# Overview of Liège, Belgium



## Hardcore Terrorist (Jul 28, 2010)

^^ I just looked on Google maps to see where that is, and I'm pretty sure that that street is still there. As it is, the renewal is mostly on the site of some old warehouses behind the palace. Did you have something specific in mind on Rue Ramoux?


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## stevekeiretsu (Sep 25, 2011)

Hardcore Terrorist said:


> 3/4/5/6/7. The Ourthe seen from the Roche-aux-Faucons, 2011-10-30 and 2014-05-17


This is pretty uncannily similar to Symonds Yat, I thought my eyes were deceiving me at first!

River Wye from Symonds Yat Rock by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

Panorama of the River Wye from Symonds Yat Rock by stevekeiretsu, on Flickr

great thread, I'm too tired to go through it all properly but the posts I've looked at so far are excellent, loving the combination of industry + railways with more cutesy stuff


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## Hardcore Terrorist (Jul 28, 2010)

*08. Seraing-Haut*

Thanks for your comment And don't worry about not reading everything, I think you understand the problem (personally, I will read a thread in installments if I enjoy it, such as is the case with your London thread) 

Wow, yes that does look really similar! Even more strange is that I've actually been there when I was very small, because my dad grew up somewhere around there. I only remember the name because we also briefly dipped into Wales, which is still the only time I have ever visited that country. I didn't remember what it looked like though, and apparently my dad didn't either when I visited Roche-aux-Faucons with him.

________________________________________________________________


As you can see on the map, Seraing is quite big. We have just visited the lower, industrial part, and will now visit the higher part, which, in contrast, has a much cleaner and quieter residential character.

130. Climbing up the hill, there are still some abandoned houses here and there, 2013-09-29


131. Another wall-advert, probably for a newspaper, 2013-09-29


134/135/136. Seraing also has some "modernist" parts, though in general there are less of them in Belgian towns than in the surrounding countries, 2013-09-29






137/138. Seraing-Haut also has denser parts, 2013-09-29, ...


139/140/141/142/143/144/145/146. ... but on the whole, it gets more suburban as we continue up the hill towards Boncelles, Sart-Tilman and the Roche-aux-Faucons (where the tour started), 2013-09-28/29















147. View back over Seraing and towards Jemeppe, with the Cockerill plant on the left, 2013-09-29


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## Hardcore Terrorist (Jul 28, 2010)

*09. Jemeppe-sur-Meuse again, Part 1*

And now back to the northern bank of the Meuse, where we will continue on or journey west, starting where we left of in the centre of Jemeppe-sur-Meuse.

148. Pumping station Jemeppe No. 7, 2013-09-28


149. The church on the main street, 2015-10-02


150/151/152. Château Antoine, a derelict piece of heritage sitting in the middle of Jemeppe (I can't find the year in which it was built), 2015-10-02 






153. A house in a side street, 2013-09-28


154. Pumping station Jemeppe No. 8, 2013-09-28


155. Former post office, 2013-09-28


156/157. Continuing west down the main road, 2015-09-28




158. Just of the main road, 2015-09-29


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## Hardcore Terrorist (Jul 28, 2010)

*09 Jemeppe-sur-Meuse again, Part 2*

159/160. Pumping station Jemeppe No. 5, with yet more of the Cockerill steel factory, 2015-09-28




161/162. Still going straight ahead, 2015-09-28




163/164. Some more industrial wasteland, we're now almost in Flemalle, the destination of our next post, 2015-09-28




165. The factories on the last picture are on the other side of the Meuse, 2012-05-09


166. View back from the southern bank, 2012-04-22


167. A few hundred metres upstream, in Flémalle, 2012-04-22


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## Hardcore Terrorist (Jul 28, 2010)

*10. Flémalle & Chokier, Part 1*



Flémalle is the westermost municipality of the Liège agglomeration, and has a population of about 26,000. It will be our last stop in the industrial Meuse Valley to the south-west of Liège, before we head up into the hills to the north.

168. Side street off the main street - the same one as in the last post, 2015-10-02


169. The main street seems to go on forever, 2015-09-28


170. Another painted advert, 2015-09-28


171. Flémalle town hall, 2015-09-28


172. Art-deco former Maison du Peuple, 2015-09-28


173. The Meuse at Chokier, at the western end of Flémalle, 2015-09-28


174. A strange type of gravle facade that I first associated with the Belgian provinces of Brabant and Hainaut, which I later discovered to be typical of the Hebaye region as well, explaining why they can be found to the north-west of the Meuse in the Liège region - which is in the Hesbaye - as well, 2015-09-28


It is now that we will leave the theme of heavy industry for a while, for now we come to the second* example of the kind of sudden contrast that make the Liège region so interesting in my eyes. The charming village of Chokier sits at the westermost end of Flémalle, and thus at the westermost end of the Liège agglomeration.

* The first being the contrast between the green Condroz (the Ourthe & Sart-Tilman) and the indutrial valley.

175/176/177/178. Some very old houses, 2015-09-28








179. The church of Saint-Marcellin (again, it's difficult to find when it was built), 2015-09-28


180. WW1 & 2 memorial, 2015-09-28


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## Hardcore Terrorist (Jul 28, 2010)

*10, Fémalle & Chokier, Part 2*

181/182. ..., 2015-09-28




183/184/185. And Chokier's main sight, its castle, 2015-10-02


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## christos-greece (Feb 19, 2008)

Very good, very nice updates from Liège


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## Hardcore Terrorist (Jul 28, 2010)

*11. Short sidetrack along the Meuse*

^^ Thanks Christos
_________________________________________________________________

186/187. Chokier seen from the other side of the Meuse, 2012-04-22




188. A bit further up stream, Engis power plant, 2012-04-22


From here, one could follow the Meuse...

189. ... about 20 kilometres upstream, past the nuclear power plant at Tihange, just outside Huy..., 2012-08-18


190/191. ... and Huy and its citadel, 2014-07-03




192. ...the sugar factory at Wanze, on the other side of Huy..., 2012-09-09


193. In general, it's very green around here, 2012-09-09


194. ... past Andenne, which is just in the province of Namur..., 2012-09-09


195. ... and on to Namur, here seen from the citadel ..., 2006-08-20


196. ... Dinant ..., 2013-02-22


197. ... Givet, which is just in France ..., 2013-02-22


198. ... the nuclear power plant at Chooz, France ..., 2013-02-22


... and on to its source in central France. But enough of this side track now, next time we'll climb up the hills behind Chokier, crossing from the Condroz into the Hesbaye.


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## Hardcore Terrorist (Jul 28, 2010)

*12. Chokier & Flémalle-Haute*



We've visited the picturesque landscape of the Condroz (the first post) and the industrial cityscape of the Meuse valley around Seraing, and now it's time to move on to the third chapter of our journey. 

As I already mentioned, the Meuse valley marks the natural border between the Condroz and the Hesbaye, the latter being an agricultural region of long, often empty, rolling hills. The steep, rocky slopes of the valley of the Meuse itself look more like the Condroz though, as you can see on the pictures of Chokier. In this post, we will climb up from Chokier to where the hills suddenly flatten out, bringing us to the actual Hesbaye. 

199. An old house in a sidestreet behind the church of Saint-Marcellin, 2015-10-02


200. A last glimpse of the castle from below, seen from the alley next to the house on the last picture, 2015-10-02


201. On the other side of the railway line to Namur, and a hundred metres to the east of this street, lies the 'Réserve naturelle aux roches'. Some kind of medieval ruin stands by the entrance, 2015-10-02


202. Climbing up, with a view of part of Chokier on the right, 2015-10-02


203. A bit higher, a view to the south-east, with Flémalle in the foreground. The block of flats on the left is in Seraing-Haut, 2015-10-02


204. And still a bit higher, a view towards Ivoz-Ramet - a part of the Flémalle municipality on the south bank of the Meuse that I have yet to explore, 2015-10-02


205. The park's main meadow, set to a backdrop of the 'roches' in question, 2015-10-02


206. View towards Ivoz-Ramet and Seraing from the same place, 2015-10-04


207. And continuing up the street from photo 200, a view back towards Chokier, with yet another extension of a Cockerill steel plant on the other side of the Meuse, 2015-10-02


208. The landscape suddenly flattens out at the top of this street, at the start Flémalle-Haute, a not particularily noteworthy little neighbourhood of small blocks of flats and new-ish houses, 2015-10-02


209. At the westernmost end of Flémalle, on the way to todays final destination, lies desolate, soviet looking park with what appear to be a kind of bunkers in it, 2015-10-04


210. A short walk through a few fields and a wood leads us to our final destination for today, the castle of Chokier, which sadly turned out to be semi-derelict, 2015-10-04


211. Path around the castle, 2015-10-04


212. Shrine, 2015-10-04


In the next posts, we will go on to explore the extensive suburban - or I would rather call it semi-urban* - area that lies on the hills of the Hesbaye to the north west of the places we just visited, in the municipalities of Flémalle, Grâce-Hollogne, Saint-Nicolas and Liège. 

* you'll understand why later


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## Hardcore Terrorist (Jul 28, 2010)

*13. Flémalle-Haute & Mons-les-Liège*



The area I have just described can roughly be divided into two parts, with a rising valley to the north of Jemeppe-sur-Meuse seperating them. The A604 motorway, which you can see on the map, runs through the valley in question. Both parts are characterised by a few old village-centres that are connected to each other by newer ribbon development along the main roads. Nonetheless, the western part, which we are in now, is a lot emptier and has a partly agricultural character. I haven't visited this area often, and have undoubtetly missed some landmarks, such as the 19th century fort of Flémalle.

213. Still in Flémalle-Haute, a typical Hesbaye streetscape, 2015-10-02


214. There are many open views in the area, here Seraing is visible in the background, with the radio masts of Sart-Tilman on the hills behind, 2015-10-02


215. Though, as almost everywhere else in Belgium, the views are continuously being blocked by more and more new ribbon development, 2015-10-02


216/217/218. Though a lot of views still remain here, sometimes between houses (Seraing still in the background), 2015-10-02






219. I think this new development near Mons-les-Liège looks nice, 2015-10-02


220. The church of Mons-les-Liège, a village in the Flémalle municipality, 2015-10-02


221. Regional 'Mosan'-style house opposite the church, 2015-10-02


222. A typical picturesque Hesbaye landscape near Mons-les-Liège, 2015-10-02


223. Going down to the centre of Grâce-Hollogne, our destination for next time, in the aforementioned valley (the A604 motorway's visible on the opposite hillside), 2015-10-02


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## Hardcore Terrorist (Jul 28, 2010)

*14. Grâce-Hollogne*

Grâce-Hollogne, one of the six municipalities that make up the Liège aglomeration, has a population of about 22,000. It comprises, among others, of the villages of Grâce-Hollogne (or Grâce-Centre), Grâce-Berleur and Liège Airport, which lies near the village of Bierset. I don't have much more to say about it seeing as I don't know it very well, so here's just what it looks like.

224/225/226. Art-deco 'Maison du Peuple' in Grâce-Centre, at the bottom of the street on the last picture, 2015-10-02






227. Around the corner, the town hall, 2015-09-29


228. Another intersting art-deco building in the same street, 2015-09-29


229. The street in question, 2015-09-29


230. An old factory on the road down to Jemeppe-sur-Meuse, 2015-09-29


231. Going up the hill again from the town hall, a tunnel under the freight line to Ougrée (see last page), 2015-10-02


232. And further up on the way out of town, 2015-09-29


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## Hardcore Terrorist (Jul 28, 2010)

*15. Liège Airport, Awans & Grâce-Berleur*



233. A bit to the north, Liège-Airport also lies in the Grâce-Hollogne municipality, near the village of Bierset, 2015-10-02


234. As you can see here, the countryside's pretty empty around here, in typical Hesbaye style, 2012-06-20


235. House in Awans, on the other side of Bierset (in Awans municipaliy), 2012-06-20


236. Back down the hill, Grâce-Berleur seen from near the A604 motorway, somewhere between Grâce-Hollogne and Grâce-Berleur, 2015-10-02


237. Somewhere on the edge of Grâce-Berleur. As some of you may remember, I have a slight disposition to making pictures of things that look crappy. I like this house, to me it looks like it could have stood in the middle of a cornfield in the U.S. midwest (that I obviously only know from stories...), 2015-09-29


238. Grâce-Berleur certainly doesn't look crappy though, going down the hill towards it's centre, 2015-09-29


239/240. A 1950's or 1960's school with seperate entrances for boys and girls (I doubt this is still the case though), 2015-09-29




241. And further down, on the way back to Jemeppe, 2015-09-29


242. Some new houses in the high part of Jemeppe, near to where photo 102 was taken, 2015-09-29


243. Some new developments asside, it's pretty empty around here, as you can see on this view taken from the same place as the last. The hill on the right is a slag heap ('terril'), one of many in the Liège region, 2015-09-29


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## андрій1988 (Sep 23, 2015)

nice


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## Benonie (Dec 21, 2005)

Excellent thread about a Belgian region I seldom visit. Lot's of faded glory over there. I love the many art deco Maisons du Peuple. And the pumping stations on your pictures.

Thanks for sharing mate! :cheers1:


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## El_Greco (Apr 1, 2005)

Grim but interesting!


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## Hardcore Terrorist (Jul 28, 2010)

*16. Saint-Nicolas*

Thanks for your replies Andriy, Benonie and El Greco 

_______________________________________________________________



We could have crossed over the hill to Montegnée from Grâce-Berleur, the subject of the last post, but will instead follow the western hillside to the south first, and visit Saint-Nicolas. The Saint-Nicolas municpality has about 24,000 inhabitants, and is - according to Wikipedia - the most densely populated in Belgium, though I think that might be due to all the surrounding green bits being part of the surrounding municipalities. Saint-Nicolas is divided into the localities of Montegnée, Saint-Nicolas and Tilleur - of which we have already visited the latter, an industrial neighbourghood in the Meuse valley. What I find strange about Saint-Nicolas itself - which we are visiting now - is that it seems quite big, but is almost entirely residential. As far as I have seen, the only shops are either just over the boundary with Liège, or in Montegnée to the north.

This area's geography is difficult to describe, but I will nonetheless try to do so in short. The centre of Saint-Nicolas sits on its own hill, only connecting to other hills near Saint-Gilles (we will get there soon...) in the north-east. A narrow valley sits between it and Grâce-Berleur in the north-west, and an even narrower one seperates it from the hill of Cointe in the east. The latter is directly adjacent to the city of Liège, and will be the subject of the next post.

244/245. The freight line to Ougrée which we have already come across a number of times - most recently on photo 231 - in the higher part of Tilleur, 2015-09-28




246. A nearby house, 2015-09-28


247. View from the north-west, with the church of Saint-Nicolas on the far left, and the church of Saint-Gilles in the middle (we will be travelling along this ridge in the next posts), 2015-09-29


248. The church of Saint-Nicolas again, seen from the south, 2015-09-29


249/250. As I already mentioned, the centre of Saint-Nicolas sits on its own hill, somehow resembling the setting of an Italian hilltop village - here seen from the south-east, 2015-09-29 and 2015-10-02




251. School, 2015-06-14


252. Climbing up to the hill to Saint-Nicolas, 2015-06-14


253. The church of Saint-Nicolas, 2015-06-13


254. View on Cointe hill from Saint-Nicolas, which will be our next destination, 2015-06-13


255. One last look at the industry along the Meuse to the south-west of Liège from the valley between Cointe and Saint-Nicolas, 2013-09-04


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## Hardcore Terrorist (Jul 28, 2010)

*17. Cointe, Part 1*



At the southernmost end of what I would consider central Liège, directly behind Liège-Guillemins station, and above Val-Benoît, which we visited on the first page, lies Cointe Hill. The neighbourhood of Cointe sits at the lowest end of this hill - which is in fact a narrow ridge rising up to join the hill Saint-Nicolas is on a little further north. This means that we have to go through the valley to get from Saint-Nicolas to Cointe in a straight line.

256. In the valley, 2015-05-10


257/258. Climbing up the hill on photo 254, this part of Cointe is still similar to Saint-Nicolas, 2015-05-10




259/260. But most of Cointe is pretty upmarket, and this is especially true of the villa park on top of the hill, 2015-04-20




261. Cointe observatory - which I'm sure doesn't work anymore - sits in the middle of the villa park, 2015-04-20


262/263. More villas, 2015-04-20 and 23




264. This one looks a bit English, 2015-04-20


265. ..., 2015-04-20


266. ..., 2015-04-20


267. Leading down to photo 58, 2015-04-23


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## Hardcore Terrorist (Jul 28, 2010)

*17. Cointe, Part 2*

268. The boulevard leading down to Val-Benoît, 2015-04-20


269. The former university complex at Val-Benoît seen from the boulevard, 2015-04-20


270. And on the motorway from photo 49, 2014-03-09


271. Near the bottom of the hill, behind Liège-Guillemins station, 2012-06-20


272. View over the tracks, 2013-01-16


273. And view from slightly back up the hill, 2013-01-16


274/275/276. Cointe's most famous landmark is the 'Mémorial Interallié', which was built between 1928 and 1936, and contains the Église du Sacré-Cœur et Notre-Dame-de-Lourdes, 2013-09-04 and 2015-04-23






277. The monument part, with Liège in the background, 2015-04-23


278/279. Seen from Boulevard Gustav Kleyer, the main road along the top of the ridge, which we will be following for the next few posts, 2013-09-04 and 2015-04-20


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## openlyJane (Feb 3, 2010)

So many great industrial structures; especially the high-level bridge, and the curved viaduct - a few sets back.


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## Benonie (Dec 21, 2005)

Indeed, what a spectacular bridge! And some great architecture over there!


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## christos-greece (Feb 19, 2008)

Indeed great, very nice updates from Liège :cheers:


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## Hardcore Terrorist (Jul 28, 2010)

*18. Laveu*

Many thanks for the comments Jane, Benonie and Christos Yes I also really like that elevated railway line, which runs from Ougrée/Kinkempois to somewhere near Liège Airport, and plan to look if I can walk along it one day. You can see it on the map bellow, running towards Grâce-Hollogne from to the east of where I wrote 'Sclessin'. In any case, you'll be seeing a few other really nice railway viaducts soon too

__________________________________________________________ 



280. The building on the right hands side of the last picture, built in a 19th or early 20th century neo-mosan style, 2015-04-20


281. Another monumental building on the other side of Boulevard Gustav Kleyer, 2015-04-20


282. Travelling along Boulevard Gustav Kleyer for a few hundred metres brings us to our first view over Liège itself (from the south east). The three hills in the background and to the left of the centre are in Bernalmont, Herstal, which we will pass by somewhere in the future, 2013-09-04


283. On this photo you can still see the cranes used to build Liège-Guillemins station to the left of the centre, 2007-12-22


284/285. The next neighbourhood - which mainly lies on the eastern side of Boulevard Gustav Kleyer, is called Laveu, which like Cointe, is in part quite up market, 2014-04-13



286. View over the lower part of Laveu, 2014-04-13


287. Which is crossed by a number of urban stairways, 2014-04-13


288. Looking towards the centre,


289. Here you can see the 'Tour des Finances' by Liège-Guillemins being built, 2014-04-13


290. A typical street scape in the lower part of Laveu, 2014-04-13


Next time, which will probably be next weekend, as I won't be at home this week, we will continue along Boulevard Gustav Kleyer, and visit the neighbourhood of Saint-Gilles.


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## sky-eye (Jan 2, 2003)

Thanks for the reply. Rue Ramoux is also very photogenic, with directly behind the houses a big steel factory. 

I visited Liege several times (but mostly the city centre and Outremeuse) but i'm surprised of the many beauty and ugliness in the suburbs. It' s a very fascinating area. Thanks for your great pictures!


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## Hardcore Terrorist (Jul 28, 2010)

*19. Haut Saint-Gilles, Part 1*

^^It´s a pleasure, thanks for your comments

Actually, I left a photo of a similar street (Rue des Pierres) out of the post on Seraing at the last minute:


And now, back to where we were:




291. Continuing more or less where we left of, the water tower of Saint-Gilles, at the top of the hill slightly to the west of Boulevard Gustave Kleyer, 2015-06-14


292. The adjacent street of typically Belgian terassed houses, 2015-10-11


293. I think the addition of trees and the paving make it quite pleasant, 2015-10-11


294. Back on Boulevard Gustav Kleyer, there are also some of these kind of series of houses in the area, 2015-10-18


295. Down the side street on the last picture, 2015-10-18


296. The street adjacent to Saint-Gilles cemetery, 2015-10-18


297. The twelfth century church of Saint-Gilles, 2015-10-11


298. The cemetery, 2015-10-11


299/300. As I already mentioned, the hill is really narrow here, with views towards Liège on one side of the street, and towards Saint-Nicolas on the other. A last view towards Saint-Nicolas from the street adjacent to the church, 2015-10-11
 



301. ..., 2015-10-18


302. An old house in a side street, 2015-10-13


303. The church seen from Boulevard Louis Hillier, the continuation of Boulevard Gustave Kleyer, 2007-12-22


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## Hardcore Terrorist (Jul 28, 2010)

*19. Haut Saint-Gilles, Part 2*

304. ..., 2007-12-22


Two important streets leading down into Liège - Rue Saint-Gilles and Rue Saint Laurent - come together at a roundabout at the end of Boulevard Louis Hillier. We will exlore part of these streets before continuing through the hilltop neighbourhoods.

305. View on the centre of Liège from Rue Saint-Gilles, with Saint-Paul's cathedral in the middle, 2015-10-13



306. ..., 2013-09-04


307. An old Mosan-style house near the top of Rue Saint-Gilles, 2015-10-13


308. Some relatively new developments, 2015-10-13


309. I think this is probably an early 20th century neo-Mosan-style house, 2015-10-18


310. The motorway (top) and railway line to Brussels. Rue Saint-Gilles goes on down from here to the lower part of Saint-Gilles, but that's for later, when we get to the central parts of Liège, 2015-10-13


311/312. Liège seen from under the motorway, with the lower part of Saint-Gilles in the foreground, 2010-05-22




313. View back towards Cointe from Rue Saint-Laurent, 2015-04-23


314. View back down from the top of Rue Saint-Laurent, 2015-10-11


315. View the other way, along Boulevard Sainte-Beuve, the continuation of Boulevard Louis Hillier, 2015-10-11


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## openlyJane (Feb 3, 2010)

I don't quite know why, but your photos make me feel very wistful and reflective.......


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## Hardcore Terrorist (Jul 28, 2010)

*20. Haut Saint-Gilles and Burenville, Part 1*

^^ Thanks for your comment Jane, I hope that's wistful in a good way
______________________________________________________________

It was such a nice day today that I could resist going out for an our at the end of the afternoon to make some extra photos for the next parts of this tour.



316. Boulevard Sainte-Beuve is lined with big-ish houses, in the same vein as Boulevard Gustave Kleyer and Boulevard Louis Hillier, 2015-10-26


317. Another view from the beginning of Boulevard Sainte-Beuve, with the ferris-wheel of the Liège October Fair on Boulevard d'Avroy, 2015-10-26


318/319/320. A small part of Rue Saint-Gilles (see last post) continues over the top of the hill. It is here that - even though it is in Liège - one can find the shops closest to the centre of Saint-Nicolas, 2015-10-18






321/322. Around the corner, on Rue Saint-Nicolas, which is also in Liège, 2015-10-13





323. Continuing down Rue Saint-Nicolas, a view towards some greenery that lies between Liège and Saint-Nicolas, 2015-10-18


324/325. Still on Rue Saint-Nicolas ..., 2015-10-18




326. Having houses set back from and slighltly below the street like this is typical for some parts of Belgium, 2015-10-18


327. ..., 2015-10-18


328. Another regional style, 2015-10-18


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## Hardcore Terrorist (Jul 28, 2010)

*20. Haut Saint-Gilles and Burenville, Part 2*

329. 1950's houses like this are also typical of Belgium, I quite like some of them, like this one, 2015-10-18


330. ..., 2015-10-18


331. Semi-fortified farms like this one are typical of the Belgian provinces of Brabant and Hainaut, as well as of the Land of Herve and the Hesbaye, the latter being the region that this side of Liège is in (see introduction), 2015-10-18


332. The roundabout at the end of Rue Saint-Nicolas, where it is joined by, amongst others, Boulevard Sainte-Beuve, 2015-10-11


333. There are few streets of this kind of appartment buildings - which are less common in Belgium than in surrounding countries - around here, 2015-06-14


334. View on the Chiroux tower in the centre of Liège, 2015-06-14


We will now go down the hill for a bit, before continuing on top of the hill in the post after the next, 2015-06-14

335. In Belgium, one often comes across lone rows of townhouses standing next to approach roads, 2015-06-14


336. Getting close to the neighbouhoods of Sainte-Margueritte and Saint-Laurent, which we will only get to when we've finished the tour around Liège's surroundings - which is going to take a while still, 2015-06-14


337. The back-end of Sainte-Margueritte/Saint-Laurent and the railway line from Brussels (view towards Liège-Guillemins), 2015-06-14


338. Looking the other way, towards Glain and Molinvaux (on the hill behind), the former being the subject of the next post, 2015-06-14


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## Hardcore Terrorist (Jul 28, 2010)

*21. Glain*

Another valley rises up to the west of Liège, linking the the main part of the Meuse valley in the east to the Hesbaye in the west, with the hill of Burenville and Montegnée to the south, and the hill of Liège's citadel to the north. This valley contains the town of Ans, which is completely built on to Liège. A section of Liège called Glain sits between the motorway and railway line to Brussels on the northern hillsides at the easternmost end of this valley.



339. A section of semi-motorway called Avenue de Fontainebleau was built in the 1960's or 70's as the westernmost part of Liège's inner ring, splitting the neighbourhood of Sainte-Margueritte in two. For now, this road will be the limit of this tour until we get to Liège's central neighbourhoods. We are now in the western portion of Sainte-Margueritte, a neighbourhood we will explore after we have climbed the hill to Glain, seen some more of Burenville, and visited Montegnée, before coming back down again via Ans, 2015-10-26


340/341/342. The houses that you can see in the distance on photo 338, 2015-10-26 and 2013-10-18






343. View from the footpath next to the railway line to Brussels. You can see the Citadel - which is now the site of Liège's main hospital - on the hill on the left, 2015-10-26


344. Another view from the footpath by the railway, here you can see Saint-Martin's Basilica behind the trees on the right, 2015-10-26


345. A street climbing up the hillsides to the south, on the other side of the railway, 2015-10-26


346. View on Molinvaux from the highest part of Glain, 2015-10-26


347. ..., 2013-10-18


348. And a view from the other side of the motorway, in a street leading back up to Burenville, 2015-10-26


349. Construction site of the new 'Clinique d'Espérence', 2015-10-26


350. The entrance to a former factory, 2015-10-26


351. ..., 2015-10-11


In the next post, we will travel to more-or-less this spot from the roundabout on photo 322.


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## Hardcore Terrorist (Jul 28, 2010)

*22. Burenville to Montegnée, Part 1*



352. Continuing our trip from the roundabout on photo 332 and still on Rue Saint-Nicolas. Even though there are some shops,, this part of Burenville feels like one the most hidden and functional corners of Liège, 2015-10-11


353. Down a sidestreet, 2015-10-26


354. Typical Burenville cityscape in the same street, 2015-10-26


355. There are some interesting looking houses here too though, 2015-10-26


356. As well as the occasional abandoned one, 2015-10-26


357. I don't know why I really like this building, that houses the municipal school for horticulture, 2015-10-26


358/359. Some houses opposite the school, 2015-10-26




360. A nicely proportioned example of a modernist church at the end of the street, 2015-10-26


361. Opposite the church, 2015-10-26


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## Hardcore Terrorist (Jul 28, 2010)

*22. Burenville to Montegnée, Part 2*

362. Back on Rue Saint-Nicolas, which, as I already mentioned, is a kind of highstreet here, 2015-10-26


363. It gets more functional and spacious as we go north, with some fields and a lot of powerlines behind the houses, 2015-10-26


364. Still going up, the construction site of Clinique de l'Espérence again, seen from a 'Ravel' cycle path, 2015-10-11


365. View down back towards Glain from the border area between Montegnée and Ans, 2015-04-22


366. The same place with the construction of the hospital, 2015-10-11


367. A bit further up the Ravel, now officially in Ans, but still on the Montegnée side of the motorway, 2015-10-11


368. ..., 2015-10-11


Next time we will visit Montegnée, before going to Ans, and finally leaving Liège's south-western suburbs behind.


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## Benonie (Dec 21, 2005)

Wow! You really show us every corner of the greater Liège region, where beauty alternates ugliness. :cheers1:


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## Hardcore Terrorist (Jul 28, 2010)

*23. Montegnée to Loncin, Part 1*

^^Thanks for your comment Benonie, yes I'm seeing some of these corners for the first time myself too in order to make this thread
_______________________________________________________________



For our next stop, we will leave the Liège Municipality - which we have been in since Cointe - and visit the village of Montegnée, which is now part of Saint-Nicolas. I have only visited this area a few times, and therefore don't have very much to say about it.

A few years ago, another forummer called Expat Sam replied to my old Liège thread because he grew up in Montegnée, but now lives in Australia. I promised him to take some pictures of a few specific places related to his youth, but didn't get round to it so far:S So if you're reading this Expat Sam: I'll still try and get round to it if you tell me the addresses again.

Anyway, now back to the photos, continuing down the street of the last ones.

369. The area around Montegnée is basically a kind of sprawl of ribbon-development mixed with fields, though not the worst kind. It is even home to some nice buildings, such as this old Mosan-style one, 2015-10-27


370. The adjacent church, 2015-10-27


371/372/373/374/375. Some nearby houses, 2015-10-27










376. Further down the street, a common style in the Hesbaye-region, which we are now definately in, 2015-10-02


377. There is a lot of open space behind the houses here, and still more powerlines, 2015-10-02


378. Another nice Mosan-style house, 2015-10-27


379. Water tower, 2015-10-02


380. Now already nearing Grâce-Berleur and Liège-Airport(see last page), another style common in the Hesbaye, 2012-06-20


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## Hardcore Terrorist (Jul 28, 2010)

*23. Montegnée to Loncin, Part 2*

381. A few more rare appartment buildings of a style more common in the surrounding countries, 2015-10-02


382/383. Now heading east, towards Ans. The landscape is definately getting flatter and more typical of the Hesbaye (with the construction site of Clinique d'Espérence in the background again), 2015-10-27




384/385. I don't know why, but I have the feeling the style of houses changes too as we approach Ans and the north-western suburbs of Liège, 2015-10-27




386. Ans station, we've now crossed the motorway to Brussels, and have finally left Liège's south-western suburbs for good, 2015-10-27


387. Looking the other way, towards Brussels, 2015-10-27


388. Going down a side street towards the centre of the northern part of Ans, which is called Loncin,


389. Another fortified farm, 2015-10-27


390. Typical Loncin streetscape, 2015-10-27


391. Church in Loncin, 2015-10-27


Next time, we will start exploring the rest of Ans.


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## El_Greco (Apr 1, 2005)

Goodness! I love industrial cities like that!


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## Hardcore Terrorist (Jul 28, 2010)

*24. Ans, Part 1*

^^ Thanks for your comment El Grecco
_____________________________________________________________________________________________

Ans is a town of about 27,000 grown on to the north-west of Liège that mainly consists of a number residential neighbourhoods lying on either side of Rue de l 'Yser/Rue Walthère Jamar, a straight, more than five kilometer long street leading almost all the way down to central Liège. 



392. Starting at the top of Rue de l'Yser, at the bridge..., 2015-10-27


393. ... over the motorway ring, which we are looking over to the west here, 2014-09-03


394. Looking north-west in the direction the flemish town of Sint-Truiden, this is the only place I can think of where the Liège agglomeration just stops, giving way to a few kilometres of ribon development and then the empty landscape of the Hesbaye. No pictures of the latter here though, because I never been more than a few kilometres further up this road, 2015-10-27


395. And looking back south-east, towards Liège, this is also the most urban-looking street stretching this far out of town, 2015-10-27


396. Though, as you can see on this photo taken in a more southern direction, towards the church in the last post, everything behind Rue de l'Yser looks less urban, or at least more residential, 2015-10-27


397/398. Going down the street, Rue de l'Yser might not be spectacular, but gives quite a nice overview of various kinds of regional and national architecture, 2015-10-27




399. Looking back up the street, 2015-10-27


400. Another example of the strange kind of facade I have shown a few times before, 2015-10-27


401. Transformer house, 2015-10-27


402/403/404/405. ..., 2015-10-27


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## Hardcore Terrorist (Jul 28, 2010)

*24. Ans, Part 2*

406. A lot of buildings are built in dark red brick here, making buildings of different periods fit quite well together. The house on the corner is probably from the 1950's, the next four are pre-war, and the long building is probably from the 1990's, 2015-10-27


407. Police station in a side street, 2015-10-27


408/409/410/411. ..., 2015-10-27








412. Ans church, 2015-10-27


413/414/415. A nicely renovated fortified farm, 2015-10-27






Next time, we will continue down Rue de l'Yser before continuing north around central Liège.


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## Hardcore Terrorist (Jul 28, 2010)

*24. Ans, Part 3*

416. A bit further down Rue de l'Yser, the streetscape is starting to be dominated by two storey terassed houses, 2015-10-27


417/418. A few more nice houses, 2015-10-27




419/420/421. The two storey terassed houses continue around the corner, on to the road to Montegnée, 2015-10-11






422. There is also quite a lot of commercial sprawl in this area, with various shopping centres between here and Rocourt in the north, 2015-10-11


423. Looking towards Liège along the railway line from Brussels, 2013-01-19


424. Under the railway, 2013-01-19


425. Continuing straight on, on the other side of Rue de l'Yser, there are some very long rows of terassed houses along Rue des Français, the street to Rocourt, 2015-10-11


426. An abandoned building on Rue des Français, 2015-04-22


427. These 1930's houses on Rue des Français have now been whitewashed, 2006-11-14


428. There also are some smaller terassed houses such as these as wel as some newer detached and semi-detached houses in the sidestreets off Rue des Français (no pictures of the latter here, but you have seen, and will see, similar streets in the other posts), 2015-10-11


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## Hardcore Terrorist (Jul 28, 2010)

*24. Ans, Part 4*

429. Going down Rue de l'Yser again, the centre of Ans may be on top of the hill, but Ans' main square with its church and town hall sits near to the border with Liège, 2015-10-27


430. Facade of the town hall, 2015-10-27


431/432/433. A few new-ish buildings, 2015-10-27






434. Looking over the square from the other side, 2015-10-27


435. A side street, 2015-10-27


436. The construction site of Clinique de l'Espérence seen from Rue de l'Yser, 2015-10-27


427. A house on the corner of the square, 2013-01-19


428. View towards the centre of Liège from Rue Walthère Jamar, the continuation of Rue de l'Yser, 2014-09-03


429. And a view on the centre with Saint-Martin's basilica in the foreground, from slightly further down the street, 2014-09-03


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## Hardcore Terrorist (Jul 28, 2010)

*29. Tawes, Part 3*

572. View towards the back of the citadel hill from Boulevard Fosse-Crahay, 2014-05-31


573. ..., 2015-01-21


574. Next time, we will continue our trip westwards, but first we will explore some of the streets in the valley between Boulevard Fosse-Crahay and the citadel, 2015-01-21


575. Looking back up the hill towards photos 554 to 559. The motorway will probably run over this spot (so again, sign the petition http://www.petitions24.net/non_a_la_liaison_e313__chr), 2015-01-21



574. Rue Fond-des-Tawes, 2015-01-21


575/576/577. Rue des Tawes, which leads back up to the southern end of Rue Sainte-Walburge (and the top of Rue de Campine), 2015-01-21


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## Hardcore Terrorist (Jul 28, 2010)

*30. Thier à Liège, Part 1*



578. Rue Fond-des-Tawes, 2013-04-21


579. Boulevard Hector Denis, the street along the top of the hill, 2014-05-31


580. View towards Liège from Boulevard Hector Denis, 2014-05-31


581. The blocks of flats in the distance are in Droixhe, at the north-eastern end of Liège and on the other side of the Meuse, 2014-05-31


582/583/584. Thier à Liège has a small centre, which is home to, among other things, this school, 2015-06-09






585. View back towards the citadel, 2013-04-21


586/587. Most of Thier à Liège is residential. Some art-deco buildings on Boulevard Ernest Solvay, 2013-04-21




588/589. And some nearby terassed houses, 2013-04-21


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## Hardcore Terrorist (Jul 28, 2010)

*30. Thier à Liège, Part 2*

590. Going down Boulevard Ernest Solvay, a view of Coronmeuse - a neighbourhood on the border between Liège and Herstal - and the railway line to Hasselt and Antwerp. We will follow the railway line towards Liège (to the right) before continuing the other way next time, 2015-06-09


591. The edge of the neighbourhood of Saint-Léonard, which we will probably only visit at the end of this entire thread, 2013-10-06


592. View over Saint-Léonard from the wooded slopes on the other side of the railway. The row of blocks of flats on the right are on the banks of the Meuse, 2013-10-06


593/594/595/596/597/598/599/600 Close to where the railway goes into the tunnel under the citadel hill, 2013-10-06 and 2013-10-07








(The two hills in the distance are the terrils - or slagheaps - at Bernalmont, which we will visit them in the next post.)


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## openlyJane (Feb 3, 2010)

In some ways very reminiscent of a Lancashire or Yorkshire town ( England).


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## Karaborsa (Dec 8, 2007)

Great updates again hardcore, love your work!


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## Hardcore Terrorist (Jul 28, 2010)

*31. Bernalmont, Part 1*

Thanks for the comments Karaborsa and Jane I've been to both Yorkshire and Lancashire when I was small, but it seems that I should go again



Continuing from photo 590 along the railway to Hasselt:

601. Looking towards Liège, 2014-01-12


602. Looking the other way, towards Herstal, 2014-01-12


603. A bit further towards Herstal, an abandoned house in on the edge of the terril at Bernalmont, 2014-01-12


604. A path at the foot of the terril, 2014-01-12


605/606. The abandoned house, which is quite difficult to get to, 2014-01-12




607/608. View from the bottom of the terril, 2014-01-12 and 2014-01-18




609. View from half way up the terril, 2014-01-18


610. View the other way, towards Vottem, which will be our next destination, 2014-01-18


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## Hardcore Terrorist (Jul 28, 2010)

*31. Bernalmont, Part 2*

611/612. View towards Jupille-sur-Meuse - on the other side of the Meuse and Albert Canal, which splits from the Meuse here - from the top of the terril, 2014-01-18 and 2014-06-24




613. View towards Liège, with the other terril in the foreground, 2014-01-18


614. View of Liège, with the neighbourhood of Saint-Léonard in the foreground, and with the hill of Cointe in the background, 2014-01-18


615. Back at the foot of the terril, looking back towards Liège, 2014-01-18


616/617/618/619/620. Herstal station, which is currently being renewed, though I sure hope they restore the old station building. The centre of Herstal lies on the other side of the railway, and we will get there after a detour, 2015-07-01










621/622. Going up the hill at the foot of the terril, 2014-01-18


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## Hardcore Terrorist (Jul 28, 2010)

*32. Vottem*

We've now had Liège's north-western hillsides, and will now enter the Hesbaye - the region of long, empty hills that we already visited between Flémalle-Haut and Saint-Nicolas as well as around Ans - again before visiting Herstal. We will start with Vottem, a green residential area in the Herstal municipality.


623. A street going up the hill near photo 590, near to Bernalmont golf course, which I don't have any pictures of, 2015-06-17


624. Vottem is very green. A park on top of the hill, 2015-06-11


625. Ruined church in the park, 2015-06-11


626. For the first time in this thread, I miss too many photos to make a complete tour, which is why we will simply travel across Vottem from east to west from here on. Here you can see the A3 motorway, which seperates Vottem from Milmort, which we will visit after a detour through the other localities in the Hesbaye to the north of Liège, 2015-06-10


627. Looking to the east towards Milmort, 2015-06-10


628. View back to the terrils at Bernalmont, 2015-06-10


629. ..., 2015-06-11


630/631/632. View towards the Meuse valley, 2015-06-10






633. Typical Vottem housing and setting, 2015-06-10


634. Vottem is generaly quite tidy, but, as you know, I like making pictures of abandoned houses, 2015-06-10


635. Some more green space, 2015-06-10


Next time, we will visit the surroundings of Rocourt.


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## openlyJane (Feb 3, 2010)

Does Liege have a large immigrant population? It has been mentioned in the news recently?


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## Tchek (Oct 8, 2010)

openlyJane said:


> Does Liege have a large immigrant population? It has been mentioned in the news recently?


Yes it has a very big immigrant population, I would say even majoritary in the center... why this question?


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## Hardcore Terrorist (Jul 28, 2010)

*33. Rocourt*

As Tchek says, Liège is very mixed, like many similarly sized or larger western European towns.

The first wave of immigrants - to my knowledge - were Italians - and to a lesser extent Croatians, Greek, Spanish, Portuguese ... - who came to work in the mines in the 1950's. Italian culture is very visible in Liège - and Walloon towns in general, with a lot of Italian cultural centres, restaurants, shops etc.

Like other places in this part of Europe, many Turks and North Africans came here in the '60's and '70's, and this is visible in the same way as the Italians.

There are a lot of Africans too, obviously a lot from the former Belgian colonies of Congo, Rwanda etc , but I have also met people from other countries such as Angola, Mozambique, Madagascar, Guinea, Senegal etc. Most of the people in the first house I lived in were Africans from various countries.

There are all kinds of other groups here too, though I don't know exactly who came when:

- There are a lot of East Asians (Vietnamese, Chinese, Koreans) as well as Africans and South Asians in the central Saint-Denis neighbourhood, and as a result, also a number of Asian, African or Afro-Asian shops on Rue de la Cathèdrale.

- A lot of Pakistanis, Bangladeshis and Indians own night shops, which I think is similar in the U.K. (In Belgium, night shops are referred to as 'Pakis' - which isn't a pejorative term here)

- Really a lot of Spaniards (and a few more Italians) seem to have come here in recent years, and as a result I sometimes hear as much Spanish as French on the street in the summer. I've also met quite a lot of Columbians, Venezuelans, Brazilians, Argentinians...

- I regularly see cars with Bulgarian or Romanian plates, as well as a few Bulgarian shops, so that must mean there are some Bulgarian and Romanians here too. Not as many cars with Polish plates as in other places though.

- The most unnoticeable, but definitely there, are people from the former Soviet countries. There are a few Russian shops, and as I found out by chance yesterday, also a Russian orthodox church complete with an onion dome (in Laveu). I once met a Georgian and a Chechen (at the same time).

All in all, Liège seems to have a hint of a lot of places in the world, though strangely enough not much of its closest neighbours, the Flemings and Dutch* - who only seem to live here in very marginal numbers, though I've met slightly more Germans.

* I mean Flemings or Dutch who came to live here, as quite a lot of people's grandparents came from either Flanders or Dutch Limburg. A lot of Flemings and Limburgers, as well as German speakers do come here for things like the La Batte Sunday market though. Hearing English is quit rare, but getting more common. (Funnily enough, when I find myself speaking English or Dutch, it's often with someone of foreign origin, English in a nigh shop, or Dutch at a Turkish or Moroccan baker. Or in my current job - as an English teacher).
_________________________________________________________________

Skipping a denser, more modern part of Vottem, and crossing the road on photo 560 brings us to the Liège subdivision of Rocourt.

Rocourt can be roughly divided into two parts: a suburb of Liège that is home to the Cora shopping centre and Kinepolis cinema, and the village of Rocourt, which lies on the outer edge of the Liège agglomeration.


636. Chaussée de Tongres, Rocourt's main road, which continues as Rue Sainte-Walburghe (see last page) in the south-east, 2015-05-27


637. The Kinepolis cinema, that together with the Cora shopping centre, is Rocourt's most popular destination, 2015-10-11


638. On the whole, Chaussée de Tongres is quite ugly, but there are also some nice Hesbaye-style houses along it, 2015-10-11


639/640. The areas on either side of Chaussée de Tongres are a lot emptier, and there are a number of neighbourhoods like this one, 2014-09-03




641. And in some places, there's simply some typical Hesbaye-style empty landscape, 2014-09-03


642. Looking north-west up the last bit of Chaussée de Tongres, towards the Flemish town of Tongeren (FR: Tongres), 14 kilometers up the road, 2015-10-11


Though it´s nothing special, the village of Rocourt, that lies to the east of the end of Chaussée de Tongres quite nice.

643. Former town hall of Rocourt, which is now part of the Liège municipality, 2015-05-27


644. A typical streetscape in Rocourt, 2015-05-27


Next time, we will visit the next village, which is called Liers,


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## openlyJane (Feb 3, 2010)

Thanks for the detailed explanation of Liege's various communities.


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## Tchek (Oct 8, 2010)

Hardcore Terrorist said:


> - The most unnoticeable, but definitely there, are people from the former Soviet countries. There are a few Russian shops, and as I found out by chance yesterday, also a Russian orthodox church complete with an onion dome (in Laveu). I once met a Georgian and a Chechen (at the same time).



I lived right in front of that orthodox church the first 10 years of my life... Laveu used traditionally to receive Russian immigrants in the early 20th century.


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## Hardcore Terrorist (Jul 28, 2010)

*34. Liers, Part 1*

My pleasure Jane, and thanks for the info Tcheck Do you know why they came to Laveau in particular? It's a nice church, but I saw it when it was dark, so I'll try and get a picture of it soon



645/646/647/648. Continuing down the street on the last picture..., 2015-05-27 and 2015-06-18








649. ... brings us to Liers station, which lies on the line from Liège/Herstal to Hasselt, 2015-06-18


650. Industrial building next to the station, 2015-06-18


651. Church in Liers, 2015-05-27


652. Opposite the church, another house with a strange, typically Belgian kind of façade, 2015-05-27


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## Hardcore Terrorist (Jul 28, 2010)

*34. Liers, Part 2*

654/655/656/657/658/659. Typical Hesbaye landscape somewhere between Liers and Juprelle, taken on an early morning a long time before I lived in Liège, 2006-05-21












Next time, we will visit the next village, which is called Milmort.


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## christos-greece (Feb 19, 2008)

Once again great, very nice updates from Liège


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## Hardcore Terrorist (Jul 28, 2010)

*35. Milmort & Les Hauts Sarts, Part 1*

Thanks Christos



660/661/662. On the edge of Milmort, 2006-05-21






663/664. Milmort station, on the line from Liège to Hasselt, 2014-08-09




Up to now, you have either seen defunct industrial zones, or extensive residential ones interspersed by countryside. But Liège does have an economy, and I thought that, as we're now arriving in the Hauts-Sarts commercial estate, it´s a good time to tell you about it. Unlike many towns, there aren´t many offices in the city centre - where most of the jobs are in shops, bars and restaurants or in education and governmental institutions. That is because most of them are either in Sart-Tilman - where this thread started, or in Hauts-Sarts - which lies near to Milmort station. While Sart-Tilman is specialised in high-tech industries such as aeronautics and pharmaceutics/medical supplies, Sart-Tilman is home to numerous companies that together employ the most people in Wallonia in a single locality. I´m not going to go into any more detail, and will just show two photos, as commercial estates are never particularly interesting to look at. (I work there sometimes so I made a few pictures)

665. Office building for sale, 2015-06-03


666. 2eme Avenue, 2015-06-17


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## Hardcore Terrorist (Jul 28, 2010)

*35. Milmort & Les Hauts Sarts, Part 2*

667/668/669/670/671. Some houses in Milmort, back on the other side of the station, 2015-06-11










672. This row really reminds me of American houses I´ve seen on pictures, 2015-06-11


673. ..., 2015-06-11


674. Shortly before the motorway on the way back to Vottem (see photos 626/627), 2015-06-10


Next time, we will visit the village of Glons, which lies further north, and deeper in the Hesbaye, before going the other way and visiting Herstal.


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## Hardcore Terrorist (Jul 28, 2010)

*36. Glons, Part 1*

Glons, a typical Hesbaye village 11 km north-west of Milmort, in the Bassenge municipality.


675. Glons station, 2014-10-04


676. An agricultural factory opposite the station, 2014-10-04


677/678. I don't know why so many things are leaning sideways on the other side of the railway, 2014-10-04




679. ..., 2014-10-04


680. The crossing of the railway to Tongeren and Hasselt and the Montzen-line - which was built by the Germans in WW1 to avoid the neutral teritory of the Netherlands between the port of Antwerp and Germany. The Montzen-line crosses the railway from Liège to Hasselt just north of Glons station. We'll come across the Monztzen-line again a number of times in future posts2014-10-04


681/682/683. Under the Montzen-line, 2014-10-04






684. Walking into Glons, 2014-10-04


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## Hardcore Terrorist (Jul 28, 2010)

*36. Glons, Part 2*

685/686/687/688. As I have mentioned before, fortified farms such as this one are typical of the Hesbaye as well as some other parts of Belgium, 2014-10-04








689/690/691/692. ..., 2014-10-04








693. The Geer (NL: Jeker), which goes on to flow into the Meuse in Maastricht, 2014-10-04


694. The church of Glons, 2014-10-04


695. Vicarage, 2014-10-04


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## Hardcore Terrorist (Jul 28, 2010)

*54. Moresnet and Gemmenich, Part 2*

1100/1101. The stream behind the mill, 2015-10-03




1101/1102. The viaduct seen from the south, 2015-10-03




1103. 19th century immitation castle, 2015-10-03


1104/1105/1106/1107/1108. ..., 2015-10-03










1109. Strange windowless house, 2015-10-03


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## Hardcore Terrorist (Jul 28, 2010)

*54. Moresnet and Gemmenich, Part 3*

1110/1111. ..., 2015-10-03




1112. Small patch of woods, 2015-10-03


1113/1114. ..., 2015-10-03




1115. Shrine, 2015-10-03


1116/1117. On the road past Gemmenich to the tri-point of Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany, 2015-10-03




1118/1119. With Moresnet in the distance, 2015-10-03




Next time, we will make a short visit to the officially German speaking part of Belgium - which is also part of the Province of Liège.


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## yansa (Jun 16, 2011)

Nice landscape and buildings! 
I especially like photo 1036, 1076-78 and 1092.


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## Hardcore Terrorist (Jul 28, 2010)

*55. The German Speaking Region, Part 1*

Thanks for your comment Yansa

We will now leave the Pays d'Herve for a while, and start on an extremely incomplete tour of the Liège part of the Ardennes, starting with the 'German Speaking Region', which is part of the province despite being a seperate 'community' within Belgium. The German Speaking region - a narrow strip of land along the German border that was given to Belgium after WW1 as part of the Treaty of Versailles - has about 76,000 inhabitants, and is made up of nine municipalities. We will only briefly dip into the northern part, which contains the capital "city" Eupen, which has about 20,000 inhabitants. These are the only pictures I made of the region - a few years before I moved to Liège.


1120. A slightly German looking building in Kelmis (FR: La Calamine), 2007-12-29


1121. The church of Lontzen, 2007-12-29


And now Eupen:

1122. The main church, 2007-12-30


1123. The town hall on the same square, 2007-12-30


1124. Typical streetscape in the upper town, which appeared to be mostly German-speaking, 2007-12-30


1125. Street down to the lower town, which seemed to have more French speakers, 2007-12-30


1126/1127. Factory, 2007-12-30


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## Hardcore Terrorist (Jul 28, 2010)

*55. The German Speaking Region, Part 2*

1128. The Vesdre river - which divides the Ardennes and Pays d'Herve in the west - runs through Eupen. We will follow this river back to Liège after we have completed our short tour of the Ardennes, 2007-12-30


1129/1130. Some German looking buildings on the road out of Eupen to the east, 2007-12-30




1131. The Vesdre again, 2007-12-30


1132. Eupen is surrounded by dark woods, 2007-12-30


1133. The 'Eupener Stausee', a lake formed by the damming of the Vesdre to the east of Eupen, 2007-12-30


1134. The Hydro-electric dam, 2007-12-30
s

Next time, we will visit the Hautes Fagnes (DE: Hohes Venn), or High Fens, the highest part of Belgium at about 700 meters above sea level.


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## Benonie (Dec 21, 2005)

Great shots. I've never visited our German speaking region... shame on me!


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## Hardcore Terrorist (Jul 28, 2010)

*56. Hautes Fagnes*

Thanks Benonie Well, I've hardly been there since I live here either...
As the name suggests, the Hautes Fagnes is a high plateau with a fen landscape surrounded by pine woods. It doesn't look at all mountainous, even though it is the highest part of Belgium with elevations of over 700 meters. The "mountainous" looking parts of the Ardennes and Condroz are all lower than the Hautes Fagnes, which forms the transitional area between the Ardennes to the west and the German Eiffel to the east. It is one of the only parts of Belgium where it snows at least a few times each winter. 


Walk from the place called Ternell on the Baraque de Fraiture, 2015-01-04

1135. 


1136.


1137.


1138.


1139.


1140.


1141.


1142.


1143.


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## Hardcore Terrorist (Jul 28, 2010)

*57. Robertville & Malmedy*

Now Robertville, a part of the Weismes municipality, 2015-03-07


1144/1145. The drinking water reservoir, which was created by damming the river Warche, a tributuary of the Amblève




1146. Shrine


1147. The dam


1148. Robertville castle


1149/1150. ...




Malmedy, a majority French speaking town that, like Weismes, was also German territory until the end of the first world war. Malmedy has a mostly modern look because it was badly damaged at the end of WW2. Nearby Stavelot - which I don't have any pictures of - is a lot older looking, and definately worth visiting too. Pictures taken on 2014-03-25

1151. Malmedy's landmark church in the distance


1151. The sides of the valley Malmedy's in


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## openlyJane (Feb 3, 2010)

These borderland places that have changed their allegiance or territorial ownership over time are always interesting mixtures of influences. Alsace in France is like this too. ( I have visited Alsace and then popped over the border into The Black Forest region of Germany).


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## christos-greece (Feb 19, 2008)

As always great, very nice updates about Liège


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## Hardcore Terrorist (Jul 28, 2010)

*58. Spa, Part 1*

Thanks again for your comments Christos and Jane Yes I always find borderlands particularly interesting too, and the proximity of two other countries is one of the things that make the Liège region quite special. (I posted some more borderlands n my 'Everywhere else I go thread' too, and there are some more coming up. I've never really been to the Alsace though)

__________________________________________________________________

Now Spa, the town which is responsible for the English word for places with mineral springs and bath houses. Spa (pop.: +/- 10,000) used to welcome guests like the Russian or English royal families until the early twentieth century, which is somewhat hard to imagine nowadays. But, faded glory as it is today, Spa is still an elegant and posh little town, and home to the mineral water of the same name.


1152/1153. Spa's main station (there's also the terminus of the railway from Pepinster, Spa-Geronstère, a kilometer or so down the line). It's strange to imagine that there used to be direct trains to places like Moscow, Vienna and Paris here. The Spa mineral water bottling plant is just visible on the right, 2012-08-19




1154. Along the line towards Spa-Geronstère, 2012-08-19


1155. ..., 2013-07-06


1156/1157. The Ardennes suffered badly during both WW1 and WW2, which is why almost every town or village has a memorial to both wars. WW1 memorial, 2013-07-06




1158/1159. Spa's main park, with the funicular in the background, 2013-07-06




1160/1161. Cast-iron canopy in the park, 2013-07-06


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## Hardcore Terrorist (Jul 28, 2010)

*58. Spa, Part 2*

1162/1163. Bath building on the main square, 2013-07-06




1164. Steps leading up between the baths and the casino, 2013-07-06


1165/1166. Looking back the other way, 2013-07-06




1167/1168/1169. ..., 2013-07-06






1170. The main church, 2013-07-06


1171. ..., 2013-07-06


1172. Art-nouveau house, 2013-07-06


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## Hardcore Terrorist (Jul 28, 2010)

*58. Spa, Part 3 (and Franchimont)*

1173/1174/1175. ..., 2013-07-06






1175. WW1 & 2 memorial, 2013-07-06


1176. Building in the oldest part of Spa, 2013-07-06


1177. House with aeroplane windows, 2013-07-06


1178. On the outskirts of Spa, 2012-08-19


1179. I visited Spa on a very hot day, and we actually went swimming in this pond (which we saw later was forbidden. It wasn't very clean either), 2012-08-19


1180. Slightly to the north of Spa, the medieval castle of Franchimont, 2009-12-30


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## yansa (Jun 16, 2011)

No. 1172, that green Art Nouveau building simply is phantastic!


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## Basnix (Sep 25, 2012)

Very informative tour through this region, I like it a lot! Great pictures.


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## Hardcore Terrorist (Jul 28, 2010)

*59. Ninglingspo & Rémouchamps, Part 1*

Thanks for the comments Yansa & Basnix

For today, the surroundings of Aywaille, to the west of Spa and on the Amblève river.


1181/1182. Ninglingspo, a series of waterfalls down to the Amblève. I'm not sure where the name comes from, but it's definately not French, 2014-05-03




1183/1184. On top of the Ninglingspo-hill, 2014-05-03




1185. A nearby modern house, 2014-05-03


1186. The viaduct carrying the motorway from Liège to Luxembourg over the Amblève valley at Rémouchamps. The smaller bridge carries the railway line from Liège to Luxemburg, 2013-01-27


1187/1188/1189. Rémouchamps, 2013-01-27


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## Hardcore Terrorist (Jul 28, 2010)

*59. Ninglingspo & Rémouchamps, Part 2*

1190. Rémouchamps is most famous for its caves, which I didn't visit (I remember it was really expensive). By the entrance to the caves, 2013-01-27


1191/1192. The Amblève, which goes on to join the Ourthe in Comblain-au-Pont, near to where the first photo in this thread was taken, 2013-01-27




1193. Following the Amblève west towards Aywaille, 2013-01-27


1194. Branche of the Amblève, 2013-01-27


Next time, we will head back north-east of Spa, to the Gilleppe Dam and the small town of Limbourg, before we head west along the Vesdre towards Liège.


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## christos-greece (Feb 19, 2008)

Great, very nice updates from Liège; well done once again :cheers:


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## Hardcore Terrorist (Jul 28, 2010)

*60. The Barrage de Gilleppe and Limbourg, Part 1*

Thanks again Christos And thanks for the likes too, all the others

Dolhain municipality (pop.: +/- 5,500)


1195/1196/1197. The Barrage de la Gilleppe dam - on the Gilleppe, a tributary of the Vesdre - and drinking water reservoir. I once went for a bike ride from Liège to here, via Verviers and Limbourg, and back via Spa, which, while not being the longest, was one of the most tiring because of the differences in height. The Barrage de la Gileppe is on the edge of the Baraque de Fraiture (see the Hautes Fagnes post), and there can easily be a few hundred metres difference in elevation around here, 2011-06-27






1198/1199. Landscape between the Barrage de la Gileppe and Limbourg, 2012-03-16




1120. Arriving in Limbourg, the old town on top of a hill that was once the capital of the Duchy of the same name (NL: Limburg), 2013-02-02


1121. Church, 2013-02-02


1122/1123/1124/1125. Limbourg's old town mostly consists of one elongated central square, that is not as lively as it may once have been, 2013-02-02


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## Hardcore Terrorist (Jul 28, 2010)

*60. The Barrage de Gilleppe and Limbourg, Part 2*

1126. The important looking building at the end of the square, 2013-02-02


1127/1128/1129/1130/1131/1132. Going down the hill, 2013-02-02 and 2012-03-16










1133. The lower town, which is called Dolhain, is home to most of the towns ameneties, including the Dolhain-Gilleppe railway station (on the line from Verviers to Aachen/Eupen), 2013-02-02


1134/1135. Some of the nineteenth/early twentieth century architecture in this region still looks quite similar to that of the neighbouring part of Germany, 2013-02-02


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## Hardcore Terrorist (Jul 28, 2010)

*60. The Barrage de Gilleppe and Limbourg, Part 3*

1136/1137/1138. ..., 2013-02-02






1139. The Vesdre, 2012-03-16


1140. Former wool-washing plant, 2013-02-02


1141. Bus stop on the road to Verviers, which will be our next stop, 2011-06-27


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## Hardcore Terrorist (Jul 28, 2010)

*61. Verviers, Part 1*

Verviers - a town of about 56,000 on the Vesdre river, and on the border of the Ardennes and Pays d'Herve- is a place that has fascinated me since I first visited it in 2006. Not only because it has a great architectural heritage and rich history - having long been a centre for the textile industry, it was, among other things, one of the first places in the world outside the U.K. to be mechanically industrialised when British industrialist William Cockerill opened a steam-powered factory here in 1807 - but also because it has a very strong atmosphere. Verviers feels very hidden and forgotten, and truly a part of the natural regions that surround it, which is quite uncommon for a town this size. People from Liège often look down on Verviers - either seeing it as a town of snobs or one of 'barakis' (chavs) - rather like people from other places look down on Liège. And when Verviers is in the news, it's usually bad news, such as a connection to the Paris terrorist attacks or last January's police raid when two suspected terrorists were killed. Nonetheless, I think Verviers is a special town that is very varied for its size, though I don't know if it will ever live up to its great potential.


In this first of a number of posts on Verviers, we will come in from the east along the Vesdre, and follow it around the back of the town centre.

1142. Early nineteenth century sheet-factory, 2012-08-01


1143. I'm sure it's this 'Fabrique de Draps de M. Iwan Simonis', which I found in the 'Nijver België' book of 19th century engravings of Belgian factories, which I was pleased to find for five euros a few years ago


1144. There are quite a lot of abandoned houses in Verviers, 2012-08-01


1145. Old industrial buildings between the Vesdre and Verviers centre, 2012-08-01


1146/1147/1148/1149/1150. The same area at night, 2007-01-05










1151. ..., 2007-12-21


1152. Verviers' iconic post-office in the distance, 2007-12-21


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## Hardcore Terrorist (Jul 28, 2010)

*61. Verviers, Part 2*

1153. Arriving at the Verviers waterfront, 2007-12-22


1154. I really like the organic "growth" of buildings that covers a few hundred metres of the Vesdre's northern bank. This part has been slated for demolition for a long time, and protests have stopped the construction of a pretty awful looking shopping centre that would have covered the river (this was in 2007 though, so I don't know what will happen to this area that is continuing to collapse...), 2007-12-22


1155/1156. Looking back to where we came from, 2007-12-21 and 2007-12-22




1157. Looking both ways, 2014-04-13


1158/1159/1160/1161. View over the centre of Verviers from the hill on the Vesdre's northern bank, 2007-12-21








1162. Further up the same hill, 2007-12-21


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## Hardcore Terrorist (Jul 28, 2010)

*61. Verviers, Part 3*

1163. Looking back north from a bridge over the Vesdre, 2014-04-13


1164/1165/1166/1167. The revitalised part of Verviers' waterfront, which lies at the western end of the centre, 2014-04-13








Next time, we wil explore the centre of Verviers, which has also been partly been revitalised.


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## Benonie (Dec 21, 2005)

Wow! What a potential indeed!


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## Hardcore Terrorist (Jul 28, 2010)

*61. Verviers, Part 4*

Thanks again for your comment Benonie Yes, I really hope this potential will be realised!

Even though a limited number blocks were badly dammaged by '70's planning, most of central Verviers has an intact streetscape of buildings dating from the middle-ages to the early twentieth century.

1168. Walking into the centre, roughly opposite photo 1154, 2015-03-14


1169/1170. The central shopping area, 2014-04-13




1171. Town hall and its square, 2015-03-14


1172. ..., 2014-04-13


1173/1174/1175. Former main post office. As you can just see on the right hand side of the first picture, its neighbour is a '70's shopping centre of the worst kind, 2014-04-13






1176. Rue des Raines is an old street that is somehow reminiscent of Rue Hors-Château in Liège that stretches between the post office..., 2015-03-14


1177. ... and the nineteenth century church of Saint-Remacle, 2015-03-14


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## Hardcore Terrorist (Jul 28, 2010)

*61. Verviers, Part 5*

1178/1179/1180/1181. Houses from various periods on Rue des Raines, 2015-03-14








1182. Church of Saint-Remacle, 2015-03-14


1183. Some sprawl merges with central Verviers' eastern end, resulting in this surrealstic view of a neoclassical church stuck between a furniture megastore and a petrol station (Rue de Limbourg), 2007-12-30


1184/1185/1186. Side streets off Rue des Raines' western end, (the architecture of the Ardennes is even present in the centre of Verviers), 2015-03-14 and 2012-08-01






1187. Soon to be renovated art-deco building, 2015-03-14


1188. Municpal 'art & archeology' museum, 2015-03-14


1189. Law court, 2007-12-21


Next time, we will continue from this point and explore some more of the centre before exploring the elegant nineteenth century neighbourhood around Verviers' two stations.


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## Benonie (Dec 21, 2005)

Funny car at that last panoramic picture...


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## openlyJane (Feb 3, 2010)

What a marvellous post office building - couple of sets up. 

You really have created a splendid catalogue of townscapes.


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## christos-greece (Feb 19, 2008)

Once again great, very nice photos from Liège


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## sky-eye (Jan 2, 2003)

Nice pictures of Verviers. I visited Verviers once (i think about 5 years ago), and it's a fasinating city with a lot of contrast. Sometimes very run down (like the neighbourhood on the opposite of the Vesdre (pic 1154) but also beautifull building and nice 19 th houses (Rue de Centre e.o). A question: when i was visiting the city is was quite empty on the street (it was a saturday in august (maybe a lot of people on holiday). How it's normally?


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## Hardcore Terrorist (Jul 28, 2010)

*61. Verviers, Part 6*

Thanks for all the comments & likes everybody



Benonie said:


> Funny car at that last panoramic picture...


Haha yes, that's what happens when I make panoramas from really old pictures I didn't used to make photos with that in mind, but am often pleased to find out later that I can make panoramas out of those old, random snapshots. (I could have photoshopped the car out, but I would be busy forever if I had to do this kind of thing on every picture)



openlyJane said:


> What a marvellous post office building - couple of sets up.
> 
> You really have created a splendid catalogue of townscapes.


Thanks Jane Yet there's so much left in Verviers & the wider world which I still have to document...



christos-greece said:


> Once again great, very nice photos from Liège


Thanks again Christos



sky-eye said:


> Nice pictures of Verviers. I visited Verviers once (i think about 5 years ago), and it's a fasinating city with a lot of contrast. Sometimes very run down (like the neighbourhood on the opposite of the Vesdre (pic 1154) but also beautifull building and nice 19 th houses (Rue de Centre e.o). A question: when i was visiting the city is was quite empty on the street (it was a saturday in august (maybe a lot of people on holiday). How it's normally?


My impression is that it's quite lively for a town of its size, especially in the 'foreign' district on the other (northern) side of the Vesdre. A lot of other people tell me they think the atmosphere in Verviers is kind of strange though. As for the nice nineteenth century neighbourhood, that's where we're getting to now

1190/1191. Still in the old centre, 2007-12-21 and 2007-01-06




1192. Approaching Verviers-Palais station, 2014-04-13


1193. Looking back towards the centre (roughly towards photo 1169), 2014-04-13


1194. Verviers Palais station and the law court (Palais de Justice) that gave it its name, 2014-04-13


1195/1196/1197. Rue du Palais, though you wouldn't say so, this is the street where police killed two suspected terrorists in January 2015, 2014-04-13






1198. This ornamental staircase leads up from Rue du Palais to the posh part of Verviers, 2014-04-13


1199. Looking back towards the hill we were on on photos 1158-1162 from the top of the staircase, 2007-12-21


1200/1201. The neighbourhood at the top of the staircase, 2007-01-06


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## Hardcore Terrorist (Jul 28, 2010)

*61. Verviers, Part 7*

1202. Back on Rue du Palais, 2014-04-13


1203. Rue des Minières. The neighbourhood behind the church is very elegant, with some parks and ovals lined with Brussels-esque nineteenth century houses. I don't have any decent pictures of it though, 2014-04-13


1204. ..., 2007-12-22


1205. Verviers-Central station, 2014-04-13


1206. Looking down towards the centre from in front of the station. This is another street of very nice houses that I don't have any pictures of, 2014-10-12


1207. Except for this one, of 'Café Aux Pays-Bas' a reminder of the strange thought that the Dutch border is only 20 kilometers away, 2007-12-22


1208. The hill behind the station seen from the other (eastern) side, 2015-03-14


1209. I was pleased to find that this art-nouveau house in the same neighbourhood, one of the nicest I have ever seen..., 2007-01-06


1210. ... has been restored, 2015-03-14


1211. Rather sinister looking tunnel in the same street, 2015-03-14


I'm still not finished posting pictures of Verviers, so expect more soon!


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## Tchek (Oct 8, 2010)

Very surprised by Verviers... it seems more preserved than Liège, like the Germans spared the town a bit more or something... some pictures look like how Liège was at the beginning of the 20th century in some parts...

I've been there like twice or something, and I've heard people say that they didn't like the atmosphere much actually, like a bit menacing or something...


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## yansa (Jun 16, 2011)

1209, 1210: wonderful!


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## Hardcore Terrorist (Jul 28, 2010)

*61. Verviers, Part 8*

@Tcheck Yes, as a whole, Verviers is definately more intact than Liège. I don't know if it was at all damaged in WW1 or 2, but it most of it was definately spared by planners too (I just hope it stays like this...) A lot of people have told me they didn't like the atmosphere there either, including most of the Dutch people I took there (while they all thought Liège was great).
Thanks for the comment too Yansa

Continuing where we left of, we'll now go up the hill to the south.

1212. Side of another staircase, 2015-03-14


1213. And a smaller staircase, 2015-03-14


There are quite a lot of nice houses, including some art-nouveau-ish ones, in this neighbourhood.

1214. 2015-03-14


1215. 2015-03-14


1216. 2015-03-14


1217. 2015-03-14


1218. 2015-03-14


1219. 2015-03-14


1220. 2015-03-14


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## Hardcore Terrorist (Jul 28, 2010)

*61. Verviers, Part 9*

1221. 2015-03-14


1222. 2015-03-14


1223. 2015-03-14


1224. Police station, 2015-03-14


1225. The further up the hill, the bigger the houses. There are some much bigger villas on much bigger parcels of land around here, but I don't have any pictures of them, 2015-03-14


1226/1227/1228. A neigbourhood on the southern edge of Verviers, 2015-03-14






1229/1230. Nineteenth century folly in a park, 2015-03-14




Next time, we will follow the Vesdre out of Verviers to the west.


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## yansa (Jun 16, 2011)

Superb updates again!
The tower in 1229/30 would be worth a renovation.


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## Hardcore Terrorist (Jul 28, 2010)

*61. Verviers, Part 10*

Thanks again for your comment Yansa Yes it is, as are many other buildings in Verviers.

In this last post on Verviers, we will follow the Vesdre out of town to the west, continuing from more-or-less where we were around photo 1167.

1231/1132. Two more photos taken somewhere near the station, I can't remember exactly where (though I could find out if I did some effort), 2007-12-22 and 2006-07-08




1133. The Vesdre bends southwards around Verviers before continuing eastwards, going through what is probably the messiest looking part of town, 2014-04-13


1134/1135/1136. View to the north from under the E42 motorway, 2007-12-22






1137. View to the south-east. You can just see the church from photo 1203, 2007-12-22


1138/1139. IMO this house that stands under the motorway is one of Verviers most surrealistic and spectacular sights, 2007-12-21 and 2007-12-22




1140. On the opposite side of the Vesdre from the last picture, 2007-12-21


1141. The same house from further off, 2007-12-22


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## Hardcore Terrorist (Jul 28, 2010)

*61. Verviers, Part 11*

1142/1143. The last picture was taken from next to the former Verviers-Est customs station, 2007-12-22




Which was converted into a luxury hotel a number of years ago:


Karnoit said:


> It's actually a former station building which have been turned into a hotel since 2009:


1144. Continuing along the Vedre from photo 1139, 2007-12-22


1145/1146/1147. ..., 2014-04-13






1148. Another nineteenth century industrial building, 2014-04-13


1149. ..., 2014-04-13


1150/1151. Some side streets, 2014-04-13




1152. Another former factory, 2014-04-13


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## Hardcore Terrorist (Jul 28, 2010)

*73. Parc de la Boverie and surroundings, Part 7*

Thanks for your comments Christos and Skopje Yes the architecture of Liège is (obviously) one of my favorites, and I hope this trend doesn't continue...

4168. A building on Quai Marcellis that was renovated relatively recently, 2016-02-16
01 P1670002b by Ruben Alexander, on Flickr

4169. Boulevard Frère-Orban and the Chiroux tower and Pont Kennedy (right) seen from Quai Churchill (the continuation of Quai Marcellis, 2011-10-24
02 MW 08 Boulevard Frère Orban (1) by Ruben Alexander, on Flickr

4170. The monastry (or is it the Faculty of Theology?) on Boulevard Frère-Orban, 2016-02-16
03 BE LI Liège-Avroy-Boulevard Frère-Orban-Boulevard Piercot 2016-02-16 by Ruben Alexander, on Flickr

4171. Two of the three remaining old houses on this part of Quai Churchill (there are a few more on the part of this street that links to Quai de la Boverie - see '72. Média Cité and surroundings, Part 6' on the last page), 2016-02-16
04 P1660998b by Ruben Alexander, on Flickr

4172. The other old house sits on the corner of Rue Tour-en-Bèche, another short street between Quai Churchill and Quai de la Boverie (see photo 4147), 2016-02-12
05 P1660311b by Ruben Alexander, on Flickr

4173. Rue Tour-en-Bèche, looking west (towards Quai Churchill), 2016-02-16
06 P1670193b by Ruben Alexander, on Flickr

4174/4175. Houses on Rue Tour-en-Bèche, a street which is always in the shade, 2016-02-16
07 P1670155b by Ruben Alexander, on Flickr

08 P1670160b by Ruben Alexander, on Flickr

4176. Rue Tour-en-Bèche, looking east (towards Quai d la Boverie), 2016-02-16
09 P1670173c by Ruben Alexander, on Flickr

4177. Looking back south from Pont Kennedy, with Quai Churchill and Quai Marcellis on the left (I will show you the view the other way another time, when we visit the neighbourhood of Outremeuse), 2014-01-28
10 BE LI Liège-Boverie-Pont Kennedy 2014-01-28 (2) by Ruben Alexander, on Flickr

4178. The corner of Quai Edouard van Beneden, Quai Churchill and Rue Grètry, where the circle we started on photo 4145 closes, (seen from Pont Kennedy), 2016-02-16
11 P1670219b by Ruben Alexander, on Flickr

Next time I will show you a few pictures of the short bit of Rue Grètry between the Meuse and Dérivation (I still have to make a few better ones) before we cross the Meuse and visit the neighbourhood of Avroy.


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## Hardcore Terrorist (Jul 28, 2010)

*73. Parc de la Boverie and surroundings, Part 8*

A few pictures of the short piece of Rue Grètry that runs between the Meuse and the Dérivation, which, strangely enough, was one of the first places in Liège that caught my attention (probably because it looks so "urban", all crammed into just a hundred metres).

4179. 2014-09-28


4180. I remember really liking this balcony when I first saw it in 2004, 2016-03-12


4181/4182. 2016-02-17 




4183. A thread on Liège wouldn't be complete without a picture of its congested trafic, something which is not often the theme of my photos. Evening rush hour on Rue Grètry, looking east with a part of the Média Cité in the distance on the right, 2013-09-24


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## Hardcore Terrorist (Jul 28, 2010)

*74. Avroy, Part 1*

Now we will visit the neighbourhood of Avroy, which lies on the other (western) side of the Meuse. It was built in the second half of the nineteenth century according to a plan by Hubert-Guillaume Blonden, and involved filling in a branch of the Meuse and replacing it with the Avroy and de la Sauvenière Boulevards. Though it is still one of Liège's more upmarket neighbourhoods today, it was originally very high class, and was criticised in the day for displacing people with lower incomes. Like the banks of the Meuse, Avroy's main thoroughfares are now lined with a mixture of the original upmarket townhouses and apartment buildings from the 1960's and '70's.


4184. The Abbey on photo 4170 seen from the ramp on to Pont Kennedy, 2016-03-16


4185. Entrance to the Abbey's church, 2013-04-25


4186. The banks of the Meuse in this part of town, Boulevard Frère-Orban (where we are now) and Quai de Rome, where refurbished last year, replacing what used to be an "urban motorway" with a more pedestrian and bicycle friendly environment. It could do with a few more trees, but is definately a great improvement! (with Pont Kennedy in the distance), 2016-03-12


4187. The other side of the Abbey, on the corner of Boulevard Piercot and Boulevard Frère-Orban, 2015-05-10


4188. The corner of Boulevard Frère-Orban and Boulevard Piercot, 2016-03-13


4189. One of the few remaing nineteenth century townhouses on this part of Boulevard Frère-Orban, 2016-02-24


4190. Looking south along Boulevard Frère-Orban. The building on the corner (of Rue Forgeur) had an extension built on top of it last year (I rather like it, it respects the old building, of which the previously dirty looking facade was cleaned at the same time), 2016-02-24


4191. Rue Forgeur (where we are now) and Rue Raikem, the two small streets that run between Boulevard Frère-Orban and Avenue Rogier, are lined with elegant nineteenth century houses, giving an impression of what this neighbourhood used to look like. This text on the facade of this building reads 'roads and bridges', 2013-03-06


4192/4193/4194/4195. Rue Forgeur, 2016-02-24, 2016-03-12 and 2016-02-28


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## Hardcore Terrorist (Jul 28, 2010)

*74. Avroy, Part 2*

4196/4197/4198/4199. Rue Forgeur, 2016-03-12 and 2016-02-28








4200. Back on Boulevard Frère-Orban, I think that both of these more recent buildings are quite elegant. As you'll also see in the future, not all of them are ugly! 2016-02-24


4201. Another remaining older building, 2016-02-24 


4202. This one hosts a honary Geman consulate, 2016-02-24


4203/4204. The corners of Boulevard Frère-Orban and 'Les Terasses', a small double park between the Meuse and Avenue Rogier/Parc d'Avroy, 2016-03-10




4205/4206. The houses either side of the one on the last picture, 2016-03-12 and 2016-03-13




Stay tuned for more!


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## El_Greco (Apr 1, 2005)

Some really cool shots. Liege is definitely an underrated city!


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## Skopje/Скопје (Jan 8, 2013)

Very cute narrow house on photo #4199.


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## Hardcore Terrorist (Jul 28, 2010)

*74. Avroy, Part 3*

Thanks for your comments El Greco & Skopje

Now looking towards the Meuse from the same stretch of Boulevard Frère-Orban.

4207. Pont Kennedy, Quai Churchill and Quai Marcellis, which we visited at the end of the last page and the beginning of this one, 2011-10-24
01 ME 10 Quai Mercelis (1) by Ruben Alexander, on Flickr

4208. ..., 2011-05-08
02 BE LI Liège-Avroy-Boulevard Frère-Orban 2011-05-08 by Ruben Alexander, on Flickr

4209. Quai Marcellis, with the 'Port des Yachts' in the foreground, and Pont Albert 1, the Tour des Finances and Cointe in the background, 2015-04-12
03 BE LI Liège-Avroy-Boulevard Frère-Orban-Meuse-Port des Yachts 2015-04-12 by Ruben Alexander, on Flickr

4210/4211/4212. The WW1 & 2 memorial on and around Pont Albert 1, 2016-03-13
04 P1700331b by Ruben Alexander, on Flickr

05 P1700310b by Ruben Alexander, on Flickr

06 P1700283b by Ruben Alexander, on Flickr

4213. Looking back towards Pont Albert 1 from the newly refurbished Parc Albert 1. The low white building on the left hosts 'l'Héliport', one of Liège's poshest restaurants, 2016-03-13
07 P1700267b by Ruben Alexander, on Flickr

4214. The road was also recently refurbished, 2016-03-13
08 P1700249b by Ruben Alexander, on Flickr

4215. I recently saw a proposition..., 2016-03-13
09 P1700222b by Ruben Alexander, on Flickr

4216. ... to ruin these four houses. I like the extension on photo 4190, but IMO this is just ugly (in part because it would demolish part of the existing structure). The papers announcing the project have been taken away though, and I hope this means that the project is being reconsidered, 2016-01-17
10 BE LI Liège-Avroy-Boulevard Frère-Orban 45 2016-01-17 (3) by Ruben Alexander, on Flickr

4217/4218. A few of the other remaining 19th century townhouses on the southern part of Boulevard Frère-Orban, 2016-03-13
11 P1700199b by Ruben Alexander, on Flickr

12 P1700206b by Ruben Alexander, on Flickr

4219. ..., 2016-03-13
13 P1700208b by Ruben Alexander, on Flickr


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## Hardcore Terrorist (Jul 28, 2010)

*74. Avroy, Part 4*

4220/4221/4222/4223/4224/4225/4226/4227. Rue Raikem, the second short street between Boulevard Frère-Orban and Avenue Rogier, 2016-03-13 and 2016-03-12
14 P1700188b by Ruben Alexander, on Flickr

15 P1690708c by Ruben Alexander, on Flickr

16 P1690667b by Ruben Alexander, on Flickr

17 P1690662b by Ruben Alexander, on Flickr

18 P1690657b by Ruben Alexander, on Flickr

19 P1690650b by Ruben Alexander, on Flickr

20 P1690655b by Ruben Alexander, on Flickr

21 P1690653b by Ruben Alexander, on Flickr

4228. Around the corner, on Avenue Blonden, which was named after Hubert-Guillaume Blonden (see the beginning of 'Avroy, Part 1'), 2016-02-28
22 BE LI Liège-Avroy-Avenue Blonden 31 2016-02-28 (1) by Ruben Alexander, on Flickr

4229. Typical 19th century house on Avenue Blonden, 2016-02-28
23 BE LI Liège-Avroy-Avenue Blonden 19, 21 2016-02-28 by Ruben Alexander, on Flickr

4230. The junction of Avenue Blonden and Boulevard d'Avroy/Avenue Rogier, 2016-02-28
24 BE LI Liège-Avroy-Avenue Blonden 3, 5 2016-02-28 (2) by Ruben Alexander, on Flickr

More soon...


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## christos-greece (Feb 19, 2008)

^^ As always great, very nice updates :cheers:


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## Hardcore Terrorist (Jul 28, 2010)

*74. Avroy, Part 5*

Thanks again for the comment Christos, and thanks for the likes everyone else
(note, most of the following pictures were made on a cold Sunday evening, explaining the lack of people and traffic in this otherwise quite busy place)

4231. Avenue Blonden, 2016-02-28


4232. Looking back south along avenue Blonden, 2016-03-12


4233. The corner of Avenue Rogier, Rue Raikem (middle) and Avenue Blonden. I always liked the new building on the corner, 2016-02-28
27 BE LI Liège-Avroy-Avenue Rogier-Rue Raikem-Avenue Blonden 2016-02-28 (1) by Ruben Alexander, on Flickr

4234. Looking north along Avenue Rogier, which is seperated from Boulevard d'Avroy by Parc d'Avroy. We will travel along Avenue Rogier first, and come back by way of Boulevard d'Avroy 2016-02-28


4235. The first nineteenth century house on Avenue Rogier, 2016-03-12


4236/4237. And a few more of them, 2016-03-12




4238. Looking north towards the corner of Les Terasses, 2016-02-28


4239/4240. ..., 2016-03-12




4241. Les Terasses, 2016-02-28


4242. The entrance to Pard d'Avroy, 2016-02-28


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## Hardcore Terrorist (Jul 28, 2010)

*74. Avroy, Part 6*

4243. ..., 2016-02-28


4244. Looking back towards Pont Albert 1er, 2016-02-28


4245/4246/4247/4248. Parc d'Avroy, 2016-02-28








4248. The small building on the left houses the 'Mad Musée', a museum of art by handicapped people, 2016-02-28


4249/4250. Parc d'Avroy, 2016-02-28




4251. Though this probably makes lovers of modernism cringe, I much prefer this kind of modern architecture, which I somehow imagine there is more of in the Balkans, Ukraine or Russia, 2014-01-31


4252. Corner of Avenue Rogier and Rue des Forgeurs, 2016-02-28


4253. ..., 2016-02-28


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## toshijmx (May 31, 2011)

wow.. very informative. I love these detailed tours of cities I didn't know anything about! :cheers:


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## Benonie (Dec 21, 2005)

I think I'll take the train to Liège sometimes this year. It has been decades since I've visited the city and I must admit, your glorious thread makes me want to revisit! kay:


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## yansa (Jun 16, 2011)

Nice updates again, Ruben!
Some particularly interesting old buildings in #283 / 284!


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## Hardcore Terrorist (Jul 28, 2010)

*74. Avroy, Part 7*

Thanks for the comments again, and sorry for the late reply. And let me know if you want me to show you around Benonie
It's been a while, but I've finaly made enough pictures to pick up where we left of last time, near the corner of Avenue Rogier and Boulevard Piercot. You can see the other end of Boulevard Piercot on photo 4188 at the top of this page.

4254. A few doors down from the last picture, Avenue Rogier, with Boulevard d'Avroy on the other side, and the ferris wheel of the October Fair in the middle. Saint-Martin's Basilica, which we last saw on photo 523, on page 4, is visible in the background, 2015-09-27


4255. The corner of Avenue Rogier and Boulevard Piercot, 2016-03-12


4256. The longest row of remaining 19th century houses on Boulevard Piercot. Some of them are protected landmarks, 2013-04-18


4257. A park runs along the middle of Boulevard Piercot, 2016-05-11


4258. Royal Philharmonic Orchestra of Liège, which was built in 1887, 2013-04-18


4259/4260. The three other remaining 19th century houses, 2016-05-05 and 2016-05-07




4261/4262. Some of the apartment buildings lining Boulevard Piercot (I'd say the first is from the 1950's, while the second could even be from the 1930's), 2016-05-05




4263/4264. Looking towards Quai Churchill, were photo 4169 (top of this page) was taken from. The tall building in the background stands next to Pont de Longdoz (see '72. Média Cité and surroundings, Part 5' on the last page), 2013-10-21 and 2013-06-13




4265. Looking back to the ferris wheel in Parc d'Avroy from the same place, 2013-10-21


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## yansa (Jun 16, 2011)

I'm glad you are back, Ruben! 
Especially 4265 is a very atmospheric shot. kay:


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## Hardcore Terrorist (Jul 28, 2010)

*74. Avroy, Part 8*

Thanks Yansa Yes, each part of this tour requires quite a lot of preperation (and of course good weather) at this stage.
____________________________________________________________

The small area around the church of Saint-Jacques lies directly north of Boulevard Piercot. It was once the neighbourhood of Chiroux, a part of the centre in its own right before much of it was demolished for a road (Avenue Maurice Destenay) and some concrete buildings in the 1960's and '70's, cutting it off from the rest of the centre. 


4266. Looking back to the building of the Philharmonic Orchestra, 2016-05-04


4267. The southern side of Place Emilie Dupont, 2016-05-11


4268. The church of Saint-Jacques, which was built between 1015 and 1538, sits on the northern side of the square, 2016-05-05


4269. Park in front of the church, 2014-09-28


4270. Looking down Rue Rouveroy towards the church we saw from the other side on photo 4170, 4184 4185 and 4187, 2016-05-04


4271/4272. Rue Rouveroy, 2016-05-05




4273. Looking back from Rue Rouveroy, I really like the new-ish building on the corner, 2016-05-05


4274. The park in front of the church during a wedding ceremony, with the art deco 'Résidence Moderne' in the background, 2016-05-05


4275. Résidence Moderne, 2014-05-17


4276. ..., 2016-05-05


Next time, we will explore the square on the other side of the church, one of the areas of Liège's centre to have received the worst treatment at the hands of planners in the '60's.


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## christos-greece (Feb 19, 2008)

Great, very nice updates from Liège; well done :cheers:


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## Wapper (Feb 24, 2011)

Very nice. I actually can't remember having been to Liège in sunny weather. 

I find it very interesting to watch pictures like this. When you don't pay attention (or to people who are unfamiliar with Belgium) the architecture in our cities might be very similar. It actually isn't. There are huge local differences and those differences stem from lots of small details like different roofs, different height of buildings, different ornaments, different windows, different materials, houses being painted, plastered or just bare stones etc. All those small details provide a very different look and atmosphere. And it's not just a difference between cities. Different areas within cities can also be different because of their history and the people that used to live in them. 
This never ceases to amaze and fascinate me. I always enjoy walks through our cities or just admiring pictures in threads like this.


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## Hardcore Terrorist (Jul 28, 2010)

*74. Avroy, Part 9*

I definitely agree: there seem to be just as many regional variations in Belgian architecture as there are in that of many much bigger countries. This goes for most styles of architecture until the second war (including differences in style for 19th c. townhouses) and even for some newer building (there are quite a lot of relatively new buildings in local style in Liège). And the same can indeed be said of variations within towns: some architecture in the Hesbaye (to the west of Liège) is very different to that in the Pays d'Herve, Ardennes and Condroz (to the east and south). These differences also seep into these respective sides of town. I suppose varation in architecture can be expected, as there are also big differences in culture throughout Belgium (also within the three regions). Anyway, I love to travel across Belgium in a slow way and see the gradual change. I went to west-Flanders a few months ago and I could hardly believe it was in the same country, despite some common features.

4277. Going around the church down the street on 4274, onto Place Saint-Jacques, sadly this building (which I don't think is too ugly in its self) ..., 2016-05-13


4278/4279. ... replaced these two houses sometime between 2006 and 2010 (and it's quite a coincidence that I have pictures of them), 2006-04-19




4280. A small compensation is that the facades of the neighbouring houses have all been recently cleaned, 2016-05-13


4281. This one, a protected landmark, is currently being renovated, 2016-05-05


4282. View across Place Saint-Jacques towards Avenue Maurice Destenay, where we will go in the next post, 2016-05-13


4283. Saint-Jacques' front door (though people seem to use the door on the other side more), 2016-05-04


4284. Looking the other way across Place Saint-Jacques, 2016-05-04


4285. The funny thing about Place Saint-Jacques is that it looks as nice as it must have once been from some angles..., 2016-05-13


4286. ...while it certainly doesn't from some other angles (these photos were taken from roughly the same place), 2016-05-05


4287. Another building that is currently being renovated, 2016-05-04


4288. The church again, looking towards where photo 4276 was taken from, 2016-05-04


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## Skopje/Скопје (Jan 8, 2013)

Interesting brutalist building on photo #4286. Could make some better picture of it and post it here? Thanks!


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## Hardcore Terrorist (Jul 28, 2010)

*74. Avroy, Part 10*

^^ No problem, you'll see it from various angles in the next two posts. (and let me know if you want more detailed ones)

4289. Looking the other way from the place the last photo was taken from, towards Chiroux, the concrete buildings in the distance, 2016-05-04


4290/4291. The building on the corner of Rue du Vertbois (the same street as on the last photo) and Rue de l'Evêchée has recently been renovated. The renovation included a new painting at the top, were the old one had become unrecognisable, 2015-01-30 and 2016-05-12




4292. Rue de l'Evêché, 2016-05-13


4293/4294. The back of the other church and monastary that we saw a few times on the last page (I'm not sure what it is, I suppose it's the 'évêché', something to do with the bishop), 2016-05-13 and 2016-05-04




4295. The corner of Rue de l'Eveché and Rue Rouveroy (see photos 4270 to 4273 on the last page), 2016-05-13


4296. Rue du Vertbois runs parallel to Avenue Maurice Destenay, 2016-05-13


4297. I just wanted to say that it would be nice if the brutalist building was demolished and replaced with either a park or some nicer buildings (this would be a good place for a few tall, elegant ones!), 2016-05-13


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## Hardcore Terrorist (Jul 28, 2010)

*74. Avroy, Part 11*

4298. I like the more recent building on the corner though, 2013-03-18


4299. I also like the Chiroux complex, which contains, among other things, the library and appartments, 2016-05-08


4300/4301. Going back down Avenue Maurice Destenay, the other side of the street is taken up by 'Athenée Liège 1', a school which I also find very ugly (the spire of Saint-Paul's cathedral, Liège's main church is just visible on the first picture), 2016-05-13 and 2016-05-04




4302. The 'Eveché' seen from the other side of Avenue Maurice Destenay, 2016-05-04


4303. 2016-05-04


4304. Church of Saint-Jacques seen through the brutalist building, 2016-05-04


4305. Place Saint-Jacques seen from the other side of Avenue Maurice Destenay, 2016-05-04



4306. Avenue Maurice Destenay close to its junction with Boulevard d'Avroy, which we will start exploring the rest of soon, 2016-05-04


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## christos-greece (Feb 19, 2008)

Once again wonderful, very nice new photos


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## sky-eye (Jan 2, 2003)

Nice update


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## El_Greco (Apr 1, 2005)

Interesting city.


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## Tchek (Oct 8, 2010)

openlyJane said:


> In some ways very reminiscent of a Lancashire or Yorkshire town ( England).


There is a book by a british guy named Thomas Raffles, written in 1820, that says at some point:



> The country from Liege is rich and in beautiful. The appearance of the road and costume of the people, especially the men, the number of carts and waggons and the life and animation that every where surrounded us, indicated that we were in a manufacturing country, *I was struck with the resemblance which it bore to many parts of Lancashire.*


...that's 2 centuries ago.


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## Karaborsa (Dec 8, 2007)

Hey hardco! This thread needs some updates bro!


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## christos-greece (Feb 19, 2008)

^^ I believe the same: we need some updates, Hardcore...


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## Hardcore Terrorist (Jul 28, 2010)

*74. Avroy, Part 12*

Many thanks for the comments, Karaborsa and Christos I had a problem with my internet connection during the summer, and was busy afterwards, so I clean forgot that I actually had the next few posts prepared. So also thanks for reminding me

4307. We will continue where we left off, on the corner of Avenue Maurice Destenay and Boulevard d'Avroy. I recently saw that this (IMO ugly) building is soon going to be upgraded. I will try and get a picture of the poster announcing the project soon. Photo taken on 2016-05-04
 

4308. The benedictine monastery opposite the corner of Avenue Maurice Destenay. Busy traffic makes this (western) side of Boulevard is kind of hard to photograph, 2014-02-02 traffic

Boulevard d'Avroy continues a few hundred metres north from here, to where it turns into Boulevard de la Sauvenière. We will go there another time, and will now go south, where it passes Parc d'Avroy with Avenue Rogier (see last page) on the other side.

4309. Part of the monastery, 2016-05-08


4310. 2016-05-08


4311. I've now taken pictures of all the older houses on this side of Boulevard d'Avroy, 2016-05-08


4312. 2016-05-08


4313. Athénée Léonie de Waha, which was built in 1938, 2016-05-18


4314. 2016-05-08


4315. 2014-02-02


4316. 2014-02-02


4317. I once visited it on an open heritage day, 2013-09-08


4318. 


4319. 


4320.


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## Benonie (Dec 21, 2005)

That school looks great, but could use some renovation.


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## yansa (Jun 16, 2011)

Happy to see updates again!


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## General Electric (Sep 12, 2010)

Nice update!


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## Karaborsa (Dec 8, 2007)

Im glad to see you and your pics back!


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## Hardcore Terrorist (Jul 28, 2010)

*74. Avroy, Part 13*

Many thanks for the comments Benonie, Yansa, General Electric and Karaborsa, I'm pleased you're pleased I'm back



> That school looks great, but could use some renovation.


I think it was being renovated when I was there, at least partially, but I haven't been back inside since to see to what extent.

4321. The remaining older houses on this section of the eastern side of Boulevard d'Avroy, 2016-03-10


4322. You wouldn't say so from the front, but this one houses a very chic banquet hall called the Radeski, which I went inside for work once, 2016-03-10 


4323. 


4324. Statue of Charlemagne (who was born near Liège) at the junction with Boulevard Piercot (see last page). The eastern side of the boulevard is called Avenue Rogier to the south of here (also see last page), 2015-05-15


4325. Back on the western side of Boulevard d'Avroy, 2016-05-08


4326. Rue des Augustins, a side street between Boulevard d'Avroy and the Botanical Gardens, 2016-05-18


4327. Eglise de Saint-Sacrément, 2016-05-08


4328. "


4329. Looking the other way (south), 2016-05-08


4330. 2016-05-08


4331. 


4332.


To be continued...


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## sky-eye (Jan 2, 2003)

Nice update!


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## yansa (Jun 16, 2011)

Some very nice and interesting old buildings, and a lovely tree shadow in pic 4327! kay:


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## JLbxl (Apr 15, 2020)

Commune d'Héron 

Rénovation du Moulin de Ferrières par Thomas & Piron Rénovation

Situé dans le village de Lavoir (Héron), au cœur du Parc Naturel Burdinale-Mehaigne, le Moulin de Ferrières est un site chargé d’histoires, un véritable joyau patrimonial, culturel et naturel.

Datant de 1745, le Moulin de Ferrières est un des derniers moulins artisanaux encore en activité en Wallonie.

En 2015, la Commune de Héron a fait l'acquisition du site en se donnant pour objectif de préserver ce patrimoine remarquable, d'en perpétuer la vocation tout en l'intégrant dans un projet de développement économique et touristique durable. 

















Thomas & Piron Rénovation/ LinkedIn


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## christos-greece (Feb 19, 2008)

Great, very nice photos from Liège


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## JLbxl (Apr 15, 2020)

christos-greece said:


> Great, very nice photos from Liège


Yes!


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