Liège Province

Liège (/liˈɛʒ, liˈeɪʒ/ lee-EZH, lee-AYZH;French: [ljɛʒ] ; Walloon: Lîdje [liːtʃ]; Dutch: Luik [lœyk] ; German: Lüttich [ˈlʏtɪç] ) is the easternmost province of the Wallonia region of Belgium.

Liège (French) Lüttich (German) Luik (Dutch) Lîdje (Walloon)
Province of Belgium
Flag Coat of arms Brandmark
Coordinates: 50°38′N 05°34′E / 50.633°N 5.567°E / 50.633; 5.567
Country	Belgium
Region	Wallonia
Capital (and largest city)	Liège
Government
• Governor	Hervé Jamar
Area
• Total	3,857 km^2 (1,489 sq mi)
Population  (1 January 2024)
• Total	1,119,038
• Density	290/km^2 (750/sq mi)
GDP
• Total	€34.715 billion (2021)
ISO 3166 code	BE-WLG
HDI (2021)	0.908 very high · 8th of 11
Website	Official site

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 and Rhineland-Palatinate, the Luxembourgish canton of Clervaux, the Belgian Walloon (French-speaking) provinces of Luxembourg, Namur 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.

The capital and the largest city of the province is the city of the same name, Liège. The province has an area of 3,857 km² (1,489 sq mi), 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, 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^{[citation needed]}.

Following Napoleon's fall from power in 1815, Liège became part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, while eastern half of modern Verviers became part of the Kingdom of Prussia. Liège University scholars helped to write the new Dutch constitution after the Napoleonic Wars^{[citation needed]}. 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. 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, 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, were absorbed into the province of Liège.

In World War II, 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. Malmedy was the site of a Waffen-SS massacre of U.S. Army prisoners of war.

Liège's heavy industry thrived in the 1950s and 1960s^{[citation needed]}but has been in decline since that time. Nevertheless, Liège remains the last city of Wallonia to maintain a functioning steel industry.^{[citation needed]}

Liège continues to be the economic and cultural capital of Wallonia, with its university, medieval heritage and heavy industry^{[citation needed]}.

Politics

Provincial Council

2006–2012

Allegory of Liège, Parc du Cinquantenaire, Bruxelles.

Party	Seats
Parti socialiste	32
Mouvement réformateur	24
Centre démocrate humaniste	13
Ecolo	11
Christlich Soziale Partei	2
National Front	1
Sozialistische Partei	1

2012–2018

Party	Seats
Parti socialiste	20
Mouvement réformateur	17
Centre démocrate humaniste	7
Ecolo	8
Parti du travail de Belgique	2
Christlich Soziale Partei	1
Sozialistische Partei	1

2018–2024

Party	Seats
PS-SP	17
Mouvement réformateur	15
Ecolo	12
CDH-CSP	6
Parti du travail de Belgique	6

Geography

Rivers

• Meuse
  • Berwinne
  • Jeker
    • Yerne
  • Ourthe
    • Ambiève
      • Roannay

Economy

The Gross domestic product (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 3,857 square kilometres (1,489 sq mi), 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:

• Huy
• Liège
• Verviers
• Waremme

Municipalities

Map of the municipalities in Liège

The Coo Waterfalls (municipality of Stavelot)

Municipalities that have city status have a (city) behind their name.

1. Amay
2. Amel
3. Ans
4. Anthisnes
5. Aubel
6. Awans
7. Aywaille
8. Baelen
9. Bassenge
10. Berloz
11. Beyne-Heusay
12. Blegny
13. Braives
14. Büllingen
15. Burdinne
16. Burg-Reuland
17. Bütgenbach
18. Chaudfontaine
19. Clavier
20. Comblain-au-Pont
21. Crisnée
22. Dalhem
23. Dison
24. Donceel
25. Engis
26. Esneux
27. Eupen (city)
28. Faimes
29. Ferrières
30. Fexhe-le-Haut-Clocher
31. Flémalle
32. Fléron
33. Geer
34. Grâce-Hollogne
35. Hamoir
36. Hannut (city)
37. Héron
38. Herstal
39. Herve (city)
40. Huy (city)
41. Jalhay
42. Juprelle
43. Kelmis
44. Liège (city)
45. Lierneux
46. Limbourg (city)
47. Lincent
48. Lontzen
49. Malmedy (city)
50. Marchin
51. Modave
52. Nandrin
53. Neupré
54. Olne
55. Oreye
56. Ouffet
57. Oupeye
58. Pepinster
59. Plombières
60. Raeren
61. Remicourt
62. Saint-Georges-sur-Meuse
63. Saint-Nicolas
64. Sankt Vith (city)
65. Seraing (city)
66. Soumagne
67. Spa (city)
68. Sprimont
69. Stavelot (city)
70. Stoumont
71. Theux
72. Thimister-Clermont
73. Tinlot
74. Trois-Ponts
75. Trooz
76. Verlaine
77. Verviers (city)
78. Villers-le-Bouillet
79. Visé (city)
80. Waimes
81. Wanze
82. Waremme (city)
83. Wasseiges
84. Welkenraedt

Nine municipalities of Liège form the German-speaking Community of Belgium. 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.

List of governors

• 1830–1831: Etienne de Sauvage (Liberal)
• 1831–1832: Jean-François Tielemans (Liberal)
• 1832–1844:
• 1844–1846: Henri de Brouckère (Liberal)
• 1846–1847: (Liberal)
• 1847–1863: (Liberal)
• 1863–1882: (Liberal)
• 1882–1908:
• 1908–1919: Henry Delvaux de Fenffe (Catholic Party)
• 1919–1927: (Liberal)
• 1927–1937:
• 1937–1943:
• 1944–1953: (PSB)
• 1953–1971: Pierre Clerdent (PRL)
• 1972–1990: (PS)
• 1990–2004:
• 2004–2015: Michel Foret (MR)
• 2015–present Hervé Jamar (MR)

References

1. "Be.STAT".
2. "Structuur van de bevolking | Statbel".
3. "EU regions by GDP, Eurostat". Retrieved 18 September 2023.
4. "Sub-national HDI - Area Database - Global Data Lab".
5. "Liège". Collins English Dictionary. HarperCollins. Retrieved 2 March 2019.
6. "Liège"^{[dead link‍]} (US) and "Liège". Lexico UK English Dictionary. Oxford University Press. Archived from the original on 2022-08-26.
7. "Liège". Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary. Merriam-Webster. Retrieved 2 March 2019.
8. "Structuur van de bevolking | Statbel".
9. Hastings, Max (2013). Catastrophe 1914 : Europe goes to war (1st American ed.). New York. ISBN 978-0-307-59705-2. OCLC 828893101.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
10. O’Connell, Vincent (2013). ""Left to their own devices". Belgium's Ambiguous Assimilation of Eupen-Malmedy (1919-1940)" (PDF). Journal of Belgian History. XLIII (4): 16.
11. "Conseil provincial | Province de Liège". Mobilité durable | Province de Liège (in French). Retrieved 2018-11-14.
12. "Regional GDP per capita ranged from 30% to 263% of the EU average in 2018". Eurostat.

External links

• Belgium portal

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Liège (province).

• Official web site of the Liège province (in French and German)
• Bureau des Relations Extérieures de la Province de Liège (in French)