Liège Province
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Liège ( ; ; ; ; ) is the easternmost province of the
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 ...
region of
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 ...
. Liège Province is the only Belgian province that has borders with three countries. It borders (clockwise from the north) the Dutch province of Limburg, the German states of
North Rhine-Westphalia North Rhine-Westphalia or North-Rhine/Westphalia, commonly shortened to NRW, is a States of Germany, state () in Old states of Germany, Western Germany. With more than 18 million inhabitants, it is the List of German states by population, most ...
and
Rhineland-Palatinate Rhineland-Palatinate ( , ; ; ; ) is a western state of Germany. It covers and has about 4.05 million residents. It is the ninth largest and sixth most populous of the sixteen states. Mainz is the capital and largest city. Other cities are ...
, the Luxembourgish canton of Clervaux, the Belgian Walloon (French-speaking) provinces of
Luxembourg Luxembourg, officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, is a landlocked country in Western Europe. It is bordered by Belgium to the west and north, Germany to the east, and France on the south. Its capital and most populous city, Luxembour ...
,
Namur Namur (; ; ) is a city and municipality in Wallonia, Belgium. It is the capital both of the province of Namur and of Wallonia, hosting the Parliament of Wallonia, the Government of Wallonia and its administration. Namur stands at the confl ...
and Walloon Brabant and the Belgian Flemish (Dutch-speaking) provinces of Flemish Brabant and Limburg. Part of the eastern-most area of the province, bordering Germany, is the German-speaking region of Eupen-Malmedy, which became part of Belgium in the aftermath of
World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
. The capital and the largest city of the province is the city of the same name,
Liège Liège ( ; ; ; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and Municipalities in Belgium, municipality of Wallonia, and the capital of the Liège Province, province of Liège, Belgium. The city is situated in the valley of the Meuse, in the east o ...
. The province has an area of , and a population of 1.12 million as of January 2024.


History

The modern borders of the province of Liège date from 1795, which saw the unification of the Principality of the Prince-Bishopric of Liège with the revolutionary French Department of the Ourthe (sometimes spelled Ourte). (Parts of the old Principality of Liège also went into new French départements Meuse-Inférieure, and Sambre-et-Meuse.) The province of Ourthe, as it was known then, was under French control during the reign of
Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...
, who visited the city during one of his campaigns. Napoleon ordered the destruction of its vineyards in order to prevent the Liège wine industry from competing with those elsewhere in France. Following Napoleon's fall from power in 1815, Liège became part of the
Kingdom of the Netherlands The Kingdom of the Netherlands (, ;, , ), commonly known simply as the Netherlands, is a sovereign state consisting of a collection of constituent territories united under the monarch of the Netherlands, who functions as head of state. The re ...
, while eastern half of modern Verviers became part of the
Kingdom of Prussia The Kingdom of Prussia (, ) was a German state that existed from 1701 to 1918.Marriott, J. A. R., and Charles Grant Robertson. ''The Evolution of Prussia, the Making of an Empire''. Rev. ed. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1946. It played a signif ...
. Liège University scholars helped to write the new Dutch constitution after the
Napoleonic Wars {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Napoleonic Wars , partof = the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars , image = Napoleonic Wars (revision).jpg , caption = Left to right, top to bottom:Battl ...
. Despite these contributions there was a widespread perception among the people of Liège that they were discriminated against by the Dutch government due to religious and language differences. In September 1830, rumors spread of a revolt in Brussels to expel the Dutch. Liège intellectuals responded to these events by contacting Walloon scholars living in Paris to discuss Belgian independence. A militia was formed to press these demands led by Charlier "Wooden Leg" leading (eventually) to the formation of an independent Kingdom of Belgium. In the 19th century, the province was an early center of the
Industrial Revolution The Industrial Revolution, sometimes divided into the First Industrial Revolution and Second Industrial Revolution, was a transitional period of the global economy toward more widespread, efficient and stable manufacturing processes, succee ...
. Its rich coal deposits and steel factories helped Belgium to form the basis of the region's increasing economic power. During the 20th century, due to Liège's borders with Germany, it saw fierce fighting in both World Wars. In
World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
, Liège's strong line of reinforced concrete military forts temporarily halted the German advance through Belgium, giving time to construct trenches in Flanders which subsequently saw some of the worst fighting of that war. It also saw some of the war's worst civilian casualties as the Imperial German Army performed collective punishments against local villagers for acts of resistance. In 1925 the East Cantons and Neutral Moresnet, that had become part of Belgium as a result of the
Treaty of Versailles The Treaty of Versailles was a peace treaty signed on 28 June 1919. As the most important treaty of World War I, it ended the state of war between Germany and most of the Allies of World War I, Allied Powers. It was signed in the Palace ...
, were absorbed into the province of Liège. In
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, Liège was the site of major fighting during the Battle of the Bulge. There, the Germans orchestrated their final offensive move against the combined Allied armies. Malmedy and Saint-Vith in particular saw intense battles against the
Nazis Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...
. Malmedy was the site of a
Waffen-SS The (; ) was the military branch, combat branch of the Nazi Party's paramilitary ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) organisation. Its formations included men from Nazi Germany, along with Waffen-SS foreign volunteers and conscripts, volunteers and conscr ...
massacre A massacre is an event of killing people who are not engaged in hostilities or are defenseless. It is generally used to describe a targeted killing of civilians Glossary of French words and expressions in English#En masse, en masse by an armed ...
of U.S. Army prisoners of war. Liège's heavy industry thrived in the 1950s and 1960sbut has been in decline since that time. Nevertheless, Liège remains the last city of Wallonia to maintain a functioning steel industry. Liège continues to be the economic and cultural capital of Wallonia, with its university, medieval heritage and heavy industry.


Politics


Provincial Council


2006–2012


2012–2018


2018–2024


Geography


Rivers

*
Meuse The Meuse or Maas is a major European river, rising in France and flowing through Belgium and the Netherlands before draining into the North Sea from the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta. It has a total length of . History From 1301, the upper ...
** Berwinne ** Jeker *** Yerne ** Ourthe *** Ambiève **** Roannay


Economy

The
Gross domestic product Gross domestic product (GDP) is a monetary measure of the total market value of all the final goods and services produced and rendered in a specific time period by a country or countries. GDP is often used to measure the economic performanc ...
(GDP) of the province was 31.6 billion € in 2018, accounting for 6.9% of Belgium's economic output. GDP per capita adjusted for purchasing power was 25,200 € or 84% of the EU27 average in the same year. GDP per person employed was 108% of the EU27 average.


Subdivisions

The province has an area of , which is divided into four administrative districts (''arrondissements'' in French) containing a total of 84 municipalities.


Arrondissements

The Province of Liège is divided into four administrative arrondissements: Image:Arrondissement Huy Belgium Map.png, Huy Image:Arrondissement Liège Belgium Map.png,
Liège Liège ( ; ; ; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and Municipalities in Belgium, municipality of Wallonia, and the capital of the Liège Province, province of Liège, Belgium. The city is situated in the valley of the Meuse, in the east o ...
Image:Arrondissement Verviers Belgium Map.png, Verviers Image:Arrondissement Waremme Belgium Map.png, Waremme


Municipalities

Municipalities that have city status have a ''(city)'' behind their name. # Amay # Amel # Ans # Anthisnes # Aubel # Awans # Aywaille # Baelen # Bassenge # Berloz # Beyne-Heusay # Blegny # Braives # Büllingen # Burdinne # Burg-Reuland # Bütgenbach # Chaudfontaine # Clavier # Comblain-au-Pont # Crisnée # Dalhem # Dison # Donceel # Engis # Esneux # Eupen ''(city)'' # Faimes # Ferrières # Fexhe-le-Haut-Clocher # Flémalle # Fléron # Geer # Grâce-Hollogne # Hamoir # Hannut ''(city)'' # Héron # Herstal # Herve ''(city)'' # Huy ''(city)'' # Jalhay # Juprelle # Kelmis #
Liège Liège ( ; ; ; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and Municipalities in Belgium, municipality of Wallonia, and the capital of the Liège Province, province of Liège, Belgium. The city is situated in the valley of the Meuse, in the east o ...
''(city)'' # Lierneux # Limbourg ''(city)'' # Lincent # Lontzen # Malmedy ''(city)'' # Marchin # Modave # Nandrin # Neupré # Olne # Oreye # Ouffet # Oupeye # Pepinster # Plombières # Raeren # Remicourt # Saint-Georges-sur-Meuse # Saint-Nicolas # Sankt Vith ''(city)'' # Seraing ''(city)'' # Soumagne # Spa ''(city)'' # Sprimont # Stavelot ''(city)'' # Stoumont # Theux # Thimister-Clermont # Tinlot # Trois-Ponts # Trooz # Verlaine # Verviers ''(city)'' # Villers-le-Bouillet # Visé ''(city)'' # Waimes # Wanze # Waremme ''(city)'' # Wasseiges # Welkenraedt Nine municipalities of Liège form the
German-speaking Community of Belgium The German-speaking Community (, , DG), also known as East Belgium ( ), is one of the three Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium, federal communities of Belgium. The community is composed of nine municipalities in Liège Province, ...
. From north to south they are: Kelmis (43), Lontzen (48), Raeren (60), Eupen (27), Bütgenbach (17), Büllingen (14), Amel (2), Sankt Vith (64), and Burg-Reuland (16) municipalities. Malmedy (49) and Waimes (80) are municipalities with language facilities for German speakers. The other municipalities of Liège are part of the
French Community of Belgium In Belgium, the French Community (, , CFB) refers to one of the three constituent constitutional linguistic communities. Since 2011, the French Community has used the name Wallonia-Brussels Federation (, , FWB), which is controversial because ...
.


List of governors

*1830–1831: Etienne de Sauvage (Liberal) *1831–1832: Jean-François Tielemans (Liberal) *1832–1844: Charles van den Steen de Jehay *1844–1846: Henri de Brouckère (Liberal) *1846–1847: Edmond de la Coste (Liberal) *1847–1863: Ferdinand de Macar (Liberal) *1863–1882: Charles de Luesemans (Liberal) *1882–1908: Léon Pety de Thozée *1908–1919: Henry Delvaux de Fenffe ( Catholic Party) *1919–1927: Gaston Gregoire (Liberal) *1927–1937: Henri Pirard *1937–1943: Jules Mathieu *1944–1953: Joseph Leclercq ( PSB) *1953–1971: Pierre Clerdent ( PRL) *1972–1990: Gilbert Mottard ( PS) *1990–2004: Paul Bolland *2004–2015: Michel Foret ( MR) *2015–present Hervé Jamar ( MR)


References


External links


Official web site of the Liège province

'' Bureau des Relations Extérieures de la Province de Liège''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Liege (Province) NUTS 2 statistical regions of the European Union Provinces of Wallonia Countries and territories where German is an official language