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Flémalle

Flémalle (Flémåle) is a municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Liège, Belgium.

On 1 January 2006 Flémalle had a total population of 25,140. The total area is 36.68 km2 which gives a population density of 685 inhabitants per km2.

Districts

 * Awirs (pop: 2,869) (including the village of Gleixhe)
 * Flémalle-Grande (Walloon: Li Grande Flémåle)
 * Flémalle-Haute (Walloon: Li Hôte Flémåle) (including the village of Chokier)
 * Ivoz-Ramet
 * Mons-lez-Liège

Hamlets

 * Cahottes
 * Trixhes

Twinnings

 * 🇮🇹 Piombino, Italy (since 1971)
 * 🇮🇹 Basiliano, Italy (since 2017)

title: Flémalle


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Fléron

Fléron (Fléron) is a municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Liège, Belgium.

On January 1, 2006, Fléron had a total population of 16,088. The total area is 13.72 km² which gives a population density of 1,172 inhabitants per km2. Fléron is east of the city of Liège.

The municipality consists of the following districts: Fléron, Magnée, Retinne, and Romsée.

The reminders of Fort de Fléron are in the center of the village of Fléron.

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: Fléron


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Dalhem

Dalhem (Dålem) is a municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Liège, Belgium.

On 1 January 2012 Dalhem had a total population of 6,996. The total area is 36.06 km² which gives a population density of 180 inhabitants per km². The name Dalhem is of Germanic origin and means "place of residence in the valley" (lit. dale home/dale ham).

Locations in the Municipality
The municipality of Dalhem consists of the following districts: Berneau, Bombaye, Dalhem, Feneur, Mortroux, Neufchâteau, Saint-André, and Warsage. The current municipality was formed during the fusion of the Belgian municipalities in 1977. The Château de Wodémont is within the municipality.

History
Already in 1080 a fortress was built in Dalhem on a high rock, where the Berwijn and Bolland rivers merged. Dalhem experienced its first major development since the 12th century, when a few "lords of Voeren" began moving to Dalhem in 1180 and began calling themselves "lords of Dalhem." Then their goods were transferred to the Count of Hochstaden, making Dalhem a county. The town of Dalhem grew into the administrative center and core of the county of Dalhem, next to 's-Gravenvoeren (the original Voeren), where the legal power resided. In 1244 it definitively lost its independence and from then on fell indirectly under the Duchy of Brabant.

In 1239, after the duke had defeated the last count of Dalhem, Dirk van Hochstaden, a treaty was concluded in 1244, whereby Dirk van Hochstaden left Dalhem to Brabant for good. From now on a final bailiff or cross-country would take over the reign in the name of the duke. Together with the Land of Valkenburg and Rolduc, Dalhem was henceforth referred to in the official documents as the 'Lands of Overmaas'. This was sometimes also considered to include Limburg, as a result of which the four lands together received the title 'Province of Limburg'. Until the dissolution of the county of Dalhem in 1797, the town of Dalhem was furthermore the capital of the county and the capital of one of the Dalhem possession.

In 1648 the Netherlands were divided into a Spanish section and the sovereign Dutch Republic. On December 26, 1661, the castle and town of Dalhem became part of the sovereign part of the County of Dalhem (State Partage) as a result of the Partagetraktaat (division treaty) between the Dutch Republic and Spain. Economically, the coal mines around Dalhem were of particular importance to the Dutch, while the place itself provided a good military base against the enemy through its castle. In 1665, Robert van Ittersum built the town hall in Dalhem, which today still houses a Nassau coat of arms with the lion above the gate. The town hall itself underwent several renovations over time (1840, 1927).

On November 8, 1785, Austria and the States General signed the Treaty of Fontainebleau, whereby a large part of the county of Dalhem, including the town of Dalhem, was ceded to Austria by the States General in exchange for parts of Austrian Valkenburg. Dalhem thus became part of the Southern Austrian Netherlands. For many residents this was a liberation. After all, Protestantism imposed too high demands on the Catholic population.

Warsage was one of the first villages to be captured in the German invasion of Belgium at the start of World War I in August 1914. Six Belgian civilians were executed by the German Army in reprisals on the first day of the occupation.

Like the rest of the county, insofar as it was located in the Austrian Netherlands, Dalhem was included in the annexation of the Southern Netherlands by the French Republic in 1797 in the newly formed department of Ourthe; which was later transformed into the province of Liège in the time of the United Netherlands.

Legend
According to Nicolas Rémy, in his work Daemonolatreiae libri tres the succubus Abrahel appeared in Dalhem in the year 1581.

Sport
Rugby union team Coq Mosan play in the village of Berneau in the municipality.

Notable persons

 * Albert Thys (1849–1915, in Dalhem), businessman in Belgian Congo
 * (1856–1918, in Dalhem), ancient historian, burgomaster of Dalhem
 * Roger Claessen (1941–82, in Dalhem-Weerst), football player

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Grâce-Hollogne

Grâce-Hollogne (Gråce-Hologne) is a municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Liège, Belgium. The municipality is effectively a part of the greater Liège conurbation, separated from Liège city centre by the municipality of Saint-Nicolas. Included within its boundaries is Liège Airport.

On 1 January 2006 Grâce-Hollogne had a total population of 21,753. The total area is 34.24 km2, which gives a population density of approximately 635 inhabitants per km2.

Geography
The municipality consists of the following districts: Bierset, Grâce-Berleur, Hollogne-aux-Pierres, Horion-Hozémont, and Velroux.

History
Grâce-Hollogne was formed by the grouping of former municipalities Bierset, Grâce-Berleur, Hollogne-aux-Pierres, Horion-Hozémont, and Velroux, along with part of Mons-lez-Liège.

The killing of four demonstrators on 30 July 1950 in Grâce-Berleur was one of the most significant moments in the so-called Royal Question of 1950, which grew out of resentment towards King Leopold III and his actions in World War II.

In June 1995 it was from Grâce-Hollogne that Julie Lejeune and Mélissa Russo were infamously abducted to become victims of the notorious serial killer and child molester Marc Dutroux. One of the municipality's schools is now named École Julie et Melissa in honour of the murdered girls, and flowers are still left regularly on the Julie & Melissa Monument.

Economy
Avient Aviation has its Continental Europe offices on the property of Liège Airport.

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Herstal

Herstal (Hesta), formerly known as Heristal, or Héristal, is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Liège, Belgium. It lies along the Meuse river. Herstal is included in the "Greater Liège" agglomeration, which counts about 600,000 inhabitants.

The municipality consists of the following districts: Herstal, Liers, Milmort, and Vottem.

A large armaments factory, the Fabrique Nationale or FN, and the biggest industrial zone of Wallonia (Haut-Sart) provide employment locally.

Merovingian and Carolingian golden age
The proximity of the river Meuse and the abundance of local resources attracted settlers in this area since the fifth millennium BC. Around the end of the Roman era and at the beginning of the Merovingian period, the hamlet had become a fortified stronghold. The major road that linked Tongeren to Aachen crossed the Meuse here, where a ferry likely carried travelers to Jupille.

The name Herstal is of Franconian origin, consisting of the elements hari ("army") and stal ("resting place", "camp"; compare Modern German Stall, "stable"). The first mention of Herstal is in Latin documents from ±718 (Cheristalius corrected to Charistalius) and 723 (Harastallius). The first possibly non-Latinized occurrences are Eristail (in 919) and Harstail (1197).

Pippin of Herstal (ca 635–714), Mayor of the Palace and de facto ruler of Austrasia and Neustria and founder of the family that established the Carolingian dynasty, probably chose this location as his main residence because of its proximity to the major cities of Tongeren, Maastricht, and Liège. Pippin was the father of Charles Martel, victor of the decisive Battle of Tours that stopped the Arab-Muslim advance into northwestern Europe, and great grandfather of Charlemagne, also supposedly born in Herstal. Charlemagne lived for at least fifteen years in Herstal but later established his capital in Aachen, ending Herstal's period of medieval glory as capital of the empire.

Late Middle Ages until now
The town was incorporated into the Duchy of Lower Lotharingia, which became part of the Duchy of Brabant at the end of the 12th century. Despite its proximity to Liège, the territory of Herstal did not become part of the Prince-Bishopric of Liège until 1740, when the prince-bishop Georges-Louis de Berghes bought it from Frederick II of Prussia. By that time, the town was mainly known for its able craftsmen: ceramists, blacksmiths, and clockmakers.

In the 19th century, Herstal became a city of coal and steel. It would, however, become world-famous thanks to the foundation of the Fabrique Nationale, a major armament factory, in 1889. Several motorcycle manufacturers also established themselves in town. On August 7, 1914, at the very beginning of World War I, the invading German army executed 27 civilians and destroyed 10 homes in Herstal.

After World War II, heavy industry saw a prolonged period of decline, drastically reducing the number of jobs in these areas. Today, Herstal's economy is picking up again, with more than 200 companies established on its territory, including Techspace, which manufactures precision parts for the European Space Agency’s Ariane rocket.

Politics
Herstal is a left-wing/socialist stronghold. It was also the strongest area in support of the far-left Workers' Party of Belgium in the 2019 elections, gaining 27.55% of the votes in Herstal.

Sights

 * A museum, housed in a 1664 building typical of the region, shows various artifacts of the Prehistoric and Gallo-Roman periods, a Frankish burial place, and several displays retracing the history of the Pippinid dynasty that originated here. The museum also has a collection of local industrial products, including samples from the FN.
 * The Pippin Tower incorporates a wall section thought to have belonged to the palace of Charlemagne.

Notable people

 * Pippin of Herstal, Mayor of the Palace of Austrasia, Neustria and Burgundy (635 or 640–714)
 * Charles Martel, Mayor of the Palace and Duke of the Franks (686–741)
 * Charlemagne, king of the Franks and founder of the Holy Roman Empire (742 or 747–814, birth in Herstal is uncertain)
 * John Browning, American firearms designer (1855–1926)

Twin cities

 * 🇮🇹: Castelmauro
 * Kilmarnock
 * 🇫🇷: Alès

title: Herstal


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Juprelle

Juprelle (Djouprele) is a municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Liège, Belgium.

On 1 January 2006 Juprelle had a total resident population of 8,405. The total area is 35.36 km2 which gives a population density of 238 inhabitants per km2.

The municipality consists of the following districts: Fexhe-Slins, Juprelle, Lantin, Paifve, Slins, Villers-Saint-Siméon, Voroux-lez-Liers, and Wihogne.

title: Juprelle


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Neupré

Neupré (Li Noûpré) is a wallonian municipality of Belgium located in the province of Liège.

On January 1, 2006, Neupré had a total population of 9,798. The total area is 31.69 km2 which gives a population density of 309 inhabitants per km2.

The municipality consists of the following districts: Éhein, Neuville-en-Condroz, Plainevaux, and Rotheux-Rimière. The name of Neupré is coined on the first letters of the districts : NEUville, Plainevaux, Rotheux and Éhein.

On the southeast edge of Neupré lies the Ardennes American Cemetery and Memorial, the resting place of over 5,000 American soldiers who died in Northern Europe during World War II.

List of mayors

 * 1977-1982 : Pierre Maystadt (Neupré Uni)
 * 1983-1992 : Pol Aimont (PRL)
 * 1992-1994 : Jean-Pascal D'Inverno (PSC-Intérêts communaux)
 * 1995-2000 : Josée Pagnoul-Demet (PS)
 * 2001-2017 : Arthur Cortis (PS)
 * Since the 16/6/2017 : Virginie Defrang-Firket (MR)

Municipal council
{{legend|#FF0000|PS: 4 seats}} {{legend|#99CC33|Ecolo: 3 seats}} {{legend|#0047AB|MR: 10 seats}} {{legend|#E96B23|Newpré: 4 seats}}

title: Neupré


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Oupeye

Oupeye (Oûpêye) is a municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Liège, Belgium.

On January 1, 2006, Oupeye had a total population of 23,581. The total area is 36.11 km2 which gives a population density of 653 inhabitants per km2.

The municipality consists of the following districts: Haccourt, Hermalle-sous-Argenteau, Hermée, Heure-le-Romain, Houtain-Saint-Siméon, Oupeye, and Vivegnis.

Chertal
Chertal is a narrow isthmus approximately 1.5 km southeast of Oupeye bounded by the Albert Canal and Meuse. Since 1963 the land has been the site of a steel factory founded by Espérance-Longdoz (as of 2010 part of ArcelorMittal Liège).

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Saint-Nicolas, Liège

Saint-Nicolas (Sint-Nicolai-dlé-Lidje) is a municipality of Wallonia located ine the province of Liège, Belgium.

It is effectively a part of the greater Liège conurbation stretching west from Liège city centre towards Liège Airport. As of January 1, 2006 Saint-Nicolas had a total population of 22,666. The total area is 6.84 km2 which gives a population density of 3,313 inhabitants per km2. It has the highest population density of any Belgian municipality outside the Brussels-Capital Region.

Since 1977 the municipality consists of the following districts: Montegnée, Saint-Nicolas, and Tilleur.

Notable people
Well known natives include
 * Sandra Kim, singer who won the Eurovision Song Contest 1986 held in Bergen, Norway, 1986
 * Mario Barravecchia, singer
 * Roberto Bisconti, football player
 * Georges Theunis, Prime Minister of Belgium, 1921–25, 1934–35.

title: Saint-Nicolas, Liège


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Seraing

Seraing (Serè) is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Liège, Belgium.

The municipality consists of the following districts: Boncelles, Jemeppe-sur-Meuse, Ougrée, and Seraing. With Liège, Herstal, Saint-Nicolas, Ans, and Flémalle, it forms the greater Liège agglomeration (600,000 inhabitants). To the south of Seraing are the Condroz and the Ardennes regions.

In addition to its steel factories, Seraing is home to the crystal manufacture Val Saint Lambert, which has been operating on the site of an old Cistercian abbey since 1826. The site of the Arcelor steel company, previously known as Cockerill-Sambre, is the former summer residence for the Prince-Bishopric of Liège.

Antiquity and Middle Ages
Several skeletons, potshards, weapons, and jewels were discovered here, dating from the 5th and 6th century, attesting to Seraing being inhabited in Frankish times. The first mention of Saran dates from 956, when a Carolingian farming domain extending on both sides of the river Meuse and owned by someone named Saran was donated to the abbey of Sint-Truiden. The whole territory soon passed to the Prince-Bishopric of Liège. In the 11th century, Prince-Bishop Henri I of Verdun used a house in Seranus to entertain guests. Throughout the Middle Ages, the inhabitants of Seraing owed allegiance to Liège, pledging to defend the fluvial approach to the city in case of invasion, in exchange for tax exonerations. The first wooden bridge across the river, which replaced the ferry, was built in 1381.

Industrial development

The name of the town changed several times throughout its history, with the current spelling only being set in the 18th century. At around that time, various factors combined to attract industrial investors to Seraing: the advent of the Industrial Revolution, the proximity of the river Meuse, and the discovery of coal at Ougrée. The first ironworks were founded there in 1809. John Cockerill and his brother James revolutionized the steel industry by using blast furnaces and coke instead of traditional charcoal. These inventions would be the basis for his new company, John Cockerill & Cie established in Seraing in 1817. Over the next decades, many more metallurgical plants and foundries were built in this area, which became an integral part of Wallonia's industrial backbone, the sillon industriel. Glassworkers found the proximity of a cheap source of coal attractive. The Val Saint Lambert started its operations in 1826.

Seraing was the first location in Belgium where the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints built in Belgium. Work began on the building in 1927 and completed before the end of 1930.

Recent developments
In the 2012 Tour de France, Seraing acted as the finish of Stage 1.

List of mayors

 * 1977-1988: Guy Mathot PS)
 * 1988-1993: Gaston Onkelinx (PS)
 * 1994-2000: Jacques Vandebosch (PS)
 * 2000-2005: Guy Mathot (PS)
 * 2005-2006: Jacques Vandebosch (PS)
 * 2006-2018: Alain Mathot (PS)
 * 2018-2023: Francis Bekaert (PS)
 * 2023-   : Déborah Géradon (PS)

Sights

 * The Val Saint Lambert site includes the old Val-Saint-Lambert Abbey and the crystal manufacture, where glass workers still blow, carve, and etch the world-famous pieces of art. The neighbouring castle houses a glass museum.
 * The Cockerill castle used to be the summer residence of the prince-bishops of Liège, then a hospital under Napoleon, a powder magazine, and the personal property of William I of the Netherlands, who ceded it to the Cockerill family in 1817.
 * Besides the Cockerill castle, the historic centre of the city also includes the city hall and the main church, which harbours 12th-century baptismal fonts.
 * The forested region south of Seraing offers a multitude of strolls and hikes.

Folklore

 * According to an old local legend, witches (macrales) abound in the Seraing area. The macrales have been resurrected in the year 2000 and are now a regular staple of the local folklore.
 * Like many other towns in Wallonia, Seraing has its own giant puppet: Li Rayeû d’class.
 * Seraing also counts a number of colourful associations, including a coopers’ brotherhood, whose goal is to revive the wineries of the Val Saint Lambert abbey, and the “Gay Boulet” brotherhood, whose mission is to popularize Boulets à la Liégeoise, a local recipe.

Notable people

 * John Cockerill, British entrepreneur and founder of the Cockerill-Sambre steel company (1790–1840)
 * Eugenio Barsanti, Italian inventor of the internal combustion engine (1821–1864)
 * Leo Anton Karl de Ball, astronomer (1853–1916)
 * Julien Lahaut, communist (1884–1950)
 * Louis-Clément Picalausa, Scout novelist (1898–1969)
 * , (1901–1922)
 * André Renard (Secretary-General of the General Federation of Belgian Labour and leader of the 60-61 General Strike) (1911–1962)
 * Christian Piot, football goalkeeper (b. 1947)
 * Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne, filmmakers (b. 1951 and 1954, resp.)
 * Laurette Onkelinx, politician (b. 1958)
 * Michel Preud'homme, football goalkeeper (b. 1959)
 * Gilbert Bodart, football coach (b. 1962)
 * Marc Tarabella, politician (b. 1963)
 * Fabrizio Cassol, saxophone and aulochrome player (b. 1964)
 * Marc Laho, opera singer (b. 1965)
 * , politician (b. 1972)
 * Michaël Goossens, football striker (b. 1973)
 * Viktor Klonaridis, football player (b. 1992)
 * John Wartique, racing driver (b. 1990)

Twin towns—Sister cities
Seraing is twinned with:
 * 🇫🇷: Douai
 * 🇮🇹: Rimini
 * 🇫🇷: Châtel

title: Seraing


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Soumagne

Soumagne (, Soûmagne) is a municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Liège, Belgium.

On September 1, 2008, Soumagne had a total population of 15,894. The total area is 27.14 km2 which gives a population density of 585 inhabitants per km2.

The municipality consists of the following districts: Ayeneux, Cerexhe-Heuseux, Évegnée-Tignée, Mélen, Micheroux, and Soumagne.

History
From the end of the 19th century until the 1960s, Soumagne was a flourishing municipality with numerous coal mines and a large Cooperative factory. After the end of coal mining, the mines were cleaned and residences as well as shopping areas were built. Some buildings are kept and transformed into tourism activities (such as "le domaine du Bas-Bois").

During the German invasion of Belgium at the beginning of World War I, the Imperial German Army killed 118 civilians and burned 100 houses in the village as collective punishment for the Belgian Army’s resistance of the invasion from the nearby Fort de Fléron.

Since 1980, the higher number of people leaving big cities (Liège and Verviers) for more rural municipalities, with the E40 motorway passing on its territory, Soumagne recovered from the loss of coal mining and the end of the Cooperative. In that period, houses are built due to a new, and young, population settling down in Soumagne. A lot of new shops and commercial centers opened and small companies are emerging.

Attractions
There are a few touristic points in Soumange (among others):
 * the Evegnée fountain (natural fountain in a rural landscape)
 * Saint-Lambert church (built during the 13th century, burnt in 1694 and rebuilt)
 * "Domaine du Bas-Bois" (a former coal mine site)
 * Wégimont Castle (14th century construction changed through the centuries with a park transformed into a family amusement area)

title: Soumagne


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Sprimont

Sprimont (Sprumont) is a municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Liège, Belgium.

The municipality consists of the following districts: Dolembreux, Gomzé-Andoumont, Louveigné, Rouvreux, and Sprimont.

Other villages: Banneux, Damré, Florzé, Lincé, Ogné, Presseux, and Rivage.

On January 1, 2006, Sprimont had a total population of 12,782. The total area is 74.2 km² which gives a population density of 172 /km2.

Etymology
Sprimont is an ancient name, the earliest written records of which date from 855 and 856 AD. These are located in the Abbey of Stavelot.

The etymology of Sprimont is uncertain. A priori, it seems to be the name of a place; however some historians propose that it may derive from a person's name.

Spellings of Sprimont may be different, depending on (1) the written language, and (2) the time period. Since Sprimont is more than 1,100 years old, a variety of different spellings are to be expected. For example, Ernst cites "Sprismonte" in 888 AD, and Martine & Duraud cite "Sprismont" in 1049. However, since about 1000 AD "Sprimont" seems to be exclusively used. In Bulletin de l'Institute Archeologique Liégeoise (vol. VII), there are further references to the Teutonic Spir-Boum, Spereboum, Sper-Boun and the Frisian Spiri, Spere, Sper, as well as the Latin sorbus. These translate as 'speer', 'hasta,' and 'lance.'

There is a consensus that the root is of a Latin origin. If this is correct, the suffix -mont is probably from mons, montis, meaning either hill or mountain. However, some historians point out that many geographical names with this suffix belong to places not on a hill, some of which are even in valleys. This may cast doubt on the true meaning being "hill", but another source indicates that mons was used in Roman times to indicate a way-station for travellers.

As for the prefix of spri-, more debate is required, as its origin seems to be lost to antiquity. Ancient written documents indicate several possible Latin origins: spiris, spers. Regardless of the meaning of the root word, one must also consider the usage in the context of the name itself. For example, if it does indeed refer to a species of tree or wood, in those ancient times, what was the connotation? It has been argued persuasively that 'spri' means 'lance'.

Concluding the etymology of Sprimont, the active might mean 'Mounted Warrior', whereas the passive might mean 'Lance of Defence'. This is from mont de Spiris.

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Trooz

Trooz (LiTrô) is a municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Liège, Belgium.

On July 1, 2012, Trooz had 8,432 registered inhabitants, of whom 4,199 were male and 4,233 female. The total area is 24.00 km² which gives a population density of 351 inhabitants per km².

Trooz is situated on the Vesdre River, and is part of the GREOA (Groupement Régional Économique des vallées de l'Ourthe et de l'Amblève) regional grouping for economic purposes.

The municipality consists of the following districts: Forêt, Fraipont, Nessonvaux.

The town centre is the former hamlet of Trooz, in the district of Forêt, which gave its name to the municipality.

Industrial heritage
The municipality includes several surrounding hamlets including Nessonvaux which is where, between 1904 and 1958, the Impéria company produced automobiles. The factory building survives. This building is one of three examples of test tracks on its roof. The other known roof test tracks are on the roof of the old Fiat factory in Turin, Italy, and Palacio Chrysler in Buenos Aires, which opened in 1928.

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Visé

Visé (Wezet, ; Vizé) is a city and municipality of Wallonia, located on the river Meuse in the province of Liège, Belgium.

The municipality consists of the following districts: Argenteau, Cheratte, Lanaye, Lixhe, Richelle, and Visé.

In the north-east (on the eastern bank of the Meuse) the area of the municipality extends up to the village of Moelingen in the Limburgian municipality of Voeren, while in the north-west (on the western bank of the Meuse) it extends up to the border between Belgium and the Netherlands (on the other side of which the Dutch municipality of Maastricht is situated).

The city of Visé is located in a distance of some 20 km (12,4 miles) north eastern of Belgian Liège city and of some 15 km (9,3 miles) southern of the most southern Dutch city of Maastricht.

In addition to the Meuse, the Albert Canal also passes through this town.

History
The Germans entered Belgium on 4 August 1914, and entered Visé that day as part of the opening movements of the Battle of Liège. A small group of Belgian gendarmes opposed the advancing Germans and two of their number, Auguste Bouko and Jean-Pierre Thill, were killed in the action becoming the first Belgian casualties of World War I. On 7 August, in the Lixhe section of the town, the German 90th Infantry Regiment killed eleven civilians and destroyed eleven houses. By 17 August 1914, fourty two civilians were killed, and 586 out of the village's 840 houses had been destroyed.

The Lixhe part of the town was also the site of one of Belgium's ninety eastern-frontier advanced-warning posts (postes d'alerte de la frontière est), aimed at preventing a German invasion in 1939 – its number was "PA 0". The coal mine of Hasard de Cheratte was dug in Cheratte and exploited between 1850 and 1977.

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Orient Express

The Orient Express was a long-distance passenger luxury train service created in 1883 by the Belgian company Compagnie Internationale des Wagons-Lits (CIWL) that operated until 2009. The train traveled the length of continental Europe, with terminal stations in Paris in the northwest and Istanbul in the southeast, and branches extending service to Athens, Brussels, and London.

The Orient Express embarked on its initial journey on June 5, 1883, from Paris to Vienna, eventually extending to Istanbul, thus connecting the western and eastern extremities of Europe. The route saw alterations and expansions, including the introduction of the Simplon Orient Express following the opening of the Simplon Tunnel in 1919, enhancing the service's allure and importance. Several routes concurrently used the Orient Express name, or variations. Although the original Orient Express was simply a normal international railway service, the name became synonymous with intrigue and luxury rail travel. The city names most prominently served and associated with the Orient Express are Paris and Istanbul, the original termini of the timetabled service. The rolling stock of the Orient Express changed many times.

However, post-World War II, the Orient Express struggled to maintain its preeminence amid changing geopolitical landscapes and the rise of air travel. The route stopped serving Istanbul in 1977, cut back to a through overnight service from Paris to Bucharest, which was cut back further in 1991 to Budapest, then in 2001 to Vienna, before departing for the last time from Paris on 8 June 2007. After this, the route, still called the Orient Express, was shortened to start from Strasbourg, leaving daily after the arrival of a TGV from Paris. On 14 December 2009, the Orient Express ceased to operate entirely and the route disappeared from European railway timetables, a "victim of high-speed trains and cut-rate airlines".

In contemporary times, the legacy of the Orient Express has been revived through private ventures like the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express, initiated by James Sherwood in 1982, which offers nostalgic journeys through Europe in restored 1920s and 1930s CIWL carriages, including the original route from Paris to Istanbul. Since December 2021, an ÖBB Nightjet runs three times per week on the Paris-Vienna route, although not branded as Orient Express. Beginning in 2025, Accor will launch its own Orient Express with journeys from Paris to Istanbul.

Train Eclair de luxe (the "test" train)

In 1882, Georges Nagelmackers, a Belgian banker's son, invited guests to a railway trip of 2000 km on his  Train Eclair de luxe ("lightning luxury train"). The train left Paris Gare de l'Est on Tuesday, 10 October 1882, just after 18:30 and arrived in Vienna the next day at 23:20. The return trip left Vienna on Friday, 13 October at 16:40 and, as planned, re-entered the Gare de Strasbourg at 20:00 on Saturday 14 October.

Georges Nagelmackers was the founder of Compagnie Internationale des Wagons-Lits (CIWL), which expanded its luxury trains, travel agencies and hotels all over Europe, Asia, and North Africa. Its most famous train remains the Orient Express.

The train was composed of: The first menu on board (10 October 1882): oysters, soup with Italian pasta, turbot with green sauce, chicken ‘à la chasseur’, fillet of beef with ‘château’ potatoes, ‘chaud-froid’ of game animals, lettuce, chocolate pudding, buffet of desserts.
 * Baggage car
 * Sleeping coach with 16 beds (with bogies)
 * Sleeping coach with 14 beds (3 axles)
 * Restaurant coach (nr. 107)
 * Sleeping coach with 13 beds (3 axles)
 * Sleeping coach with 13 beds (3 axles)
 * Baggage car (complete 101 ton)

History
On 5 June 1883, the first Express d'Orient left Paris for Vienna via Munich. Vienna remained the terminus until 4 October 1883, when the route was extended to Giurgiu, Romania. At Giurgiu, passengers were ferried across the Danube to Ruse, Bulgaria, to pick up another train to Varna. They then completed their journey to Constantinople, as the city was still commonly called in the west at the time, by ferry. In 1885, another route began operations, this time reaching Constantinople via rail from Vienna to Belgrade and Niš, carriage to Plovdiv, and rail again to Istanbul.

On 1 June 1889, the first direct train to Constantinople left Paris from Gare de l'Est. Istanbul, as it became known in English by the 1930s, remained its easternmost stop until 19 May 1977. The eastern terminus was the Sirkeci Terminal by the Golden Horn. Ferry service from piers next to the terminal would take passengers across the Bosphorus to Haydarpaşa Terminal, the terminus of the Asian lines of the Ottoman Railways.

The train was officially renamed the Orient Express in 1891.

The onset of the First World War in 1914 saw Orient Express services suspended. They resumed at the end of hostilities in 1918, and in 1919 the opening of the Simplon Tunnel allowed the introduction of a more southerly route via Milan, Venice, and Trieste. The service on this route was known as the Simplon Orient Express, and it ran in addition to continuing services on the old route. The Treaty of Saint-Germain contained a clause requiring Austria to accept this train: formerly, Austria allowed international services to pass through Austrian territory (which included Trieste at the time) only if they ran via Vienna. The Simplon Orient Express soon became the most important rail route between Paris and Istanbul.

The 1930s saw the Orient Express services at its most popular, with three parallel services running: the Orient Express, the Simplon Orient Express, and also the Arlberg Orient Express, which ran via the Arlberg railway between Zürich and Innsbruck to Budapest, with sleeper cars running onwards from there to Bucharest and Athens. During this time, the Orient Express acquired its reputation for comfort and luxury, carrying sleeping cars with permanent service and restaurant cars known for the quality of their cuisine. Royalty, nobles, diplomats, business people, and the bourgeoisie in general patronized it. Each of the Orient Express services also incorporated sleeping cars which had run from Calais to Paris, thus extending the service from one end of continental Europe to the other.

The start of the Second World War in 1939 again interrupted the service, which did not resume until 1945. During the war, the German Mitropa company had run some services on the route through the Balkans, but Yugoslav Partisans frequently sabotaged the track, forcing a stop to this service.

Following the end of the war, normal services resumed except on the Athens leg, where the closure of the border between Yugoslavia and Greece prevented services from running. That border re-opened in 1951, but the closure of the Bulgarian–Turkish border from 1951 to 1952 prevented services running to Istanbul during that time. As the Iron Curtain fell across Europe, the service continued to run, but the Communist nations increasingly replaced the Wagon-Lits cars with carriages run by their own railway services.

By 1962, the original Orient Express and Arlberg Orient Express had stopped running, leaving only the Simplon Orient Express. This was replaced in 1962 by a slower service called the Direct Orient Express, which ran daily cars from Paris to Belgrade, and twice weekly services from Paris to Istanbul and Athens.

In 1971, the Wagon-Lits company stopped running carriages itself and making revenues from a ticket supplement. Instead, it sold or leased all its carriages to the various national railway companies, but continued to provide staff for the carriages. 1976 saw the withdrawal of the Paris–Athens direct service, and in 1977, the Direct Orient Express was withdrawn completely, with the last Paris–Istanbul service running on 19 May of that year.

The withdrawal of the Direct Orient Express was thought by many to signal the end of the Orient Express as a whole, but in fact a service under this name continued to run from Paris to Bucharest as before (via Strasbourg, Munich, Vienna, and Budapest). However, a through sleeping car from Paris to Bucharest was only operated until 1982, and also a through seating car was only operated seasonally. This meant that, as Paris–Budapest and Vienna–Bucharest coaches were running overlapped, a journey was only possible with changing carriages – despite the unchanged name and numbering of the train. In 1991 the Budapest-Bucharest leg of the train was discontinued, the new final station now becoming Budapest. In the summer season of 1999 and 2000 a sleeping car from Bucharest to Paris reappeared running twice a week, now operated by CFR. This continued until 2001, when the service was cut back to just Paris–Vienna, as a EuroNight train, though the coaches were actually attached to a regular Paris–Strasbourg express for that leg of the journey. This service continued daily, listed in the timetables under the name Orient Express, until 8 June 2007.

With the opening of the LGV Est Paris–Strasbourg high speed rail line on 10 June 2007, the Orient Express service was further cut back to Strasbourg–Vienna, departing nightly at 22:20 from Strasbourg, and still bearing the name, but lost the train numbers 262/263 which it had borne for decades.

The remains of the original train had a convenient connection to the Strasbourg-Paris TGV, but due to the less flexible prices the route became less attractive. In the final years through coaches between Vienna and Karlsruhe (continuing first to Dortmund, then to Amsterdam, and finally to Frankfurt) were attached. The last train with the name Orient-Express (now with a hyphen) departed from Vienna on 10 December 2009, and one day later from Strasbourg.

On 13 December 2021, an ÖBB Nightjet train began running three times per week on the Paris-Vienna route, although it is not branded as Orient Express.

One of the last known CIWL teak sleeping cars from the period before the First World War has been rotting away for decades on the Amfikleia station site in Greece.

Privately run trains using the name
In 1976, the Swiss travel company Intraflug AG first rented, then later bought several CIWL-carriages. They were operated as the Nostalgic Istanbul Orient Express by Seattle-based Society Expeditions. The route went first from Zürich to Istanbul, following the route of the Arlberg Orient Express. In 1983, the 100th anniversary of the Orient Express was celebrated by extending the route to run from Paris to Istanbul. The train ceased operations in 2007.

Belmond
In 1982, the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express was established by businessman James Sherwood as a private venture and is currently owned and operated by Belmond. It operates restored 1920s and 1930s carriages on routes around Europe. It also offered a connecting service from London to Folkestone on the British Pullman, using similarly restored vintage British Pullman cars, but it was announced in April 2023 that due to complications ensuing from Brexit this would cease, and travelers from London would have to take Eurostar to Paris in order to join the Orient Express. The Venice Simplon-Orient-Express operates from March to December and is aimed at leisure travellers. Tickets start at US$3,262 per person and it operates on multiple different routes most notably Paris-Istanbul via Vienna and Budapest. Despite its name, the train runs via the Brenner Pass instead of the Simplon tunnel. Belmond also offers a similarly themed luxury train in Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand, called the Eastern and Oriental Express. Sherwood also operated a chain of Orient Express-branded luxury hotels, licensed from SNCF, owner of the Orient Express branding. The chain was renamed Belmond in 2014 when the branding license ended.

Accor
In 2017, Accor purchased a 50% stake in the Orient Express brand from SNCF for the right to use the name. In 2018, Accor began renovation work on 17 CIWL carriages from the defunct Nostalgie Istanbul Orient Express, which date back to the 1920s and 1930s, to create their own Orient Express. It will carry passengers between Paris and Istanbul beginning in 2025. They will also offer journeys around Italy on Orient Express La Dolce Vita beginning in April 2025.

In popular culture
The glamour and rich history of the Orient Express has frequently lent itself to the plot of books and films and as the subject of television documentaries.

Literature

 * Dracula (1897) by Bram Stoker: while Count Dracula escapes from England to Varna by sea, the group sworn to destroy him travels to Paris and takes the Orient Express, arriving in Varna ahead of him.
 * Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1925) by Anita Loos wherein Lorelei and her friend Dorothy take a journey on the Oriental Express from Paris to Central Europe.
 * Stamboul Train (1932) by Graham Greene
 * The short story "Have You Got Everything You Want?" (1933), by Agatha Christie
 * Murder on the Orient Express (1934), one of the most famous works by Agatha Christie, takes place on the Simplon Orient Express
 * Oriënt-Express (1934) a novel by A. den Doolaard: it takes place in North Macedonia.
 * From Russia, with Love (1957), a James Bond novel by Ian Fleming, sees Bond travel from Istanbul to Venice aboard the Simplon Orient Express.
 * Travels with My Aunt (1969) by Graham Greene
 * Paul Theroux (1975) devotes a chapter of The Great Railway Bazaar to his journey from Paris to Istanbul on the Direct-Orient Express.
 * Neither Here nor There: Travels in Europe (1991) by Bill Bryson describes riding the train in 1973, when it was a run-down and neglected route.
 * The Orient Express (1992) a novel by Gregor von Rezzori follows a European American who, having ridden the original Orient Express in his youth, returns late in life to ride the refurbished version.
 * Flashman and the Tiger (1999) by George MacDonald Fraser: Harry Paget Flashman travels on the train's first journey as a guest of the journalist Henri Blowitz.
 * The Orient Express appeared in the 2004 novel Lionboy and its sequel Lionboy: The Case by Zizou Corder. Charlie Ashanti was stowing away on the train on his way to Venice when he met King Boris of Bulgaria.
 * The short story "On the Orient, North" by Ray Bradbury
 * The Orient Express appeared as a technologically advanced (for its time) train in the book Behemoth, by Scott Westerfeld.
 * Thea Stilton and the Mystery on the Orient Express by Elisabetta Dami
 * Madness on the Orient Express is an anthology of horror stories, all connected to the Orient Express, edited by James Lowder.
 * First Class Murder (2015) by Robin Stevens from the Murder Most Unladylike series is set on the Orient Express.
 * The Oriënt-Express served as the venue for a chess game described in the (1997) novel The Lüneburg Variation by Paolo Maurensig.
 * One of the criminal mysteries solved by Randall Garrett's alternative history detective Lord Darcy takes place on a luxurious cross-Europe train manifestly modeled on the Orient Express, though in this setting its final destination is Naples rather than Istanbul.

Film

 * Orient Express (1934), film adaptation of Graham Greene's Stamboul Train.
 * Orient Express (1944), German film about a murder on the train.
 * Sleeping Car to Trieste (1948), film by the Rank Organisation, story by Clifford Grey. A stolen diplomatic document is the quest of various groups on the Orient Express from Paris to Trieste. Copyright by Two Cities Films Ltd.
 * Orient Express (1954), whose plot revolves around a two-day stop at a village in the Alps by passengers on the Orient Express.
 * From Russia with Love (1963): James Bond, along with Bond girl Tatiana Romanova and ally Ali Kerim Bey, tries to travel on the Orient Express from Istanbul to Trieste, but complications involving SPECTRE assassin Red Grant force Bond and Tatiana to jump off the train in Yugoslav Istria.
 * Istanbul Express (1968): thriller, made for television, starring Gene Barry.
 * Travels with My Aunt (1972): Henry Pulling accompanies his aunt, Augusta Bertram, on a trip from London to Turkey. The two board the Orient Express in Paris; the train takes them to Turkey (though they disembark briefly at the Milan stop).
 * The Agatha Christie novel has been adapted into films in 1974, 2001, and 2017
 * Romance on the Orient Express (1985): TV movie with Cheryl Ladd.
 * 102 Dalmatians (2000)
 * Death, Deceit and Destiny Aboard the Orient Express (2000)
 * Around the World in 80 Days (2004): Mr Fogg travels on the train to Istanbul.
 * Orient Express (2004)
 * Murder on the Orient Express (2017)
 * Murder Mystery (2019): In the final scene Nick and Audrey Spitz are travelling on the Orient Express.
 * Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning Part One (2023): The third act of the film primarily takes place on the Orient Express bound from Venice to Innsbruck

Television

 * Orient Express was a syndicated TV series in the early- to mid-1950s. Filmed in Europe, its half-hour dramas featured such stars as Paul Lukas, Jean-Pierre Aumont, Geraldine Brooks and Erich von Stroheim.
 * In "The Orient Express" (episode number 48 of The World of Commander McBragg cartoon series), the Commander tells the story of how he once rode on that fabled train, dodging several assassination attempts on his life en route.
 * In the Pink Panther cartoon "Pinkfinger" the Pink Panther tries to be a secret agent and is almost blown up by a bomb on the Orient Express.
 * Daylight Robbery on the Orient Express, an episode of the award-winning British comedy television series The Goodies, was first broadcast on 5 October 1976 and is partially set aboard the train.
 * Mystery on the Orient Express: a television special featuring illusionist David Copperfield. During the special, Copperfield rode aboard the train and, at its conclusion, made the dining car seemingly disappear.
 * "The Istambul Train", "Il treno d'Istanbul" (1980) Hungarian–Italian television series "Stamboul Train" original title by Graham Greene (1932).
 * "Minder on the Orient Express" (1985): a special episode of the long-running ITV sit-com Minder.
 * Whicker's World – Aboard The Orient Express: Travel journalist Alan Whicker joined the inaugural service of the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express to Venice in 1982, interviewing invited guests and celebrities along the way.
 * Gavin Stamp's Orient Express: in 2007 UK's Five broadcast an arts/travel series which saw the historian journey from Paris to Istanbul along the old Orient Express route.
 * The 1987 cartoon Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles had an episode titled "Turtles on the Orient Express". As the title suggests it is primarily based on the train.
 * A 1993 advert for Bisto Fuller Flavour Gravy Granules featured in it with a young couple.
 * The 1995 cartoon Madeline had an episode titled Madeline on the Orient Express, in which a chef stole a snake.
 * The episode "Emergence" of the science fiction television series Star Trek: The Next Generation partially takes place on a Holodeck representation of the Orient Express.
 * On 15 May 2007 broadcast of Jeopardy!, the shows theme music "Think" was played by a person on the train's piano, since the Final Jeopardy clue was about the Orient Express.
 * In the British soap opera EastEnders, in 1986, characters Den and Angie Watts spent their honeymoon on the train.
 * "Aboard the Orient Express" Get Smart series 1, episode 13 is set on the Orient Express.
 * In one episode of the British cartoon series Danger Mouse, called "Danger Mouse on the Orient Express" (a parody of Murder on the Orient Express), Danger Mouse and Penfold travel on the train on their way back to London from Venice. Danger Mouse's arch enemy Greenback is also on the train.
 * In an episode of the television series Chuck, Chuck and Sarah decide to go AWOL and take a trip on the Orient Express.
 * At the end of the Doctor Who episode "The Big Bang", the Doctor receives a call for help from the "Orient Express — in space". This setting is used in the episode "Mummy on the Orient Express", including a reference to the ending of "The Big Bang", four years later.
 * In episode 15 of television series Forever (U.S. TV series), Dr Henry Morgan travelled from Budapest to Istanbul with his wife Abigail Morgan on his honeymoon in 1955. He performed an appendectomy on a member of the fictional Urkesh royalty.
 * The Backyardigans episode "Le Master of Disguise" features the Orient Express, showing Uniqua, Pablo, Austin, Tasha and Tyrone going to Istanbul from Paris.
 * The series Agatha Christie's Poirot, which adapted the entirety of Christie's works featuring Hercule Poirot as played by David Suchet, included an adaptation of Murder on the Orient Express as part of its 2010 episodes.
 * Michael Palin's Around The World in Eighty Days (1988). Michael Palin travelled on the Orient Express in episode 1 from London Victoria to Innsbruck, using a ferry across the English Channel from Folkestone. The train did not continue on to Venice because of a strike on the Italian railways.

Music

 * Alex Otterlei’s "Horror on the Orient Express" is inspired by the Call of Cthulhu RPG. The integral symphonic version was released on CD in 2002, a 26-minute Suite for Concert Band was published in 2012.
 * Orient Expressions, a musical group from Turkey who combine traditional Turkish music with elements of electronica, take their name from the train service.
 * The Jean Michel Jarre album The Concerts in China has a track entitled "Orient Express" as track 1 of disc 2, though the relation to the train is unknown.
 * A concert band piece, Orient Express was written by Philip Sparke.
 * There was a band based in Hawaii called Liz Damon's Orient Express.

Games
Sources:
 * The role-playing game Call of Cthulhu (1981) used the train for one of its more famous campaigns, Horror on the Orient Express.
 * The TSR role-playing game Top Secret had a 1983 module based on the train titled "Operation Orient Express".
 * Just Games released a murder mystery boardgame (1985) called Orient Express using the famous train route as a backdrop for solving murders. The game is based on the novel Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie.
 * Heart of China (1991 computer game) has a final sequence in the Orient Express. An action scene takes place on the roof.
 * In 1994's season 1 episode of Where on Earth Is Carmen Sandiego? called, "The Gold Old Bad Days", Carmen Sandiego and her V.I.L.E. gang are given a challenge to do something low tech by The Player robbery. Carmen's goal is the train.
 * The Orient Express plays host to an adventure game by Jordan Mechner. The Last Express (1997 computer game) is a murder mystery game set around the last ride of the Orient Express before it suspended operations at the start of World War I. Robert Cath, an American doctor wanted by French police as he is suspected of the murder of an Irish police officer, becomes involved in a maelstrom of treachery, lies, political conspiracies, personal interests, romance and murder. The game has 30 characters representing a cross-section of European forces at the time.
 * In the game Crash Bandicoot 3: Warped (1998) for PS1, the third level (which is Asian-themed) is named Orient Express.
 * The Orient Express was featured in two scenarios in the Railroad Tycoon series:
 * In Railroad Tycoon II (1998), players get to connect Paris to Constantinople in a territory buying challenge.
 * In Railroad Tycoon 3 (2003) players need to connect Vienna to Istanbul.
 * The train is featured in Microsoft Train Simulator (2001), where its route is a 101 km section from Innsbruck to Sankt Anton am Arlberg in Austria.
 * The Orient Express cars were made available for download to use in Auran's Trainz Railroad Simulator 2004 or later versions by the content creation group FMA.
 * The video game adaptation of From Russia with Love includes scenes aboard the Orient Express
 * The Adventure Company developed a point-and-click adventure based on Agatha Christie's novel, Agatha Christie: Murder on the Orient Express (2006).
 * The first scenes of The Raven: Legacy of a Master Thief, a 2013 game for PC, involve a mystery set amongst train carriages inspired by the Orient Express.
 * The entire Orient Express set was used in the Facebook game, TrainStation (2010).
 * The Orient Express is a usable engine and caboose in the mobile game Tiny Rails (2016).
 * In Euro Truck Simulator 2 (2012) there is an achievement called Orient Express requiring players to complete deliveries between the following cities: Paris-Strasbourg, Strasbourg-Munich, Munich-Vienna, Vienna-Budapest, Budapest-Bucharest, Bucharest-Istanbul.
 * In Train Simulator, it features several routes of the Arlberg-Orient Express from London to Faversham, Bludenz to Innsbruck, a few lines around Salzburg, and a small section of the Simplon-Orient Express in Ljubljana. It also features a part of the ÖBB EN Orient Express and the original Orient Express line between Strasbourg and Munich.

title: Orient Express


text:
Talk:Albert Ludwigs University of Freiburg

More about the reduction from 15 to 11 departments can be read here (sorry it's in German): http://www.pr.uni-freiburg.de/prmit_layout_alt/prmit.php?ind=237

--zeno 09:45 Jan 29, 2003 (UTC)

Shouldn't we call the University Albert Ludwig WITHOUT the final "s" in Ludwig?! I mean, the "s" has a reason of being when you call the University in German, but NOT in English. --Kensai 09:20, 14 January 2006 (UTC)

Hi, I completely revisited the historical chapter of the Albert-Ludwigs-Universität and added a few things and tried to link as much as possible words but failed in two specific points: Ulric Zasius - I would suggest a slightly change in the spelling of that name (he was a student in Freiburg) while his name is precisely spelled "Ulrich Zasius" but will suggest that also there. As a second note I would like to add that I changed the name of the Habsburg Duke Albrecht VI (you'll find that name in the history of Freiburg) into Albert VI of Austria while that article already exists and both of the versions, "Albrecht VI" as well as Albert VI of Austria are very common (which sometimes may cause confusion). I hope you'll find the added text useful, for further information please contact me in that talkboard. I'm a student living and working in Freiburg at the Albert-Ludwigs-Universität and soon hopefully will finish my studies there so I probably could answer your requests. -- Ecclesia 07:56, 19 January 2006 (UTC) Ecclesia

Kensai: From your point of view you might be right but the "s" in "Albert Ludwigs University" is a part of the name. I even would say that "Albert Ludwigs University" is a compromise while its real name is "Albert-Ludwigs-Universität zu Freiburg im Breisgau". But I would claim that normally the names of institutions are spelled and pronounced in the language of its origin. Exceptions may be names like Munich or Cologne because lots of people have difficulties to pronounce an Umlaut properly (like there would be one in "München" or "Köln", f.e.). From there the Washington University in St. Louis in German is spelled the same way as in English (s. link in German Wikipedia: http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washington_University_in_St._Louis) so a native German speaker following your suggestion would say "Washingtoner Universität in St. Louis", or, overdoing it: "Washingtoner Universität in St. Ludwig". -- Ecclesia 07:53, 19 January 2006 (UTC) Ecclesia
 * Why isn't the name of the article in the original German? I think it makes more sense that way. --Liface 23:00, 9 November 2006 (UTC)

Prestige
Maybe it should be added, that the University of Freiburg is one of Germany's most prestigious universities, especially in respect to its law and medical school?

Incident
Does this have a place anywhere in the article (or in a different article)? Thanks, Yonatan (contribs/talk) 19:58, 4 March 2007 (UTC)


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Amel

Amel (Amblève, ) is a Belgian municipality in the Walloon province of Liège, and is part of the German-speaking Community of Belgium (Deutschsprachige Gemeinschaft Belgiens). On January 1, 2013, the municipality of Amel had a total population of 5,466. The total area is 125.15 km2 which gives a population density of 44 inhabitants per km2.

There are eighteen villages in Amel: Amel (village), Born, Deidenberg, Eibertingen, Halenfeld, Heppenbach, Hepscheid, Herresbach, Iveldingen, Medell, Meyerode, Mirfeld, Möderscheid, Montenau, Schoppen, Stephanshof, Valender and Wereth.

The name Amel is of Celtic origin and means water. The river Amblève (Amel) flows through the municipality.

Amel is the birthplace of Karl-Heinz Lambertz, former leader (Minister-President) of the community executive of the German-speaking community of Belgium.

History
In 716, the Battle of Amblève, between Charles Martel with the Austrasians on one side and the joint forces of the Frisians and Neustrians under Ragenfrid and Chilperic II on the other side, was the first victory for Charles Martel.

Amel was the site of heavy fighting during the Battle of the Bulge. On 17 December 1944, the Wereth Massacre took place when eleven soldiers of the African American 333rd Field Artillery Battalion were tortured and executed by members of the 1st SS Panzer Division Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler. A memorial to the Wereth 11 was erected in the village in 1994.

Sports
The municipality's football club, KFC Grün-Weiß Amel, play in the Liège Provincial League first tier (sixth tier overall).

title: Amel


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Aubel

Aubel (Åbe) is a municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Liège, Belgium.

On 1 January 2006 the municipality had 4,082 inhabitants. The total area is 18.83 km2, giving a population density of 217 inhabitants per km2.

The Val-Dieu Abbey is located in the municipality, as is the Siroperie Meurens maker of sirop de Liège.

Market
Aubel is famous for its regional products, these include: cheese, syrup, cider and beer. The market is active on Tuesdays and Sundays. It was very famous in the past and has been continually active since 1630. In the past, people came from far away to sell and buy products.

Especially the cheese from Aubel is very famous. It is protected as a Herve cheese by a European qualification.

Twin/Sister Towns

 * Vernantes, France

title: Aubel


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Baelen

Baelen (Bailou) is a municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Liège, Belgium.

On January 1, 2006, Baelen had a total population of 4,060. The total area is 85.73 km2 which gives a population density of 47.36 inhabitants per km2.

The municipality consists of the following districts: Baelen and Membach.

Notable people
Born in Baelen: Residing in Baelen:
 * Jean Arnolds (1904–1944), priest and member of the Belgian Resistance during World War II
 * Sunday Oliseh, a former Nigerian footballer and coach
 * Marc Lacroix, biochemist and breast cancer researcher

title: Baelen


text:
Büllingen

Büllingen (Bullange, ) is a municipality of East Belgium, located in the Belgian province of Liège, Wallonia. On January 1, 2006, Büllingen had a total population of 5,385. The total area is 150.49 km2 which gives a population density of 36 inhabitants per km2. The official language of Büllingen is German, but it offers French language facilities to francophones.

Since 1977 Büllingen consists of 27 villages:

 * Büllingen, Honsfeld, Hünningen, Mürringen
 * Rocherath, Krinkelt, Wirtzfeld
 * Manderfeld, Afst, Allmuthen, Andlermühle, Berterath, Buchholz, Eimerscheid, Hasenvenn, Hergersberg, Holzheim (Büllingen), Hüllscheid, Igelmonder Hof, Igelmondermühle, Kehr, Krewinkel, Lanzerath, Losheimergraben, Medendorf, Merlscheid, Weckerath.

Geography
Its component village of Krewinkel includes the easternmost point in Belgium. The municipality also contains Rocherath, the highest village in Belgium, as well as the second highest point in Belgium, the Weißer Stein near Mürringen.

History
In the period 1815–1919 it belonged first to the Kingdom of Prussia and later to the German Empire following the unification of Germany. In 1920 it was ceded to Belgium under the terms of the Treaty of Versailles as part of the Eupen-Malmedy (East Cantons) area.

The town played a role in the Battle of the Bulge as the Germans attempted to advance through the Ardennes Forest in World War II.

Postal history
Büllingen post-office opened in December 1863, in the Malmedy county (Kreis) of the Aachen district (Bezirk) in the Rheinland province.

Postal codes since 1969: 4760 Büllingen; 4761 Rocherath. In 1969 Manderfeld 4778 (4760 in 1990).

Sports
The municipality has two main football clubs: KFC Büllingen of Büllingen village (matricule number 7257)  and SG Rapid Mürringen of Mürringen village.

title: Büllingen


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Nord Express

The Nord Express (Northern Express) was a long-distance international express train which for more than a century connected Paris with first Russia and later Poland, the Baltic states and Scandinavia. In its heyday before the First World War, it was considered the ultimate luxury train in Europe.

Introduced in 1896 by the Compagnie Internationale des Wagons-Lits, which operated sleeping-cars, dining cars and trains deluxe all over Europe, including the Orient Express, it connected Paris and Saint Petersburg. After World War I and the Russian Revolution, the train's route was shortened to Warsaw and Riga instead of Saint Petersburg. And after World War II the "Iron Curtain" diverted the train's route further to Stockholm and Oslo, until air travel caused the end to this famous train.

Although the Nord Express has received significantly less attention than the Orient Express, it is one of the CIWL's best-known luxury trains and has been featured in a number of artistic works.

Background
In 1874, the Belgian civil engineer and railway entrepreneur Georges Nagelmackers founded the Compagnie Internationale des Wagons-Lits (lit. International Sleeping-Car Company, also CIWL). The purpose was to establish a network of luxurious long-distance passenger trains across the European continent inspired by the Pullman night trains of the United States. As one of these train connections, the CIWL wanted to establish a direct cross-continental link between Saint Petersburg and Lisbon to connect with ocean liners to America. However, this concept proved too complex and could not be realized. In turn, two separate connections arose: the Sud Express from Paris to Lisbon and the Nord Express from Paris to Saint Petersburg.

Before World War I
On 9 May 1896, the Nord Express departed for the first time from the French to the Russian capital. This train service enabled people to travel across Europe in what was, by the standards of the time, a very fast and comfortable manner. For the operation of the Nord Express, the CIWL had to close contracts and timetable agreements with fourteen railway administrations, including nine Prussian administrations, as well as the ferry service across the English Channel between Dover and Ostend.

The train left Paris and Ostend (with connection from London) and travelled via Brussels, Cologne, Hanover, Berlin, Königsberg (now Kaliningrad) and Dvinsk (now Daugavpils) to Saint Petersburg. Passengers to and from Russia had to change once in East Prussia at the German/Russian border because Russian railway tracks are of a wider gauge than those in Western Europe. In Paris there was a connecting service to the Sud Express (Southern Express) to Lisbon.

Interwar period
After World War I and the Russian Revolution the train's route was shortened to Warsaw and Riga instead of Saint Petersburg. Riga joined the connection in 1923, with a separate Riga–Moscow line introduced as well.

Post-War Period
After World War II the "Iron Curtain" divided Europe, and the initially luxury and since 1951 ordinary night train's route was diverted further from Paris via Hamburg and Copenhagen to Stockholm and Oslo.

The emergence of air travel and high-speed rail caused the end to this famous train. In 2007 it was shortened further and such that it ran between Paris and Hamburg, taking 10.5 hours.

In the arts
The Nord Express has received significantly less attention than the Orient Express. Nevertheless, it is one of the CIWL's best-known luxury trains and has been featured in a number of novels and films:
 * Georges Simenon's detective novel The Strange Case of Peter the Lett (1931) starts with the arrival of the Nord Express at the Gare du Nord in Paris. It is the first novel to feature Inspector Jules Maigret who would later appear in more than a hundred stories by Simenon and who has become a legendary figure in the annals of detective fiction.
 * Vladimir Nabokov describes in the seventh chapter of Speak, Memory how he traveled on the Nord Express from Saint Petersburg to France for a holiday in 1906.
 * Alfred Hitchcock's movie Strangers on a Train (1951), was translated to French as "L'inconnu du Nord-Express" (The unknown man in the Nord-Express).
 * The animated 20th Century Fox movie, Anastasia (1997) mentioned that the train was traveling from Saint Petersburg to Paris, which was most likely referring to the Nord Express.
 * The final conflict of The Silver Skates revolves around gaining passage to Paris on the Nord Express.

title: Nord Express


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Burg-Reuland

Burg-Reuland is a municipality located in the Belgian province of Liège. The name of the municipality refers to the castle "Burg-Reuland", which is located in the center of the community. On January 1, 2006, Burg-Reuland had a total population of 3,903. The total area is 108.96 km2 which gives a population density of 36 inhabitants per km2. Burg-Reuland is one of the municipalities of the German-speaking Community of Belgium.

The municipality consists of the following sub-municipalities: Reuland and Thommen.

The point where Belgium, Germany and Luxembourg meet is located on the river Our, near the village of Ouren in this municipality.

Sports
Burg-Reuland has two main football clubs: SG Rapid Oudler of Oudler village (matricule number 7432), who play in the Liège Provincial Leagues,   and Racing Club Burg-Reuland, who play in local amateur leagues not affiliated to the Royal Belgian Football Association.

title: Burg-Reuland


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Bütgenbach

Bütgenbach (Butgenbach, ) is a municipality located in the Belgian province of Liège. On January 1, 2006, Bütgenbach had a total population of 5,574. The total area is 97.31 km2 which gives a population density of 57 inhabitants per km2. As part of the German-speaking Community of Belgium, the official language in this municipality is German.

The municipality consists of the following sub-municipalities: Bütgenbach proper and Elsenborn. It lends its name to a nearby artificial lake.

title: Bütgenbach


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Dison

Dison (Dizon) is a municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Liège, Belgium.

On January 1, 2006, Dison had a total population of 14,243. The total area is 14.01 km2 which gives a population density of 1,017 inhabitants per km2.

The municipality consists of the following districts: Andrimont and Dison.

title: Dison


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Eupen

Eupen (,, ; Ööpe ; Neyåw ; former Néau ) is the capital of German-speaking Community of Belgium and is a city and municipality in the Belgian province of Liège, 15 km from the German border (Aachen), from the Dutch border (Maastricht) and from the "High Fens" nature reserve (Ardennes). The town is also the capital of the Euroregion Meuse-Rhine.

First mentioned in 1213 as belonging to the Duchy of Limburg, possession of Eupen passed to Brabant, Burgundy, the Holy Roman Empire and France before being given in 1815 to Prussia, which became part of the new German Empire in 1871. In 1919, after the First World War, the Treaty of Versailles transferred Eupen and the nearby municipality of Malmedy from Germany to Belgium.

German remains the official language in Eupen (also spoken in the form of the Eupen dialect), and the city serves as the capital for Belgium's German-speaking Community. The city has a small university, the Autonome Hochschule in der deutschsprachigen Gemeinschaft, offering bachelor's degrees in Education and Nursing. In 2010, Eupen's association football team, K.A.S. Eupen, became the first club from the German-speaking Community to play in the Belgian Pro League.

On 1 January 2006, Eupen had a total population of 18,248 (8,892 males and 9,356 females). The total area is 103.74 km² which gives a population density of 175.90 inhabitants per km2.

Early history
Eupen and the St. Nikolaus Chapel were first mentioned in 1213 as part of the Duchy of Limburg. In 1288, after the Battle of Worringen, the Duchy of Limburg was annexed by John I of Brabant. Brabant and Limburg were inherited by Burgundy in 1387, and Eupen was burnt to the ground during the war against the Guelders. Burgundy was dissolved in 1477 by the Austrian Habsburgs who then inherited Eupen after gaining both Limburg and Brabant.

Habsburgs and Germans
Habsburg Holy Roman Emperor Charles V granted Eupen the privilege to conduct two markets per year in 1544. In 1555, both Brabant and Limburg were passed to the Spanish branch of the Habsburgs. Ten years later, Protestantism was mentioned for the first time in the town. In 1582, during the Dutch Revolt against the Spanish Habsburgs, rebels burnt Eupen but did not take control of it. Bubonic plague reached Eupen in 1635, with devastating consequences. Eupen obtained its own court of law in 1648, and in 1674 received city rights, giving it greater recognition and autonomy. Six years later, textile manufacture was introduced to the city.

In 1713, with the Treaty of Utrecht, Brabant and Limburg were returned to the Austrian Habsburgs. Revolutionary France took the city in 1794, incorporating it into the Département Ourthe, préfecture Liège and sous-préfecture Malmedy. Following the Congress of Vienna in 1815, Eupen became part of the Prussian Rhine Province. All Prussian possessions became part of the German Empire in 1871, while Eupen itself enjoyed its popularity as a spa town.

Records show that a weaver named 'Schunck' was established as early as 1776. His eldest son, Nikolaus Severin Schunck (1799–1865), had six sons, of whom the third oldest, Arnold, would later found the firm in Heerlen. The youngest son, Joseph, remained at the weaving mill and there is still a weaving mill in Kettenis run by descendants of Nikolaus. The company became the famous Schunck.

20th century
After the First World War, the 1919 Treaty of Versailles transferred Eupen and the nearby municipality of Malmedy from Germany to Belgium. The effect led to the formation of National Socialist groups in Eupen. From 1938 the Vesdre Dam was constructed (completed in 1950), creating Lake Eupen. In 1940, Nazi Germany invaded Belgium; in an attempt to reverse Versailles, Eupen and Malmedy were annexed to Germany. In September 1944, American forces reached Eupen which became a centre of fierce fighting in the Battle of the Bulge.

In 1949, the left tower of the St Nikolaus Church burnt down. The city centre was affected by flooding in 1953. Eupen merged with the municipality of Kettenis in 1976, amidst protest from that town.

In 1980, following a state reform ten years earlier, the German-Speaking Community of Belgium was established and Eupen was named as its capital.

Climate
Eupen has a cool oceanic climate with some continental influences due to it being elevated in comparison to most of Belgium. Eupen is also wetter and cloudier than Liège in the valley to the west, as a result of orographic lift due to the elevation change. As a result of this along with frequent winter frosts, Eupen gets a significant snowfall amount by Belgian standards. It also gets 16 ice days on average each year, as in the day staying below 0 C, along with 71 frost days.

Culture

 * Rhenish Carnival occurring around Rosenmontag.
 * Municipal Museum, Gospertstrasse
 * IKOB: Museum of Contemporary Art
 * Permanent exhibition of paintings at the Christian Silvain Foundation
 * BRF: Belgischer Rundfunk, is the public-service broadcasting organisation serving the German-speaking Community of Belgium.

Sport
K.A.S. Eupen, founded in 1945, is the city's main association football club and play at the 8,000-capacity Kehrwegstadion. In 2010, after winning a play-off, the side became the first club from the German-speaking Community to reach the country's top flight, then known as the Belgian Pro League. They were relegated after one season, returning to the top level, now known as Belgian First Division A, in 2016.

title: Eupen


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Herve

Herve (Herf; Heve) is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Liège, Belgium. On January 1, 2018 Herve had a total population of 17,598. The total area is 56.84 km2 which gives a population density of 310 PD/km2.

It is famed for its Herve cheese.

Municipal merger
Since January 1, 1977, the municipality consists of the following districts: Battice, Bolland, Wallonia, Chaineux, Charneux, Grand-Rechain, Herve, Julémont and Xhendelesse.

Herve is currently constituted of 11 villages: Battice, Bolland, Bruyères, Chaineux, Charneux, Grand-Rechain, Herve, José, Julémont, Manaihant, Xhendelesse.

There are a number of smaller villages in the Herve region, such as Hacboister (district of Bolland).

Architecture

 * The Church of St John the Baptist: built in the 17th century. The tower, with a height of 49 m, dates back to the 13th century. The bell tower is a distinctively crooked spire, in order to offer better resistance to the wind. The church was classed as a historic monument in 1934.
 * Château de Bolland: a mediaeval château largely rebuilt in the 17th century

title: Herve


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Jalhay

Jalhay (Djalhé) is a municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Liège, Belgium.

On 1 January 2006 Jalhay had a total population of 7,953. The total area is 107.75 km2 which gives a population density of 74 inhabitants per km2.

The municipality consists of the following districts: Jalhay and Sart.

The highest point of the municipality is the Baraque Michel in the High Fens, at 674 m.

title: Jalhay


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Kelmis

Kelmis (La Calamine, ) is a municipality located in the Belgian province of Liège, named for the historical deposits of calamine (zinc ore) nearby. , the population was 10,881; the area is 18.1 km2, and the population density is undefined PD/sqkm.

The municipality comprises the following sub-municipalities: Kelmis proper, Hergenrath, and Neu-Moresnet.

The territory around the Vieille Montagne zinc mine in Kelmis was Neutral Moresnet, a neutral condominium of the Netherlands and Prussia (later Belgium and Germany) from 1816 to 1919, with the Mayor of Kelmis nominated by two commissioners from the neighbouring countries. Although there were attempts by locals to make it evolve into a fully independent microstate, all of them were thwarted, and it remained under double sovereignty and neutrality until its eventual annexation by Belgium after the First World War.

There is a war memorial to German soldiers from Kelmis who were killed during the Franco-Prussian War, located in the Aachener Strasse, and one to inhabitants of Kelmis who were killed in the First and Second World Wars, located in the Kirchplatz (French: Place de l'Église).

A small museum in Kelmis, the Museum Vieille Montagne, includes exhibits on Neutral Moresnet. Of the 60 border markers for the territory, more than 50 are still standing.

In the nineteenth century, a Low Dietsch dialect was spoken in Kelmis. Today, Kelmis is German-speaking. It has facilities for French speakers, and is one of the nine municipalities of the German‑speaking Community of Belgium.

title: Kelmis


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Lierneux

Lierneux (Lierneu) is a municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Liège, Belgium.

On January 1, 2006, Lierneux had a total population of 3,367. The total area is 92.08 km2 which gives a population density of 37 inhabitants per km2. Lierneux is known for its psychiatric hospital CHS l'Accueil.

The municipality consists of the following districts: Arbrefontaine, and Bra, and Lierneux.

History
Within the bounds of the municipality a lies a memorial site to the tribute of the 82nd Airborne Division who won the Battle of the Bulge against the German SS division December 22, 1944.

title: Lierneux


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Limbourg

Limbourg (German and Dutch: Limburg; Limbôr) or Limbourg-sur-Vesdre is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Liège, Belgium.

On 1 January 2008, Limbourg had a total population of 5,680. The total area is 24.63 km2 which gives a population density of 231 inhabitants per km2.

The municipality consists of the following districts: Bilstain, Goé, and Limbourg.

The lower part of the town, along the Vesdre, is called Dolhain.

Etymology and history
The second part of the name Limbourg is from burg meaning a fortified town, which is common in many parts of Europe where Germanic languages are spoken or have been spoken historically (see Germanic placename etymology). Concerning the first part of the name, there are various theories. One is lint meaning "dragon". Another is that it refers back to the Roman-era limes, situated at boundaries of the Empire. It may also have been related to the material lim or lime. Jean-Louis Kupper has proposed that the fort was named by its founder Frederick after Limburg Abbey in Germany, which in his lifetime had important connection to his imperial patrons and the Abbey of Stavelot, for which he was advowee.

Limbourg is located on top of a hill which in its turn is surrounded by the river Vesdre. This was a strong military advantage in the Middle Ages and allowed the city to defend itself against foreign invaders. In the Middle Ages, the ruling family came to have the rank of duke and so the town was the seat of the Duchy of Limburg, which was a part of the Lower Lorraine region of the Holy Roman Empire.

The town featured in the War of the Spanish Succession, falling in 1703 to British and Dutch Republican forces led by the Duke of Marlborough.

The song 'The Fat Lady of Limbourg' on Brian Eno's 1974 album 'Taking Tiger Mountain (By Strategy)' describes an asylum in the town which has more patients than there are residents of the town.

title: Limbourg


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Lontzen

Lontzen is a municipality located in East Belgium. On January 1, 2018 Lontzen had a total population of 5,695. The total area is 28.73 km2 which gives a population density of 198 inhabitants per km2.

The municipality consists of the following sub-municipalities: Lontzen proper, Herbesthal, and Walhorn.

In the 19th century, a Low Franconian dialect was widely spoken in Lontzen.

title: Lontzen


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Malmedy

Malmedy (Malmedy, historically also Malmünd ; Måmdiy) is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Liège, Belgium.

On January 1, 2018, Malmedy had a total population of 12,654. The total area is 99.96 km2 which gives a population density of 127 inhabitants per km2.

The municipality consists of the following districts: Bellevaux-Ligneuville, Bévercé (including the hamlets of Baugnez and Xhoffraix), and Malmedy.

Under the complex administrative structures of Belgium, which has separate structures for territorial administration and for language community rights, Malmedy is part of Wallonia and of the French Community of Belgium. But since it has a German speaking minority, it is one of Belgium's municipalities with language facilities (or "municipalities with facilities"). Malmedy and Waimes are the two municipalities in the French-speaking part of Wallonia with facilities for German speakers. The population of Malmedy is approximately 95% French speakers and 5% German speakers. The variety of German spoken is Moselle Franconian.

Seismic risks
In the provinces of Liège, Limburg and Hainaut, seismic activity is higher than in the rest of the country. Malmedy is one of the communes in zone 2, that is to say, the zone most susceptible to earthquakes, in Belgium.

The earthquake of 1692, which touched the area of Verviers, as well as being responsible for landslides, took place in the valley of Warche east of Bévercé (in the south of the junction with the brook of Trô Maret). The remains and evidence, of these landslides, which affected the Conglomerate of Malmedy were discovered in March 2015. Ground surveys, subsequently, led to revisions of the local geological map.

History
The name of "Malmedy" comes from the Latin sentence "A malo mundarum", meaning "purifying from evil". The name originated due to regular flooding in the past from the Warche river, which passes through the town.

The city was founded in 648 by Saint Remacle, Abbot of Solignac Abbey in France. He had established his Benedictine Monastery in Malmedy. Between this date and 1794, the history of Malmedy is linked to the Princely Abbey of Stavelot-Malmedy, a clerical microstate ruled by a prince-abbot.

For 1,146 years, Malmedy and Stavelot together formed the Principality of Stavelot-Malmedy. Seventy-seven successive prince abbots of the Germanic Holy Roman Empire and the County of Logne led the state. However, a rivalry grew up rapidly between the two towns, because Saint Remacle decided to choose Stavelot as the main city of the Principality.

In the 16th century, a significant number of industries appeared in the area of Malmedy: cloth, leather and gunpowder production. In the 17th century, Stavelot-Malmedy became the most important tannery centre in Europe. But the main industry in Malmedy was the papermaking industry. It brought considerable wealth to the town.

In 1795, during the French Revolution and the Liège Revolution, the Principality of Stavelot-Malmedy was annexed by France. Malmedy became a lower prefecture in the "département de l'Ourthe".

After the defeat of Napoléon in 1815, during the Congress of Vienna, the decision was made to link Malmedy, a Romance and Walloon town, to Prussia, a Germanic state. This special situation of Malmedy caused a lot of problems in the first 50 years. However, the inhabitants were free to speak French as they pleased, including in the day-to-day running of the town council.

This situation changed following the Franco-German War of 1870 and the foundation of the German Empire. For the Prussian-German administration, Malmedy suffered a double disadvantage as it was both francophone and Catholic. From this moment, the government under Chancellor Bismarck implemented a policy of Germanisation: In schools, lessons in French were banned and the German language was mandatory. The priests were not allowed to preach any longer in French.

During the First World War, the population of Malmedy fought in German uniforms. But when the defeat of the German Empire was proclaimed, Malmedy and the other eastern cantons were annexed to Belgium by virtue of the Treaty of Versailles. Malmedy and neighbouring Eupen were subject to a plebiscite to determine whether the region would be separated from Germany and annexed to Belgium. The plebiscite ballots required registration of the names and addresses of the pro-German voters (the others were assumed to be pro-Belgian), and the German-speaking population of Eupen and Malmedy were intimidated. Both were formally annexed on 6 March 1925.

The main church of Malmedy that was built in 1777 served as a cathedral from 1920 to 1925.

Some older sources spell the city's name "Malmédy" - the accent was added when being part of Prussia and Germany - but its official website lists it as "Malmedy", with no accent. Along with the neighbouring city of Eupen, it formed a German-speaking area of Belgium. During this period, a few undaunted individuals went as far as founding a "Walloon Club" in 1897, and this still exists today.

Between 1940 and 1945, Malmedy was re-incorporated into Germany. In 1944, during the Battle of the Bulge, the area was the site of the Malmedy massacre, where 84 American prisoners of war were killed by Nazi SS troops under the command of Joachim Peiper. This was one of a number of such massacres of prisoners and Belgian civilians which took place in the Malmedy area.

On 21 December 1944 the town, which was then held by US troops, was attacked by German forces (under the command of Otto Skorzeny), who were repelled. On 23, 24 and 25 December 1944 the city was bombed repeatedly by the United States Army Air Forces in a series of friendly fire incidents. Approximately 200 civilians were killed in the attacks, while the number of American casualties has never been revealed by the United States Department of Defense.

Today, the people of Malmedy are a mix of Romance and German cultures. Despite all the changes, the Malmedians seem to have preserved the qualities recognised by an 18th-century English chemist when he stated, "The inhabitants of Malmedy are honest, skillful, opulent, gracious, sociable and courteous towards foreigners."

Nowadays, the population consists of approximately 12,000 inhabitants. There are seven male choirs, two song groups, four brass bands, an accordion club, a mandolin club and a very active music academy.

Languages
Malmedy is a predominantly French-speaking city, with almost all of its population having French as their mother tongue.

However, due to its geographical position and history, Malmedy attaches great importance to the German language; although few, some people have German as their mother tongue.

Walloon is the historical language of the city, however few people speak it today and it is in constant decline against French. Most of the time, they are elderly people who have mastered this language. But Walloon remains present in the folk songs of the Cwarmê (Carnival).

Climate
Malmedy has an oceanic climate with continental influences due to its inland position and higher elevation. Winter can see ice days, strong air frosts and snowfall. Malmedy's high precipitation is commonly affecting the nearby Spa-Francorchamps race track, known for its treacherous weather conditions.

Folklore
Inhabitants are proud of their Walloon language and their typical folklore. The people of Malmedy never miss the chance to celebrate a festival. The main celebrations in Malmedy are the "Cwarmê" (Carnival), the "Saint-Jean d’été" (Midsummer's Day), the "Saint-Pierre" (the annual funfair at Saint Peter's Day), the "Saint-Géréon" (in Walloon "Tribodlèdje") and the Saint Martin's day ("Evêuyes").

Cwarmê
The "Cwarmê", a Walloon word defining the Carnival of Malmedy, is the town's main festivity. Even though a part of the Malmedian culture is linked to the German culture, the "Cwarmê" of Malmedy is actually a Walloon and Latin carnival.

The celebration takes place from Shrove Friday to Shrove Tuesday, 40 days before Easter. The "Cwarmê" Sunday is the most important day. For the tourist, it's the opportunity to see the old traditional costumes in the streets (2,500 people in costume). The "Cwarmê" is depicted as a "street carnival" and is not only a parade: people who are disguised pass through the crowd and perform amongst them.

Some traditional costumes at the "Cwarmê" of Malmedy[52]:
 * The "Haguète" is the most beautiful and most famous traditional costume of the "Cwarmê". She has a great hat with multi-coloured feathers and uses a form of long wooden tongs to catch the foot of a spectator.
 * The "Longuès-Brèsses" (Long-bras in French, Long-arms in English) is a type of clown with long arms. He uses his arms to catch a spectator's hat which he then puts on the head of another person.
 * The "Long-Né" consists of a group of eight people, each wearing a long-nose mask, a traditional blue smock and a long red & white cap. The group chooses a spectator in the crowd whom they follow and imitate until he offers them some beverages.

Noticeable residents

 * Christian Brüls (born 1988), footballer
 * Joseph Doutrelepont (1834-1918), German surgeon and dermatologist
 * Marie-Anne Libert (1782-1865), plant pathologist and mycologist
 * Guido Maus (born 1964), painter and sculptor
 * Henri Pousseur (1929-2009), composer
 * Bernd Rauw (born 1980), footballer
 * Olivier Werner (born 1985), footballer
 * Raoul Ubac (1910-1985), painter, photographer and sculptor

title: Malmedy


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Olne

Olne (Ône) is a municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Liège, Belgium.

On January 1, 2006, Olne had a total population of 3,793. The total area is 15.99 km2 which gives a population density of 237 inhabitants per km2.

Olne was the 24th village to join Les Plus Beaux Villages de Wallonie.

title: Olne


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Pepinster

Pepinster ( or ) is a municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Liège, Belgium.

On 1 January 2006 Pepinster had a total population of 9,560. The total area is 24.79 km2 which gives a population density of 386 inhabitants per km2. Pepinster is situated at the confluence of the rivers Hoëgne and Vesdre.

The municipality consists of the following districts: Cornesse, Pepinster (including the hamlet of Tancrémont), Soiron, and Wegnez.

Pepinster was hit extremely hard by the 2021 European floods, the village was temporarily cut off from roads.

title: Pepinster


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Plombières

Plombières (Bleyberg or Bleiberg, Blieberg; So-on-Mont-d'-Plomb) is a municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Liège, Belgium.

On 1 January 2006, Plombières had a total population of 10,401. The total area is 53.17 km2 which gives a population density of 200 inhabitants per km2.

The municipality consists of the following districts: Gemmenich, Hombourg, Montzen, Moresnet, and Sippenaeken.

The local language is Low Dietsch, a bridge dialect between East Limburgish and Ripuarian.

title: Plombières


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Raeren

Raeren is a municipality of the German speaking community of Belgium located in the Walloon province of Liège. It was part of Germany until the First World War, after which it became part of Belgium. It is one of several towns in eastern Belgium which predominantly speak German.

On 1 January 2006, Raeren had a total population of 10,091. The total area is 74.21 km2 which gives a population density of 136 inhabitants per km2. The municipality consists of the following sub-municipalities: Eynatten, Hauset, and Raeren proper.

Mathias Cormann, the former Minister for Finance of Australia and current Secretary-General of the OECD, was raised in Raeren.

Transportation
Its Raeren railway station was the hub and headquarters of the Vennbahn railway.

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St. Vith

St. Vith (Sankt Vith ; Saint-Vith ; Sankt Väit ; Sint-Vit) is a city and municipality of East Belgium located in the Walloon province of Liège. It was named after Saint Vitus. The majority language is German, as in the rest of the German Speaking Community of Belgium.

On January 1, 2006, St. Vith had a total population of 9,169. The total area is 146.93 km2, giving a population density of 62 inhabitants per km2. The official language of the municipality is German.

The municipality consists of the following sub-municipalities: Sankt Vith, Crombach, Lommersweiler, Recht, and Schönberg.

History
St. Vith was an important marketplace of the region by the 12th century and received town rights in 1350. The town was damaged by fires in 1543, 1602, and 1689. It was part of the Duchy of Luxemburg then of France until the defeat of French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte. As a result of the Congress of Vienna it was given to the Kingdom of Prussia.

St. Vith was transferred to Belgium on March 6, 1925, by the Treaty of Versailles after the defeat of the German Empire in World War I.

An important road and railway junction, St. Vith was fought over in the 1944 Battle of the Bulge during World War II. The United States Army defended the town against German assault for a few days, delaying the German attack plan, before eventually being forced to retreat. Once it was captured by German forces, the town was bombed by the US Army Air Forces on 25 and 26 December 1944 and by RAF Bomber Command with 300 aircraft on the 26. St. Vith was mostly destroyed during the ground battle and subsequent air attack. American forces retook the town on January 23, 1945. The only pre-war architecture remaining is the Büchel Tower.

St. Vith is the setting for Michael Oren's novel, Reunion, concerning a fictional reunion of an American battalion which participated in the Battle of the Bulge.

Sister cities

 * Kerpen, North Rhine-Westphalia, 🇩🇪
 * Teiuș, Alba County,

title: St. Vith