In Belgium, a small country, there are countless medieval cities that are famous all over the world. Brussels, Antwerp, Bruges, Ghent, Leuven and Liege, all thunderous, each outstanding. They are like swaying flowers, competing to bloom after the first millennium of mankind, so that the medieval sky is no longer "thick fog locked in autumn", but "boundless scenery for a while". However, they seem to be "one family" and are divided into two camps, the north and south, which are almost incompatible. Antwerp, Bruges, Ghent and Leuven are the northern Flemish faction of the Dutch-speaking language family, Liège is the southern Wallonites of the French-speaking language, and the capital, Brussels, has become a centrist because of the unimpeded flow of both Dutch and French. Why is it that Liege, who seems to be weak in strength, can single-handedly fight against the combined forces of other famous cities?
Liege
Liege
Liege
Because of the Carolingian dynasty of the "father of Europe" Charlemagne. Charlemagne founded the Frankish Empire, unified much of Western Europe for the first time, and laid the foundations of what is today's Franco-German-Italian state, whose birthplace was near Liège. It can be said that the land of Liège was the land of his ancestors, who saved European Christian civilization and laid the foundation of the Carolingian dynasty. He was the grandfather of Charlemagne and the head of the Merovin dynasty of the Frankish kingdom, holding real power in the kingdom. As a military genius, he led his army to repel the Arabs who had crossed the Pyrenees and invaded Western Europe, so that the Allah's prayers did not float over Western Europe. This epic victory changed not only the fate of Europe, but also the fate of Liege.
Before the Franks converted to Christianity, Tongeren in Belgium was the Center of Christianity in Western Europe, and the Bishop was tempted by God to move the Center of Christianity to Maastricht in the Netherlands. When the last bishop of Maastricht, Lambert, was murdered in Liège in the early 7th century AD to defend church property from the engulfment of neighboring lords, the Christian center moved to Liege. At this time, it was still the merovingian dynasty, but it was the palace minister who controlled the kingdom, and the palace minister happened to be Charles Matt and his father Pepin II. It is said that after Pepin II had children with his mistress, Lambert rebuked them for desecrating the marriage. Because of this story, Lambert was enshrined as the patron saint of marriage. So, it is clear who the bishop was murdered.
Liege
Liege
Liege
After the murder of St. Lambert, his successor moved his body from Maastricht to Liège, then a small settlement, and built a chapel named after him on his grave, making it the nucleus of the city and also establishing a permanent residence of the bishop nearby. From this time on, Liège became the Christian center of Western Europe and a place of pilgrimage, and the "old nest" of the Carolingian dynasty was the prelude to its prosperity. The church was subsequently enlarged and became the nucleus of the diocese of Liège.
After Liège became the center of Christianity in Western Europe, Charles Matt defeated the Muslims, which made his reputation famous in the Western world and laid a solid foundation for his son's approval from the Pope when he established the Carolingian dynasty. When Charlie Matt's son, known as "Pepin the Short", no longer wanted to be the palace minister who "bowed to the government", the pope, who was anxious to get the protection of the Frankish kingdom, crossed the Alps and personally crowned Pepin, and the Carolingian dynasty of the Frankish kingdom officially entered the stage of history. Pepin soon helped the Pope resist the Lombard invasion and dedicated the 12 cities he conquered to the Pope, a history that calls "Pepin's sacrifice" as important as Charlie Matt's efforts to prevent Muslim invasion of Western Europe. Since then, the ecclesiastical power has begun to be combined with the royal power, laying the groundwork for the subsequent ecclesiastical power to eventually be higher than the royal power.
Liege
Liege
Liege
However, this milestone in the history of the Frankish kingdom benefited Liège greatly. As Pepin brought the Frankish kingdom into a new chapter, the diocese of Liege expanded, with Tongeren, the original Christian center of Western Europe, Maastricht, the birthplace of the euro, and Aachen, Germany, the cultural center of the Empire under Charlemagne, all of which became famous.
When Charlemagne died, the Frankish Empire was divided into three, and finally the East Frankish Kingdom evolved into the Holy Roman Empire, the diocese of Liège's jurisdiction was reduced, but the secular rights of the bishops expanded. Since Charles Matt had implemented the system of dividing the land and the peasants of the land among the meritorious men when he was minister of the palace, and this system was inherited by his descendants, bishop Liège became bishop of caiyi, with the rank of marquis (Fürst). This secular power lasted intermittently for more than 8 centuries, allowing Liege to remain relatively independent after it, both in the later Duchy of Burgundy and under the Spanish Empire, and this long period of independence gave rise to an arrogant and tenacious spirit of "Liege".
Liege
Liege
The year in which Bishop Liège had secular rights is not far from the first millennium of mankind, and the seeds of revolutionary innovation in the wool textile industry are waiting under the soil for the sun and rain to burst out. When the wool textile industry began to exert its strength, Liege hitched a ride on the express train of the industrial development of the wool textile industry because of its special geographical environment, and rushed all the way to the other side of prosperity. So, where are The Days?
It is within the rhine delta, the largest in Europe. In this delta, there are three rivers that are the lifeblood of the Low Countries: the Rhine, the Scheldt and the Meuse. These three "mainstays" gave birth to a large number of medieval cities along the coast after the innovation of the wool textile industry, including Ghent, Bruges, Brussels and Antwerp, etc. Liege is located on the banks of the Meuse River, thus becoming the center of the textile industry like these famous cities.
Unlike other famous cities, Liège has not only the Meuse River, but also the Ourthe River. After the confluence of the two rivers in Liège, a natural channel was formed in Liège, which led all the way to Maastricht and finally into the North Sea. The most different from these famous cities is that Liège is rich in coal, lead and iron ore, which makes the metal industry quite developed since the 12th century. Since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, the metallurgical and glass industries of Liège have also risen rapidly.
Liezhmez River
Liege
Liege
If the developed industry and commerce and metalworking industry provided Liege with a double inner armor of "autonomy", then its topography provided it with a layer of outer armor. It borders the Ardennes to the south, its natural barrier, and historically If you want to enter the center of the Paris Basin from the east, Liège is the throat of this passage, so Liège's strategic position has been quite important for centuries. This strategic position gave it the capital to bargain with its suzerainty, but it was also a target for rebels, the first of whom came from within Liège. As the land of the Frankish kingdom, Liege and the French kingdom were "one milk compatriot", but during the Hundred Years' War between England and France, the bishop of Liege and the Flemishes sided with the British, so the Lieges defeated the bishops, and then formed a unique political system of 32 guilds to govern the city, which was the earliest democratic system in the Low Countries.
The Duchy of Burgundy, which had been muddying the waters of the Hundred Years' War between England and France, finally exercised suzerainty over Liège, and the Duke appointed his brother-in-law as Bishop of Liège. The King of France was very upset and instigated the Rebellion of the Lièges, and although the Duchy of Burgundy tried to retake Liege, it was unsuccessful. The rebellion was written by British novelists in the novel Quentin Durward.
Liege
Liege
Liege
Liege and France were like grasshoppers on a rope, which caused it to be besieged by the Spanish Imperial Army during the 30 Years' War in Europe, and although it was fruitless, Spain captured the city during the Spanish Succession War and ceded it to the Austrian Habsburgs. When the "strongman" Napoleon suddenly rose to prominence, Liège finally returned to the embrace of the "old lord", but the autonomy was "reclaimed" by Napoleon, and Liège began to "sit on an equal footing" with other classical cities in Belgium. However, when the Industrial Revolution came, Liège distanced itself from other famous cities due to its own resource endowments, and it became the first industrial city in Belgium, its textile and munitions industries were very developed, and it was also the center of the steel industry. The great writer Victor Hugo once said, "Liège is no longer the city of Saint-Lambert's prayers and conquests, it has become a center of arms, metallurgy and glassmaking.".
Developed industry and the strategic position of the German army to attack France made it impossible to stop in World War II. In World War I, the Germans attacked France from this place, and Liège began the defense of the fortress. This fortress is a fortress ring built a few miles outside the city. The Germans attacked the ring of the fortress for 11 consecutive days after capturing the city of Liege and the bridge over the Meuse River, before opening the way to attack France at the cost of 25,000 casualties. In World War II, the Germans successfully broke through the French defense line here, crossed the Meuse River, and entered France.
Liege
Liege
Liege
When World War II ended, the defeated Germany had to endure the "humiliation of crotch", And France wanted to take control of Germany's industry and military such as steel and coal resources into the hands of its "partners", so it united with the Benelux and the defeated country of Germany and Italy to sign the "European Coal and Steel Community Treaty", the predecessor of the European Union. While other countries agreed to make Brussels their headquarters, belgium's foreign minister wanted to have his headquarters in Liège. "I don't agree with Brussels, otherwise my government will be overthrown tomorrow," he said. What's going on?
Because at that time Liege was already the core of the Steel and Coal Industry in Belgium, holding the lifeblood of the country. Before the treaty was signed, there was a massive riot in Liège that drove the King of Belgium out of power. The fourth king of Belgium in World War II ordered the besieged troops to surrender without informing the Allied forces after the German invasion of Belgium, which exposed the Flanks of the Allied Forces. When the war ended with a referendum on whether to let the king return, only two provinces voted against it, and Liège was one of them. After the king returned to the throne, a rebellion broke out in Liège, and even wanted to be independent, and the king, who had only sat on the throne for 2 days, had to abdicate. That's why Belgium insists that Liege be the headquarters of the Coal and Steel Community, which is too strong.
Liege
Liege
Liege
Although Liège eventually failed to become the headquarters of the coal and steel community, nor did it become the center of the European Union, and with the process of European deindustrialization, it became the most famous rust belt city in Europe, but it still cannot be underestimated. Today it is located in the very heart of the seven high-speed rail networks of London, Brussels and Berlin, and in one day, by road transport, goods transported from Liège can reach more than 400 million European consumers. This geographical location led Alibaba to establish its first European logistics hub here in 2018, welcoming five trains from China every Week on Liege. However, with the outbreak of the Russo-Ukrainian War, with the shift of supply chains, with China's self-"broken arm", will this kind of beauty still exist? Hopefully, it is not "to know that it is a dream, and to be overwhelmed with sorrow."
I entered Liège with the view that Liège is "not to be underestimated", but as soon as I entered Liège, I felt that I was wrong, and that Liège, which had illuminated Belgium like a hot sun in the sky, was gone. There is no first world country here, not only the roads are potholed, the houses are also dilapidated, I thought to myself, am I not living in the slums? In Liège, I stayed in a homestay, which had only two rooms, and the other room was inhabited by a very friendly black man, but I still had a drum in my heart.
Liege
Liege
Liege
The homestay is not far from the Meuse River, and I have to cross a bridge to enter the old town. I had the courage to walk more than a hundred meters down the street, with Middle Easterners along the way, and I even saw Kurds. Did Belgium put all the refugees in the Middle East in Liège? My heart was full of doubts. I didn't dare go any further, knowing I would definitely be back after dark, so I had to be careful, so I walked back and drove to St. Paul Church in the city center.
Parking was a big problem for me whenever I went to the city center. Pay machines are either Dutch or French, and it's all book of heaven for me. In Antwerp, because no one helped, I swiped my credit card in a vacuum, but I still couldn't get out of the parking building, and finally solved the problem with the help of the locals. I was lucky in Liège where I parked my car with two white high school students who spoke English and helped me with parking. Later I learned how rare these two little white children were in Liège.
St
St
St. Paul's Church, like St. Michael's Church, abounds in Christian countries. St. Paul was more powerful than St. Michael, who was considered the second most important person outside of Christ, and he wrote almost half of the New Testament. St. Paul's Cathedral, built in the 10th century, is the cathedral of Liège, and the residence of the bishop of Liège is also here, but it is not the residence of all the bishops of Liège. Before the French Revolution, it was only one of the seven university churches in Liège, and the clergy belonged to the second degree of the bishopric of Liège, while the first class clergy was in the Basilica of Saint-Lambert, which was the residence of the bishops of the diocese of Liège. But the church was used as a stables and slaughterhouse during the French Revolution, and the thousand-year-old church was destroyed.
After the destruction of St. Lambert's Cathedral, part of the church's treasure and the skeleton of St. Lambert were transported to St. Paul's Cathedral, and the 49 bells on the minaret are the originals of St. Lambert's Cathedral from a thousand years ago. The main church of this diocese of Liège, which has been destroyed by floods, fires and earthquakes over the centuries, has been rebuilt as a result, and has now changed from the early Gothic to the gothic and baroque fusion styles.
St
St
St
St
When I went, the church happened to be open. Inside is a simple and light Gothic style, red and black marble with yellow tuff and yellow limestone to give the interior of the church a variety of harmonious colors, the vaults are decorated with ornate vines from the 16th century, and the lintel of the portal is inscribed with the inscription "Holy Liege, Daughter of the Church of Rome". Unlike other churches, there is a relatively enclosed cloister, which consists of three corridors, connected to each other, and leads to the church through two doors.
Not far from St. Paul's Church is St. Lambert's Square, where the ruins of St. Lambert's Cathedral are located, where the history of Liège began. It was a bustling bazaar in the Middle Ages, and today it is also the commercial center of Liège, crowded, but most of them are black and Middle Eastern, and there are very few whites, and it is one of the most special cities on my trip to Benelux. When I went back to the Internet, I found out that Liège had been home to Algerian, Moroccan, Turkish and Vietnamese immigrants since 1990, and there was an African-Belgian community here, so it was no wonder that I found a whole bustling street lined with blacks on both sides while wandering around In Liège, and it was no wonder that I bought oriental bento boxes in a gas station supermarket.
Prince's Episcopal Palace
Prince's Episcopal Palace
Prince's Episcopal Palace
Blacks and Muslims are not terrible, as long as they obey the law. On St. Lambert's Square, there is a magnificent Palace of the Prince Bishops. In the 10th century, the Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, perhaps in order to win over the Bishop of Liège, turned the Diocese of Liège into the Bishopric of Caiyi, who was also a member of the Imperial Assembly while performing secular administrative functions, so the first palace combined with the fortifications was built by the bishop around the turn of the millennium. The bishop also built the first walls of Liège, many churches and the magnificent St. Lambert's Cathedral. The palace was later destroyed by fire, rebuilt, and finally destroyed when the Liège rebelled against the rule of the Duchy of Burgundy and the city was looted by the Burgundians.
During the reign of Charles V, the bishops who were close to the Spanish royal family built the appearance of the palace. The introduction says that the basic layout of the palace was expanded during the Renaissance, in the neo-Gothic style with French overtones. The cloisters are filled with statues, vaults, stone walls and towers of the church, as well as exotic motifs from the Americas such as pineapples and sunflowers. Unfortunately, today this palace, which was used as the provincial government building of Liège and the Ministry of Justice, was closed.
Leaving the palace, I continued through the streets of Liège, past the humble Liege City Hall to the Montagne de Bueren Trail, where I saw people of all colors and skins that gave me the illusion that I was back in the United States, thanks to the French houses on the street that often reminded me. Liège is amazing.
City Hall
Mount Bueren Trail
Mount Bueren Trail
Liege on the Bueren Mountain Trail
The so-called trail is a 374-step staircase. In the Benelux self-driving, many times I am in a horse flat river through, there is no three-dimensional sense of the scenery to make me feel particularly bored, driving for more than an hour began to have waist pain, but I have no problem driving in Turkey for six or seven hours, I miss turkey's wonderful landscape mountains. When I saw the trail that could be climbed high and far away, I was so excited that I climbed up in one breath. Standing on a high place, I could see the Meuse River, which witnessed the glory and decline of Liège, flowing slowly in front of my eyes, and I could also see the afterglow of the setting sun seemed to be trying to penetrate the clouds that covered it, trying to put a golden glow on Liège. However, there was still nothing he could do, and finally slowly disappeared. Did the once radiant Liège, like the sunset, gradually disappear into the dazzling galaxy of Belgium?
In regret of Liège, I walked along the Meuse River to the parking lot, which was near a gas station. I thought it was the same as the rest of Belgium, refueling and paying later, but it didn't turn out to be at all. The waiter asked me how much to add and I told him to fill it up. He asked me to bet my credit card on him and then go to the gas, which was the first time I'd ever been on my whole trip. Liege, are you really "not a thousand sails, and the veins of the oblique veins are leisurely"? When I drove back to the homestay, in the sleep of the night of Chinese New Year's Eve in 2021, I heard the deafening sound of fireworks outside the window, and I was confused that Liege, nicknamed "Warm City", was like a train that could not stop at will, and what was hurriedly missed was more than just a world like fireworks outside the window.
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