Verviers

Verviers is a Walloon city and municipality located in the Belgian province of Liège.

The Verviers municipality includes the old communes of Ensival, Lambermont, Petit-Rechain, Stembert, and Heusy. It is also the center of an agglomeration that includes Dison and Pepinster making it the second biggest in the province and an important regional center, conveniently located roughly halfway between Liège and the German border.

Water has played an important role in the town's economy, notably in the development first of its textile and later tourist industries. As a result, many fountains have been built in Verviers, leading it to be named Wallonia's "Water Capital". Moreover, the seats of the two Walloon public institutions for water distribution and water treatment are located in the town.

Etymology

The name of Verviers is certified in XIIth century on a document of the abbey of Stavelot.

Demography

On January 1st, 2016 it had a 55, 585 habitants (26, 972 men and 28, 613 women) giving a population density of 1 680,83 inhabitants per km ² covering an area of 33,07 km².

Geography

It is located around thirty kilometres from the German  and Dutch border and makes a crossroad between Liège, Aachen and Maastricht. In the valley of Vesdre, it is not far from the dam of Gileppe and Hautes Fagnes. Its boundaries include; the north by the Country of Herve and in the south by Ardenne.

History

Early history

Various flint and bone fragments, as well as Roman coins, were found in this area, attesting to the early settlements in the region. In the 4th century, the Romans had to deal with a constant push of Germanic tribes coming from the east. Successful at first at containing them, they finally had to concede defeat, allowing Clovis's Salian Franks to occupy the region at the end of the 5th century. The Verviers area was covered with forests and became a hunting ground for the Merovingian kings, who maintained a vicus (In Ancient Rome, the vicus (plural vici) was a neighborhood) in neighbouring Theux. It was also slowly Christianized by the monks of the nearby Abbey of Stavelot.

In the 10th century, Charles the Simple ceded the Marquisate of Franchimont to the prince-bishop of Liège, just before the creation of the Prince-Bishopric. Liège took direct control of the marquisate in 1014, an act which was confirmed by Emperor Frederick Barbarossa and by Pope Adrian IV in 1155.

15th century to the present

The first mention of a textile industry in this area dates from the 15th century. One century later, the cloth industry took the place of the older metallurgical works, thanks in part to the Eighty Years War raging in the neighbouring Netherlands. The size of the town, however, remained relatively modest. It was only in 1651 that the expansion of the fulleries led to Verviers being recognized as one of the prince-bishopric's bonnes villes (main cities).

The end of the 18th century was troubled by the French Revolution. The annexation of Liège to France in 1795 caused a steep economic decline and unprecedented poverty. The city's fortunes rose again after the Battle of Waterloo (1815). Verviers was at the eastern end of the sillon industriel, the industrial backbone of Wallonia. Industrialist William Cockerill used British know-how to start a new era in Verviers' textile industry. Roads were paved, gas lighting was installed, and the city doubled in size thanks to the Industrial Revolution. After World War I, Verviers could share with Bradford the title of "Wool Capital of the World".

Sights

• Verviers counts several museums, including the Wool and Fashion Tourist Centre, housed in a beautiful former factory with a Neoclassical-style façade, as well as the Home of Water: Aqualaine15
• The Grand Theatre, also known as La Bonbonnière, was built in the same style at the end of the 19th century, while the Grand Poste was built in the Neogothic style.
• The Dam of Gileppe
• The Museum of fine arts and ceramic of Verviers
• The Museum of Archaeology and Folklore

The city has a number of interesting fountains and thematic strolling paths.

Monuments

• The Town hall of Verviers is a building of neoclassical style located in Verviers.
• The railway station of Verviers-Central is a Belgian rail railway station of the line 37, Liège-Guillemins in Hergenrath (border), located close to the town centre of Verviers. The railway station was constructed in 1925 on plans of the architect verviétois Emile Burguet. It was brought into service on the February 1st, 1930. The monumental passengers building is a remarkable edifice.
• Church: Notre-Dame of Récollets is the name given to a statue of the virgin Mary in the church Notre-Dame-Des-Récollets. The statue is considered as miraculous by the faithful Catholics following an extraordinary event which took place during the earthquake which devastated the region in 1692. Object of popular devotion, the statue is in the church which carries its name.
• The Church Saint-Remacle is a Catholic religious building of the style ' Roman basilica ' on the place Saint-Remacle. It was built at the beginning of the XIXth century, known as a period of prosperity owed to the wool and textile industry.

Source https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Verviers

https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Verviers