Engis (; ) is a
municipality
A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate.
The term ''municipality' ...
of
Wallonia
Wallonia ( ; ; or ), officially the Walloon Region ( ; ), is one of the three communities, regions and language areas of Belgium, regions of Belgium—along with Flemish Region, Flanders and Brussels. Covering the southern portion of the c ...
located in the
province of Liège,
Belgium
Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...
.
On 1 January 2006 Engis had a total population of 5,686. The total area is 27.74 km
2 which gives a
population density
Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), 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 geog ...
of 205 inhabitants per km
2.
As of 2022, the population is estimated at approximately 6,269.
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 ...
:
Clermont-sous-Huy, Engis and
Hermalle-sous-Huy.
In 1829, in this village,
Philippe-Charles Schmerling discovered the first
Neanderthal
Neanderthals ( ; ''Homo neanderthalensis'' or sometimes ''H. sapiens neanderthalensis'') are an extinction, extinct group of archaic humans who inhabited Europe and Western and Central Asia during the Middle Pleistocene, Middle to Late Plei ...
ever,
Engis 2, 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. ...
. 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
Sulfur dioxide (IUPAC-recommended spelling) or sulphur dioxide (traditional Commonwealth English) is the chemical compound with the formula . It is a colorless gas with a pungent smell that is responsible for the odor of burnt matches. It is r ...
, 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; it has Chemical symbol, symbol F and atomic number 9. It is the lightest halogen and exists at Standard temperature and pressure, standard conditions as pale yellow Diatomic molecule, diatomic gas. Fluorine is extre ...
intoxication.
Notable residents
*
Johann Hermann Janssens (1783–1853), theologian, died in Engis
See also
*
List of protected heritage sites in Engis
References
External links
*
{{Authority control
Municipalities of Liège Province
Neanderthal sites