbol F and atomic number 9. It is the lightest halogen and exists at standard conditions as a highly toxic, pale yellow diatomic gas. As the most electronegative reactive element, it is extremely reacti ...
intoxication.
Notable residents
*
Johann Hermann Janssens
Johann Hermann Janssens (b. at Maaseik, present-day Netherlands, 7 December 1783; d. at Engis, 23 May 1853) was a Belgian Roman Catholic theologian.
Life
After completing his theological studies in Rome he was appointed professor in the College ...
(1783–1853), theologian, died in Engis
See also
*
List of protected heritage sites in Engis
This table shows an overview of the protected heritage sites in the Walloon town Engis. This list is part of Belgium's national heritage.
See also
* List of protected heritage sites in Liège (province)
* Engis
Engis (; wa, Indji) ...
References
External links
*
{{Authority control
Municipalities of Liège Province
Neanderthal sites