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Verviers Belgium
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railway bridge over Vesdre Dolhain |
Entering Vervier one hundred years of solitude - time tunnel dejavu trip |
Remarkable classicist buildings - stilvolle klassiche gebaeude |
Saint Remaclus Remaculus Remacle Rimagilus died 663 abbot Stavelot Malmedy |
Vervier streets locals and green bicycle pathway |
cobblestone pedestrian pavement - decent muslim woman in black |
Pierre tombale de Recon Thys +1678 Cimetiere attenant la'ancienne snake bites tail |
D O M Edmund 1738 Maria Johanna Dechorez grave stone |
bronce ornamental figures bare breasted angels on stove oven wood burning heater |
Eagle sculpture top of stove |
J.S.Renier - Fondateur du Musee de Verviers 1884 |
grandious multi cutural Vervieouis Water capital |
the old police station the chicken coup |
historic Verviers from the Battle of Waterloo sillon industriel industrial backbone of Wallonia |
Vervier the water capital of Wallonie |
nobody wanted to be neighbour - flying cat 1641 |
Saint-Remacle neo-classicistic church interieur eglise |
Au vieux Stella - Ru St Remacle - Leffe Pub Stella Artois |
Classic pub interior - checkerboard floor tiling - |
Jesus Crucified at Grandes Rames - the Bronx of Vervier |
House factory ruins for sale for www.house.nz.eu.org (check it out!) |
Grandes Rames |
Rue des Grandes Rames et rue des Hospices, anciens logements sociaux (debut 19eme) |
A la Vierge - devotional house inlay |
Rue des Grandes Rames - delapidated street sign |
iron bridge anno 1885 - capitale wallonne de l'eau |
Post office behind nicely restored buildings |
Collegium - school -college with Eddy Merckx |
Armee du salut - Heilsarmee - Salvation Army poste de Verviers - open for evangelization - couchee de pain |
1878 ortmans hauzeur realisa distribution d eau de la Gileppe |
Ortmans fountain - centre ville place du martyr rude college eupen sommelville |
The rescued restored rennovated old post office - Grand Poste Verviers 1904 to 1909 van Hoecke architect |
Postoffice interieor - glass ceiling columns and very much overheated |
three letterboxes seperated into lettres echantillons imprimes |
typical town houses in Verviers - once luxury - now yesteryear |
Grande Postal tower with interesting relief of postman with letters |
Lu Martchand d Ploquettes sculpteur Wagelmans - wool cloth samples |
Beauty Animation Christian Dior - GB Belgium - Coca Cola vending machines |
GB bakery - brot baecker fast bread shop - La Lorraine factory loafs |
Canal des Usines factory Pont-aux-Lions dug in 1100 Vesdre Weser l'industrie textile |
Blonde woman at water ways mill canal moulin 1562 pont permit de franchir ici |
verviers Terre Hollande - sceptic asiatic woman fgtb labour union office |
Grand Bazar de la Place Saint-Lambert - Art Deco Art Noveau -1st GB department store |
fountaine a pierre david 1771 1839 ses concitoyens public officer |
bearded neptune moses type water spout |
belgian youth soap bubbles and suprise water hosing place |
2009 Jesus cross La bourse alcohol city bus public tranports private motor car style mayhem |
La Seigneurie Restaurant l Ogre de Barbarie Pont Saint-Laurent 5 |
Mac Lam chinois a emporter - glaces zammatteo ice cream - Place du Martyr |
G.J. Chapuis surgeon was decapitated here 1761 - killed 2 jan 1794 |
G.J. Chapuis 1880 memorial statue - revolutionary refused to pay taxes |
Campaign Attac Europe Sortons de L Economie Casiono - stop casino capitalism ftgb |
sous l'impulsion de pierre fluche ...du socialisme et du syndicalisme ..."Le mirabeau" et des "francs-ouvriers" |
le mouvement ouvrier vervietois sous Leopold II - socialist syndicalist foundation |
Socialism syndicalism commemorative plaque next to friterie |
well working earth globe floating water fountain rolling ball sphere marble granite borneo indonesia |
relaxaation reading newspaper istambul article sun umbrella ricard |
eglise Notre-Dame des Recollets - former chapel convent Black Madonna sculpture of 1692 |
Maria with headwound and her naked tortured jesus son inri - Mother of Mercy |
Reconnaissance NotreDame des Merci enfant proteges 1931 1941 1942 Bonne mere votif |
Recollects an extinct reformed Franciscan 18 sept 1692 earthquake miracle 2014 |
Madonne noir magnetic wonder earthquake forces molecular dissociation |
Priere Saint Rita Mission Impossible agnostic drace atheist glory Pope John Paul |
Spirit of 66 - Soft machine steve hackett yes johnny winter pavlov's dog coco montoya albert lee deja vu |
Stage and interieure of the Spirit66 rock music venue - nostalgic evergreen old pop |
Ancien Conditionnement Public de Dison - Vesdre-Valley - wool moisture weighing |
Wool trading warehouse still going on in 2009 - dolhain verviers |
Wool wolle bale packing wire wollballen packdraht |
silver Peugeot 404 cabriolet with lady and baby ac pp 404h offener sportwagen |
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sous l'impulsion de pierre fluche et de quelques autres pionniers, vervier fut un des bergeaux du socialisme et du syndicalisme en europe au XiX siecle. a partir de 1872 le local du journal "Le mirabeau" et des "francs-ouvriers" section vervietoise de l'association internationale des travailleurs se trovait au fond ce cette cour dite "cour sauvage" c'est ici que la primiere internationale ouvriere tint son denier congres du 6 au 8 septembre 1877 xxx Hommage de FTGB et du PS aux pionniers du mouvement ouvrier, septembre 2005 == Verviers: Black Virgin of the Recollects Mother of Mercy In the church Notre Dame des Recollets, in the center of the small town of Verviers, near Liege, 1674, 200 cm, light sandstone painted black. This Mother of Mercy is called Virgin of the Recollects because her church used to be a monastery chapel of the Recollects, an extinct reformed branch of the Franciscan order. She became famous in the year 1692. On the morning of September 18th a terrible earthquake hit the region of Verviers, with two bad aftershocks following in the afternoon. In fear, the faithful gathered outside the church before the Virgin, who was installed in a niche above the entrance, asking Heaven to end this punishment. Later some believers entered the church for evening prayers. When they came back out they noticed that the positions of Mother Mary and Baby Jesus had changed completely. The statue had not broken, but Jesus had turned towards his Mother's heart and her hand now held his. The faithful took this to mean that their prayers had been answered and the Mother of God had calmed the Lord's wrath. One hundred and four witnesses of all ages and walks of life were questioned and testified before a notary. Nonetheless, after a few years a spirit of doubt spread again and so, four years after the events, the same witnesses were asked to reconfirm their testimonies. This they dutifully did, again before a notary. After the miracle of 1692 the Madonna was moved to the interior of the church. Since sandstone darkens easily, she must have accrued some patina before that. She was darkened more by the smoke of candles and when the church was burnt during an armed conflict in 1810. Hence she earned her title Black Madonna through miracles and fire. In 1855 Father Meunier ordered the statue cleaned and uniformly painted black. It is a Belgium custom to honor special Madonnas every seven years with a big festival, called Septennales (from Latin septem = seven). In Verviers such a festival is celebrated throughout the month of September with religious, cultural, and social events. The last one was held in 2007. www.interfaithmarianpilgrimages.com/pages/Verviers.htm (please email for instant removal of this text) ==== Grégoire-Joseph Chapuis monument (1880) G-J Chapuis was born in Verviers and became a greatly valued surgeon among our citizens.. ==== Marchand de Ploquettes (1999) The .Marchand de Ploquettes. was a wool salesman. He spent his days going from the spinning mills to.. Canal des Usines and Pont-aux-Lions (2000) The Canal des Usines (factory canal), which was reportedly dug in 1100, was originaly... http://www.verviers.be/tourisme/canevas/Chap01_Pages/patrimoine/03/canal_usines.html Discover Verviers Heritage : Monuments To find out more about these monuments (listed in alphabetical order), click on their name. You will see one or more photos and a complete description (only in French). A great way to get to know Verviers... Fiérain calvary (18 th century) The calvary has seven stations. Unfortunately, we do not know when it was erected... Canal des Usines and Pont-aux-Lions (2000) The Canal des Usines (factory canal), which was reportedly dug in 1100, was originally... Fontaine David (1878) A monument that bears witness to the gratitude of the people of Verviers towards their eminent... Fontaine J.F. Ortmans-Hauzeur (1893) In 1891, the people of Verviers decided to erect a monument-fountain in memory of... "Le travail de la Laine à Verviers" (Wool manufacturing in Verviers) fresco (1984) Inaugurated in 1984, this fresco represents wool manufacturing. It is 15 metres long, ... Marchand de Ploquettes (1999) The .Marchand de Ploquettes. was a wool salesman. He spent his days going from the spinning mills to... Charles de Gaulle monument (1980) At the top of the rue du Parc, where it cuts across the rue Herla, opposite the Tourelle park, a monument to... Monument de la Victoire (1923) After World War I, this place was named .place de la Victoire.. At the second... Grégoire-Joseph Chapuis monument (1880) G-J Chapuis was born in Verviers and became a greatly valued surgeon among our citizens... Guillaume Lekeu monument (1930) This monument is at the crossroads of the rue Xhavée and the rue Concorde. It is dedicated to... Henri Vieuxtemps monument (1909) The monument is situated on the square bearing the same name; this square was named "place du Congrès" when the... Jean-Simon Renier monument The monument is in the Fabiola gardens, rue Xhavée. It was erected in memory of J-S Renier by... King Albert 1st monument In 1934, the Société Royale de Tir à l.Arme de Guerre committee decided to erect a memorial to... Fountain with steps (1789) As in other .good towns., Verviers displayed its commitment to freedom through its proudly positioned fountain with steps in the... http://www.verviers.be/tourisme/canevas/Chap01_Pages/patrimoine/03/canal_usines.html very interesting stuff: http://www.verviers.be/tourisme/uk/canevas/Chap01_Pages/Chap_01_p03_C_Corps.htm Ancien Conditionnement Public de Dison a Verviers SA Öffentliche Konditionieranstalt von Dison in Verviers Stembert Beim Handel mit Wolle besteht das Problem, dass diese nach Gewicht verkauft wird, das Gewicht aber insbesondere sehr stark von der in der Wolle enthaltenen Feuchtigkeit abhängt. In dieser Einrichtung wurde die Wolle daher konditioniert und enthielt somit einen definierten Wassergehalt, was eine gerechtere Wägung ermöglichte. public conditioning institution As the weight of wool depends highly on humidity, trading with wool requires a well-defined content of water. This has been ensured in this institute by means of a conditioning process. http://www.industriekultur-fotografie.de/albums/userpics/10050/BW-5850-1-06_11_2002.jpg Saint-Remacle's church VERVIERS architecture picture This sombre neo-classicistic church was erected thanks to the generosity of the de Boilley family in 1838 with help of the architect C.M.Vivroux. It is a vast three-aisled church that resembles a roman basilica. DouDou Viscount Raymond de Billey, married to Marie Isabelle Simonis, who had the new church erected. The pulpit, present by the widow of Edouard de Biolley (Raymond's brother) is a massive oak wooden piece with double stairs. (Thanks to Allain-Baudouin Simonis) Jean-Noel Crickboom says that Vivroux is not the architect: it is Jean-Pierre CREMER . The municipality of Verviers (54,150 inhabitants on 1 January 2007; 3,307 ha) is located 20 km east of Liège and 35 km south-west of Aachen, in the valley of river Vesdre. The municipality of Verviers is made since 1976 of the former municipalities of Verviers, Ensival, Heusy, Lambermont, Petit-Rechain and Stembert. The valley of the Vesdre was already settled by the Neanderthalians, as proved by weapons, flints and bones found in caves of the neighborhood of Verviers. The region was later inhabited by the Eburons and colonized by the Romans; the name of Verviers, coming either from "Virovirius" or "Viroviacus", is probably related to a Roman lord called Virovi(ri)us. The toponyms Stembert, Rechain and Dolhain have a Frankish origin, and are related to the colonisation of the region by the Salian (Salii) and Ripuarian (Riparii) Franks. In the Xth century, Verviers, a parish founded in the VIIth century by monks from the abbey of Stavelot, and the neighbouring villages belonged to the territory transferred by King of France Charles le Simple to the Bishop of Liège; Verviers was one of the five bans (administrative divisions) of the Marquisate of Franchimont. In 1012, Marquis Réginard went on the Crusade and transferred his goods to Bishop Baldéric II, who formally incorporated the Marquisate in 1014. The transfer was confirmed by Emperor Friedrich Barbarossa and by Pope Adrian IV (1155). The village of Verviers emerged on the top of the Sommeleville hill, with a church surrounded by the cemetary and a town hall used as a market hall; on the foot of the hill were a canal powering the mill and the brook of the Seneschal, along which a manor known as "Manoir de Vervier" had been built. An hospital for "the travellers and the poor" already mentioned in 1340, was built along the canal and was suppressed in the late XVIth century. In 1468, Verviers was still a small rural village, living mostly from agriculture and breeding. Clothing industry began in Verviers in the Xth century, probably in relation with the Crusades. Organization of the production started in the XIII-XIVth centuries, but cloting industry did not boomed in Verviers before the XVIth century, when Prince-Bishop of Liège Erard de la Marck granted to the weavers a plot of land located along the Vesdre. The weavers were allowed to have only two weaving looms, a big one and a small one. The set up of fulling mills boosted even more the clothing industry in the XVIIth century, superseding the more ancient iron industry. Cloth from Verviers was exported to Italy, Hungary and Turkey, competing with the English products. The Thirty Years' War (1618-1648) disrupted the cloth trade with Germany. However, the crisis experienced in Verviers ended with industrial concentration and the set up of a pre-capitalist system by the weavers who had survived the crisis. Until then a village made of wooden houses, Verviers morphed into a small, wealthy town with stone houses; accordingly, Verviers was granted the title of bonne ville (Good Town) of the Principality of Liège in 1651 and surrounded with city walls. Very successful in the XVIIIth century, the clothing industry of Verviers was completely stopped by the French Revolution, causing destitution in the town. The French Empire, increased by the Napoleonic conquests, formed a huge market that allowed the reemergence of the clothing industry in Verviers. Mechanization and use of steam engines, set up by the bigger industrials in 1816-1823 increased the wealth of the town. The industrial John Cockerill imported the most modern English technologies to Verviers, which was the first town in continental Europe where a mechanic spinning mill for wool was set up. The small workshops were replaced by big factories, whose building dramatically changed the look of the town. The clothing industry was even more favoured by the building of the railway in the valley of the Vesdre in 1843 and of the barrage of Gileppe. In the beginning of the XXth century, the success of clothing industry attracted related industries, for instance tanneries and shoe manufactures. After the First World War, Verviers was considered as one of the two capitals of wool industry, together with Bradford (England). The 1930 crisis hit the shoe industry, but the clothing industry was not really threatened until the 1950s, when competition with the emerging countries started. Several cloth factories and machine workshops were closed. New industries were established in business parks set up in Petit-Rechain, Stembert and Lambermont. The clothing industry is recalled in Verviers by the Centre Touristique de la Laine et de la Mode, housed in the former Dethier factory, a neo-classic building from the early XIXth century. Verviers is twinned with other European town famous for wool industry, Mönchengladbach (Germany), Bradford (England) and Roubaix (France). Verviers is today the Capitale Wallonne de l'Eau, recalling that the water of the Vesdre gave a specific "touch" to the cloth produced in the town. Verviers is the birth town of Grégoire-Joseph Chapuis (1761-1794), a surgeon who realized in Verviers the first Caesarean delivery in Belgium. Chapuis took the French party against the Prince-Bishop of Liège. Serving as a magistrate, he celebrated a civil marriage on 22 February 1793 and set up the Chambre des Zélés, a kind of school for the workers. After the return of the Prince-Bishop in 1792, Chapuis was arrested and jailed in Liège for nine months. Prince-Bishop de Méan sentenced him to death in a rigged trial, "as an example to the others". Chapuis came back to Verviers chained in a cart and sitting on his coffin. He was beheaded on 2 January 1794 under the protection of Dutch and Austrian soldiers against the wrath of the mob. In 1880, the square where the execution had taken place was renamed "Place du Martyr" and Chapuis became a symbol of philanthropy and freethinking. Verviers organizes every four years the Prix Henri Vieuxtemps, as a tribute to one of the most famous Belgian violonists and composers. Born in Verviers as the son of a stringed-instrument maker, Henri Vieuxtemps (1820-1881) could already read music at the age of 4 years and gave his first concert in the Grand Théâtre of Verviers at the age of 7. Impressed by his skills, the famous composer Charles de Bériot brought young Vieuxtemps in Paris, where he started a career of violin virtuoso in 1833 (ages 13!), playing Beethoven's concert in Vienna in 1834 and preenting his first compositions in 1836. After having played in Ghent in 1843 for Queen Victoria, King Léopold I and Queen Marie-Louise, Vieuxtemps started an international career. Cheered in Russia and in the USA, Vieuxtemps came back to Belgium and was appointed Professor at the Conservatoire of Brussels. Vieuxtemps was once considered as a virtuose rather than a "true" composer, but his disciple Eugè:ne Ysayë popularized his works, especially the violin concertos and the Ballade et Polonaise. Walking in a street of Liège, Vieuxtemps heard his fourth concerto played in a private home, knocked at the door, and was told by Nicolas Ysayë that his son Eugène had been expelled from the Conservatoire of the town! For the centenary of his master's birth, Ysayë organized in Verviers a series of concerts patroned by Queen Elisabeth, including a violin contest. This was the source of the Concours Henri Vieuxtemps, officialized by Royal Decree on 2 October 1922. Verviers is the birth town of the historian Henri Pirenne (1862-1935). Pirenne wrote a huge Histoire de Belgique, in seven volumes published from 1899 to 1932. Detailed biographical and bibliographical accounts on Henri Pirenne, as well as digitalized copies of his works are available on the website of the Free University of Brussels (Digithèque Henri-Pirenne). The legend of the Flying Cat, quite famous in Verviers (a Walloon proverb says I fait voler l'tchet, "He wants the cat to fly", when someone attempts something hazardous), is based on a real, odd event. In 1641, the apothecary Sarol&ecute;a, interested in physics, made a weird experiment; he left from the top of the tower of the St. Remacle church a cat, expected to fly thanks to four pig bladders filled with gas and attached to her feet. The cat could not fly and fell down but the tradition says she was not hurt (cats always fall down on their feet!). The experiment was reenacted several times with stuffed cats; it is said that one of the cats was retrieved near the Lorelei rock, in Germany. Sources: * Municipal website, section Tourisme - Texts after Jean-Claude Nailis * "Best of Verviers" website * Verviers, by Fabrice Muller 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. Verviers is Wallonia's "Water Capital". 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 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 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 misery. 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.. Verviers was home to a thriving wool and textile industry that was renowned for its quality. It contributed greatly to the wealth of the town. However, as of the 1950s, the local factories could not face international competition and started closing one after the other which prompted the economic decline of the town. The economy has been slowly recovering since the mid-1990s but remains fragile. Several commercial complexes have opened in recent years in an attempt to revitalize the most affected areas. * Verviers counts several museums, including the Wool and Fashion Tourist Centre, housed in a beautiful former factory with a Neoclassical-style façade. * 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 city has a number of interesting fountains and thematic strolling paths. Famous people * William Cockerill, industrialist, settled in Verviers in 1799 * Henri Vieuxtemps, composer and virtuoso violinist (1820-1881) * Henri Pirenne, historian (1862-1935) * Guillaume Lekeu, composer (1870-1894) * Mathieu Crickboom, violinist (1871-1947) * André Blavier, poet and critic (1922-2001) * Raymond Macherot, cartoonist (born 1924) * Roger Leloup, comic strip scenarist (born 1933) * Jean-Marie Klinkenberg, linguist (born 1944) * Pierre Rapsat, singer (1948-2002) * Luc Sante, writer and critic (born 1954) * Eric van de Poele, Formula One driver (born 1961) * Marc Lacroix, breast cancer researcher (born 1963) * Dominique Monami, tennis player (born 1973) * Philippe Gilbert, road racing cyclist (born 1980) * Karima, writer (born 1976) Twin cities * France: Arles * Germany: Mönchengladbach * France: Roubaix * United Kingdom: Bradford * France: La Motte-Chalancon Municipalities of Liège Province Huy Amay · Anthisnes · Burdinne · Clavier · Engis · Ferrières · Hamoir · Héron · Huy · Marchin · Modave · Nandrin · Ouffet · Tinlot · Verlaine · Villers-le-Bouillet · Wanze Liège Ans · Awans · Aywaille · Bassenge · Beyne-Heusay · Blegny · Chaudfontaine · Comblain-au-Pont · Dalhem · Esneux · Flémalle · Fléron · Grâce-Hollogne · Herstal · Juprelle · Liège · Neupré · Oupeye · Saint-Nicolas · Seraing · Soumagne · Sprimont · Trooz · Visé Verviers Amel · Aubel · Baelen · Büllingen · Burg-Reuland · Bütgenbach · Dison · Eupen · Herve · Jalhay · Kelmis · Lierneux · Limbourg · Lontzen · Malmedy · Olne · Pepinster · Plombières · Raeren · Sankt Vith · Spa · Stavelot · Stoumont · Theux · Thimister-Clermont · Trois-Ponts · Verviers · Waimes · Welkenraedt Waremme Berloz · Braives · Crisnée · Donceel · Faimes · Fexhe-le-Haut-Clocher · Geer · Hannut · Lincent · Oreye · Remicourt · Saint-Georges-sur-Meuse · Waremme · Wasseiges