Where The Meuse Meets The Ourthe
Liège (Dutch: Luik, German: Lüttich) is a major city and municipality located in the Walloon province of Liège, of which it is the administrative capital. It is situated in the valley of the Meuse River near Belgium's eastern borders with the Netherlands and Germany, at the point where the Meuse meets the Ourthe.
Liege is a one thousand year old city and as the ancient capital of an independent principality for eight centuries, Liege, the "Glowing City", possesses an exceptional cultural and architectural patrimony, which is mainly highlighted in its museums.
Near Maastricht and Aachen (Aix la Chapelle), Liege, with its reputed university, the exhibition hall, the markets, the congress hall, the shopping areas, its river port (ranked second in Europe) is a dynamic economic and commercial centre.
The theatres, the Opera, the Philharmonic Orchestra, as well as the café's, hotels and reputed restaurants enhance the warm character of a welcoming city.
Historic Background
The strategic position of Liège has made it a frequent target of armies and insurgencies over the centuries. It was fortified early on with a castle on the steep hill that overlooks the city's western side. In 1345, the citizens of Liège rebelled against Prince-Bishop Engelbert de la Marck, their ruler at the time, and defeated him in battle near the city. After a rebellion against rule from Burgundy, King Louis XI of France and Duke Charles the Bold of Burgundy captured and largely destroyed the city in 1468, after a bitter siege which was ended with a successful surprise attack. Liège was technically part of the Holy Roman Empire and after 1477, the city came under the rule of the Habsburgs and, after 1555, under Spanish sovereignty, although its immediate rule remained in the hands of its prince-bishops and maintained a high degree of independence. The Duke of Marlborough captured the city from the Bavarian prince-bishop and his French allies in 1704 during the War of the Spanis Succession. In the course of the Campaigns of 1794 of the French Revolution, the French army took the city and imposed a harsh and strongly anticlerical regime, destroying the great cathedral of Saint Lambert in 1794. France lost the city in 1815 when the Congress of Vienna awarded it to the United Kingdom of the Netherlands. Dutch rule lasted only until 1830, when the Belgian Revolution led to the establishment of an independent, Catholic and neutral Belgium which incorporated Liège. After this, Liège developed rapidly into a major industrial city which became one of continental Europe's first large-scale steel making centres.
Liège's fortifications were redesigned by Henry Alexis Brialmont in the 1880s and a chain of twelve forts was constructed around the city to provide defence in depth. This presented a major obstacle to Germany´s army in 1914, whose Schlieffen Plan relied on being able to quickly pass through the Meuse valley and the Ardennes en route to France. The German invasion on August 5, 1914 soon reached Liège, which was defended by 30,000 troops under General Gérart Leman. The forts initially held off an attacking force of about 100,000 men but were pulverised into submission by a five-day bombardment by the Germans' 42cm Big Bertha howitzers. Due to faulty planning of the ventilation of the underground defense tunnels under the main citadel, one direct artillery hit caused a huge explosion, which eventually led to the surrender of the Belgian forces. The Germans returned in 1940, this time taking the forts in only three days. The German occupants were expelled by the United States Army in September 1944 but Liège was subsequently subjected to intense aerial bombardment, with more than 1,500 V1 and V2 missiles landing in the city between its liberation and the end of the war.