Liège (province)

Coordinates: 50°38′N 05°34′E / 50.633°N 5.567°E / 50.633; 5.567
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Liège
Liège  (French)
Lüttich  (German)
Flag of Liège
Coat of arms of Liège
Location of Liège
Coordinates: 50°38′N 05°34′E / 50.633°N 5.567°E / 50.633; 5.567
Country Belgium
Region Wallonia
Capital
(and largest city)
Liège
Government
 • GovernorHervé Jamar (MR)
Area
 • Total3,857 km2 (1,489 sq mi)
Population
 (1 January 2022)[2]
 • Total1,110,989
 • Density288/km2 (750/sq mi)
HDI (2019)0.903[3]
very high · 8th of 11
WebsiteOfficial site

Liège [4] (French: Liège, German: Lüttich, Dutch: Luik, Kölsch: Lüttish, Limburgish: Luuk, Luxembourgish: Léck, Walloon: Lidje) is the easternmost province of the Walloon Region, in Belgium. Its capital is the city of Liège.

It is an area of French and German ethnic groups. Most of its inhabitants speak French and a minority of them speaks German.

History[change | change source]

Reinhardstein castle (1354) in Waimes

The present province comes from a department created by the French government in the late eighteenth century, the Department of Ourte. In 1815, after the defeat of Napoleon, the eastern part (Eupen, Malmedy, Saint-Vith and four other German municipalities) was given to the Prussian empire.[5]

While maintaining the French administrative borders, King William I of the Netherlands gave back the more traditional names of the provinces instead of the names used by the French. He named the province as Liège, remembering the old principality of Liège, although the region did not correspond much to the old principality.

In 1919, after the Prussian defeat, the cantons Eupen, Malmedy and Saint-Vith were again part of the province of Liège.[5]

Geography[change | change source]

The province of Liège is in southeastern Belgium and borders on (clockwise from the North) the Netherlands, Germany, Luxembourg and in Belgium the provinces of Luxembourg, Namur, Walloon Brabant (Wallonia), and those of Flemish Brabant and Limburg (Flanders).

The province has an area of 3,857 km2 (1,489 sq mi) and a population of about 1,111,000 in 2022. The province is divided into four arrondissements (arrondissementen in Dutch) with 84 municipalities, 75 French-speaking municipalities and 9 German-speaking municipalities.

With 694 m (2,277 ft), the Signal de Botrange is the highest point of the province and of Belgium.[6] It is in Waimes, Verviers district.[7]

Rivers[change | change source]

The main river is the Meuse (Dutch: Maas) river; its source is in France, in Champagne-Ardenne and then flows through Belgium by the provinces of Namur and Liège. After 950 km (590 mi), it flows into the North Sea.[8]

Other rivers in the province are:[8]

  • Ourthe, tributary of the Meuse.
  • Vesdre, also a tributary of the Meuse.
  • Amblève, tributary of the Ourthe.
  • Warche, tributary of the Amblève.
  • Geer, another tributary of the Meuse.

Administrative divisions[change | change source]

The province of Liège is divided into 4 arrondissements (Huy, Liège, Verviers and Waremme) and a total of 84 municipalities.

Map of the municipalities of Liège
(names are in the following table)
Municipalities by arrondissements, with their numbers in the map
Huy Liège Verviers Waremme

Population by arrondissement[change | change source]

Population x 1,000 (on 1 January since 1980).[9]

Arrondissement 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010 2020
Huy 94 88 93 100 108 114
Liège 618 612 590 586 604 626
Verviers 240 245 252 266 280 288
Waremme 58 61 63 68 76 82
Province of Liège 1,009 1,006 998 1,019 1,068 1,110

References[change | change source]

  1. "Bodembezetting volgens het Kadasterregister". statbel.fgov.be.
  2. "Structuur van de bevolking". statbel.fgov.be.
  3. "Sub-national HDI - Area Database - Global Data Lab".
  4. Official names are Province de Liège (French) and Provinz Lüttich (German).
  5. 5.0 5.1 "Histoire". Province de Liège (in French). Retrieved 2 September 2013.
  6. "Signal de Botrange". Peakbagger.com. Retrieved 2 September 2013.
  7. "84 communes". Province de Liège (in French). Retrieved 2 September 2013.
  8. 8.0 8.1 "Géographie". Province de Liège (in French). Retrieved 2 September 2013.
  9. Institut national de statistique - Direction générale Statistique et information économique

Other websites[change | change source]