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102-632: The Postăvarul massif ( Transylvanian German Schuler and Schulerberg , or Hungarian Keresztényhavas ) is a massif in Romania ; it is part of the Romanian Carpathians , which in turn are part of the Carpathian Mountains range. The altitude of the highest peak, also named Postăvarul is 1799 metres. Geographically the Postăvarul Massif stands at the southern end of the grand arc of

204-478: A martyr for his faith. To enshrine St. Lambert's relics , his successor, Hubertus (later to become St. Hubert), built a basilica near the bishop's residence which became the true nucleus of the city. A few centuries later, the city became the capital of a prince-bishopric , which lasted from 985 till 1794. The first prince-bishop , Notger , transformed the city into a major intellectual and ecclesiastical centre, which maintained its cultural importance during

306-400: A bus stop. There were six fatalities, including the attacker (who shot himself), and 123 people were injured. On 29 May 2018, two female police officers and one civilian—a 22-year-old man—were shot dead by a gunman near a café on Boulevard d'Avroy in central Liège. The attacker then began firing at the officers in an attempt to escape, injuring a number of them "around their legs", before he

408-731: A democratic spirit in Liège that survived the Middle Ages. At the end of the Liège Wars , a rebellion took place against rule from Burgundy . In 1468 Duke Charles the Bold of Burgundy, witnessed by King Louis XI of France , captured and largely destroyed the city after a bitter siege which was ended with a successful surprise attack. The rebellion figures prominently in the plot of Sir Walter Scott 's 1823 novel Quentin Durward . The Prince-Bishopric of Liège

510-538: A fortress on a hill near the town during the early 13th century. However, throughout the passing of time, demographically, their numbers gradually dwindled and had been subsequently assimilated in the local medieval Wallachian and Moldavian cultures by the overwhelming Romanian ethnic majority. Along with the largely Hungarian -Transylvanian nobility and the Székelys , the Transylvanian Saxons were members of

612-520: A frequent target of armies and insurgencies over the centuries. It was fortified early on with a castle on the steep hill that overlooks the city's western side. During this medieval period, three women from the Liège region made significant contributions to Christian spirituality: Elizabeth Spaakbeek, Christina the Astonishing , and Marie of Oignies . In 1345, the citizens of Liège rebelled against Prince-Bishop Engelbert III de la Marck , their ruler at

714-546: A hard-headed but resourceful Walloon boy who lived during Charlemagne 's times. Tchantchès is remembered with a statue, a museum, and a number of puppets found all over the city. Liège hosts one of the oldest and biggest Christmas Markets in Belgium, and the oldest kermesse , the Foire de Liège held each year from 28 October. The city is well known for its very crowded folk festivals. The 15 August festival ("Le 15 août") may be

816-536: A minor alternative theory suggests settlement in Transylvania. In the context of medieval Transylvania, the term Saxon was used to denote a nobleman's title and not necessarily someone who was German-speaking. In these regards, the Saxon title could have been awarded to someone who was a non-native German speaker as well. Not all Transylvanian Saxon settlers were German-speaking given the fact that they also stemmed from

918-422: A rampage and severely damaged the central railway station Guillemins. The unrest was so intense that "army troops had to wade through caltrops , trees, concrete blocks, car and crane wrecks to advance. Streets were dug up. Liège saw the worst fighting on 6 January 1961. In all, 75 people were injured during seven hours of street battles." On 6 December 1985, the city's courthouse was heavily damaged and one person

1020-667: A result, today only approximately 12,000 Saxons remain in Romania. Nowadays, the vast majority of Transylvanian Saxons live in either Germany or Austria. Nonetheless, a sizable Transylvanian Saxon population also resides today in North America, most notably in the United States (specifically in Idaho , Ohio , and Colorado as well as in Canada, southern Ontario more precisely). On the history of

1122-480: Is 100 years since our children left") when a group of 130 children from the town of Hamelin (German: Hameln ), in present-day Lower Saxony , were led away from their hometown by a piper (who may be a folk memory of a lokator ) is that this related to an emigration event as part of the Ostsiedlung (i.e. Eastern settlement). The destination is usually supposed to have been Prignitz , Uckermark , and Pomerania , but

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1224-560: Is a city and municipality of Wallonia , and the capital of the province of Liège , Belgium. The city is situated in the valley of the Meuse , in the east of Belgium, not far from borders with the Netherlands ( Maastricht is about 33 km (20.5 mi) to the north) and with Germany ( Aachen is about 53 km (32.9 mi) north-east). In Liège, the Meuse meets the river Ourthe . The city

1326-401: Is a large Italian community, and Italian can be heard in many places. The city has a number of football teams, most notably Standard Liège , who have won several championships and which was previously owned by Roland Duchâtelet , and R.F.C. de Liège , one of the oldest football clubs in Belgium. It is also known for being the club who refused to release Jean-Marc Bosman , a case which led to

1428-585: Is close to Luxembourgish . Nowadays, organisations representing the Transylvanian Saxons exist in Romania , Germany, Austria , Canada, and the United States (in the latter case most notably 'Alliance of Transylvanian Saxons'). Other smaller communities of Transylvanian Saxons can be found in South Africa and Australia as well as South America (for example in Argentina ). The legal foundation of their settlement in southern, southeastern, and northeastern Transylvania

1530-503: Is going down and now is a mere shadow of its former self, the manufacture of steel goods remain important. The economy of the region is now diversified; the most important centres are: Mechanical industries ( Aircraft engine and Spacecraft propulsion ), space technology, information technology , biotechnology and the production of water , beer or chocolate . Liège has an important group of headquarters dedicated to high-technology, such as Techspace Aero , which manufactures pieces for

1632-810: Is of Germanic origin and is reconstructible as * liudik- , from the Germanic word * liudiz "people", which is found in for example Dutch lui(den) , lieden , Polish "ludzie", Czech "lidé", German Leute , Old English lēod (English lede ), Icelandic lýður ("people"), Latvian ļaudis ("people"), Lithuanian liaudis ("people"). It is found in Ukrainian as liudy ("people"), in Russian as russian: люди, romanised: liudi ("people"), in Latin as Leodicum or Leodium , in Middle Dutch as ludic or ludeke . Until 17 September 1946,

1734-582: Is owned by the Walloon government along with some private investors. The Port of Liège , located on the river Meuse , is the 3rd largest river port in Europe. Liège also has direct links to Antwerp through the Albert Canal and to Rotterdam via the river Meuse. It stretches over a distance of 26 kilometres and comprises 32 port areas and covers 3.7 square kilometres. Liège is served by many direct rail links with

1836-419: Is part of the sillon industriel , the former industrial backbone of Wallonia. It still is the principal economic and cultural centre of the region. The municipality consists of the following sub-municipalities : Angleur , Bressoux , Chênée , Glain , Grivegnée , Jupille-sur-Meuse , Liège proper, Rocourt , and Wandre . In November 2012, Liège had 198,280 inhabitants. The metropolitan area , including

1938-540: Is the Place du Marché. The "Batte" market is where most locals visit on Sundays. The outdoor market goes along the river Meuse and also attracts many visitors to Liège. The market typically runs from early morning to 2 o'clock in the afternoon every Sunday year long. Produce, clothing, and snack vendors are the main concentration of the market. Liège is home to the Opéra Royal de Wallonie (English: Royal Opera of Wallonia ) and

2040-463: Is therefore known that Suceava had a small yet influent and thriving community of Transylvanian Saxons in medieval times. The newly arrived Saxons outside the Carpathian arch in the emerging medieval Romanian principalities of Wallachia and Moldavia brought urbanisation, craftsmanship, trade, and the so-called German law , under which the local administrations of medieval Romanian towns had operated in

2142-592: The Weinland including the village of Nympz (Latin for Nemșa / Nimesch ) near Mediasch ( Romanian : Mediaș ). Allegedly, the term Saxon was applied to all Germans of these historical regions because the first German settlers who came to the Kingdom of Hungary were either poor miners or groups of convicts from Saxony. In 1211, King Andrew II of Hungary invited the Teutonic Knights to settle and defend

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2244-684: The Burzenland in the southeastern corner of Transylvania. To guard the mountain passes of the Carpathians (German: Karpaten ) against the Cumans , the knights constructed numerous castles and towns, including the major city of Kronstadt ( Romanian : Brașov ). Alarmed by the knights' rapidly expanding power, in 1225 King Andrew II expelled the Teutonic Order from Transylvania permanently, which henceforth relocated to Prussia in 1226, although

2346-462: The Airbus A380 or the rocket Ariane 5 . Other stand-out sectors include Amós which manufactures optical components for telescopes and Drytec , which produces compressed air dryers. Liège also has many other electronic companies such as SAP , EVS , Gillam , AnB , Balteau , IP Trade . Other prominent businesses are the global leader in light armament FN Herstal , the beer company Jupiler ,

2448-478: The Bosman ruling . In spring, Liège hosts the start and finish of the annual Liège–Bastogne–Liège cycling race , one of the spring classics and the oldest of the five monuments of cycling . The race starts in the centre of Liège, before heading south to Bastogne and returning north to finish in the industrial suburb of Ans . Traveling through the hilly Ardennes , it is one of the longest and most arduous races of

2550-464: The General strike against Leopold III of Belgium and "seized control over the city of Liège". The strike ultimately led to Leopold's abdication. Liège began to suffer from a relative decline of its industry, particularly the coal industry, and later the steel industry, producing high levels of unemployment and stoking social tension. During the 1960–1961 Winter General Strike , disgruntled workers went on

2652-682: The Kingdom of Romania , after the Transylvanian Saxons also voted for the union with the Romanian kingdom in February 1919. Consequently, the Transylvanian Saxons, together with other ethnic German sub-groups in then newly enlarged Kingdom of Romania (namely the Banat Swabians , Sathmar Swabians , Bessarabia Germans , Bukovina Germans , and Zipser Germans ), became part of that country's broader German minority . Today, relatively few still live in Romania, where

2754-602: The Middle Ages . Pope Clement VI recruited several musicians from Liège to perform in the Papal court at Avignon , thereby sanctioning the practice of polyphony in the religious realm. The city was renowned for its many churches, the oldest of which, St Martin's, dates from 682. Although nominally part of the Holy Roman Empire , in practice it possessed a large degree of independence. The strategic position of Liège has made it

2856-592: The Modern Age , more specifically during the 19th century. Furthermore, Transylvanian Saxon intellectual Stephan Ludwig Roth also pleaded for a strengthening of the German element in Transylvania during the 19th century by means of subsequent waves of settlers stemming from contemporary Germany while at the same time firstly supporting the rights of the ethnic Romanians. Although the Teutonic Knights had left Transylvania,

2958-562: The Reformation ). These fortified churches, or kirchenburgen as they are known in standard German, had defensive capacities in the event of a foreign attack on a rural Transylvanian Saxon community (e.g. extensive inner and outer walls and a fortified watch tower). Such an attack would often stem from the Cumans , for example, or from the Pechenegs . It was estimated that there are approximately 300 such villages with fortified churches built by

3060-623: The Russian Far East and the fellow Francophone province of Quebec . Summers are also moderated by the maritime air, with average temperatures being similar to areas as far north as in Scandinavia . Being inland though, Liège has a relatively low winter seasonal lag . On 1 January 2013, the municipality of Liège had a total population of 197,013. The metropolitan area has about 750,000 inhabitants. Its inhabitants are predominantly French -speaking, with German and Dutch-speaking minorities. Akin to

3162-617: The Thirty Years' War , the city was besieged by Imperial forces under Johann von Werth from April to July. The army, mainly consisting of mercenaries, extensively and viciously plundered the surrounding bishopric during the siege. The Duke of Marlborough captured the city from the Bavarian prince-bishop and his French allies in 1704 during the War of the Spanish Succession . In the middle of

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3264-630: The Unio Trium Nationum (or 'Union of the Three Nations'), which was a charter signed in 1438. This agreement preserved a considerable degree of political rights for the three aforementioned groups but excluded the largely Hungarian and Romanian peasantry from political life in the principality. During the Protestant Reformation , most Transylvanian Saxons converted to Lutheranism . As the semi-independent Principality of Transylvania

3366-644: The United Kingdom of the Netherlands . Dutch rule lasted only until 1830, when the Belgian Revolution led to the establishment of an independent, Catholic and neutral Belgium which incorporated Liège. After this, Liège developed rapidly into a major industrial city which became one of continental Europe's first large-scale steel making centres. The Walloon Jacquerie of 1886 saw a large-scale working class revolt. No less than 6,000 regular troops were called into

3468-499: The Virgin Mary . It is one of the biggest folkloric displays in the city, with a religious procession, a flea market, dances, concerts, and a series of popular games. Nowadays these celebrations start a few days earlier and last until the 16th. Some citizens open their doors to party goers, and serve "peket", the traditional local alcohol. This tradition is linked to the important folkloric character Tchantchès ( Walloon for François ),

3570-481: The Zipser Saxons from present-day Spiš (German: Zips ), north-eastern Slovakia (as well as other historical regions of contemporary Romania, namely Maramureș and Bukovina ) given the fact they are two of the oldest ethnic German groups in non-native German-speaking Central and Eastern Europe. The first wave of settlement continued well until the end of the 13th century. Although the colonists came mostly from

3672-499: The Bavarian royal house of Wittelsbach , with second sons of the Bavarian monarch ruling as prince-bishop. Beginning with the ascension of Ernest of Bavaria in 1581, Bavarian princes ruled over Cologne , Münster , and other bishoprics in the northwest of the Holy Roman Empire in addition to Liège. Ferdinand of Bavaria (bishop) ruled from 1612 to 1650, and Maximilian Henry of Bavaria ruled from 1650 to 1688. In 1636, during

3774-616: The Carpathian arch, and, implicitly, outside their then newly native lands across Transylvania starting in the mid and mid-late 12th century. Those areas pertained to the neighbouring and emerging Romanian medieval principalities of Moldavia (to the east) and Wallachia (to the south). In this particular process, they founded or co-founded major historical settlements on the territory of both aforementioned Romanian principalities such as Târgu Neamț (German: Niamtz ), Baia (German: Stadt Molde or Moldennmarkt ), Târgoviște (German: Tergowisch ), or Câmpulung (German: Langenau ). In

3876-661: The Eastern Carpathians. Together with the neighboring Piatra Mare Massif it forms the Bârsei Mountains group, neighbouring the southern side of Țara Bârsei ( Burzenland ) depression. Poiana Brașov , one of the best-known ski resorts in Romania , is located on the northern slopes of Postăvarul mountain. The peak of the mountain can be easily reached from the resort by cable car . 45°30′N 25°30′E  /  45.5°N 25.5°E  / 45.5; 25.5 Transylvanian Saxons The first ancestors of

3978-701: The Empire expanded the area of the Saxons further to the east. Settlers from the Hermannstadt region spread into the Hârtibaciu River valley (German: Harbachtal ) and to the foot of the Cibin (German: Zibin ) and Sebeș (German: Mühlbacher ) mountains. The latter region, centered around the town of Mühlbach ( Romanian : Sebeș ), was known as Unterwald . To the north of Hermannstadt they settled what they called

4080-455: The German name for the Olt river, or the old land as in a word for word translation from German) or Hermannstadt Provinz , based around the picturesque well preserved medieval town of Hermannstadt , today's Sibiu . Additionally, the surrounding areas of the present-day town of Sibiu/Hermannstadt (former European Capital of Culture in 2007 alongside Luxembourg City ) were formed of marshlands in

4182-556: The Germans until the end of the war. Liège received the Légion d'Honneur for its resistance in 1914. As part of Chancellor Theobald von Bethmann Hollweg 's Septemberprogramm , Berlin planned to annexe Liege under the name Lüttich to the German Empire in any post-war peace agreement. The Germans returned in 1940 , this time taking the forts in only three days. Most Jews were saved, with

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4284-458: The High Middle Ages. Hence, taking in consideration the aforementioned regarding the Saxon title in high medieval Transylvania, the Transylvanian Saxons' ethnic consciousness subsequently solidified after the first waves of settlers from Western Europe arrived in the region and was further reinforced or revitalised with new waves of settlers from central and southern present-day Germany during

4386-508: The High Middle Ages. This is further hinted but also highlighted in the coat of arms of the town of Sibiu/Hermannstadt ( Latin : Cibinium ) by the water lily included therein. These German settlers were invited by Géza II . Although the primary reason for Géza II 's invitation was border defence, similar to employing the Szeklers against foreign invaders in the east of Transylvania, Germans were also sought for their mining expertise as well as

4488-624: The Hungarian monarchs. Consequently, they had to pay yearly tax to the king and provide military contributions to the royal army in case of danger of attack from abroad. Otherwise, they enjoyed suzerainty ; even Hungarians could not settle down in the Saxon territories. The territory colonized by Germans covered an area of about 30,000 km (10,000 sq. mi.). The region was called Royal Lands or Saxon Lands (German: Königsboden ; Hungarian : Királyföld or Szászföld ; Romanian : Pământul crăiesc ; Latin : Terra Saxonum or Fundus Regius ). During

4590-719: The Hungarian nobility, with Transylvanian Saxon intellectuals pleading for the Latinity of the Romanian language and the Romanian people. They were subsequently allied with the Transylvanian Romanians and thus sided with the Austrian Empire in the context of the Hungarian Revolution of 1848 . After 1918 and the dissolution of Austria-Hungary , in the wake of the Treaty of Trianon (signed in 1920), Transylvania united with

4692-618: The Meuse valley and the Ardennes en route to France. The German invasion of Belgium on 5 August 1914 soon reached Liège, which was defended by 30,000 troops under General Gérard Leman in the Battle of Liège . The forts initially held off General Alexander von Kluck 's German First Army of about 100,000 men but were pulverised into submission by a five-day bombardment by heavy artillery, including thirty-two 21 cm mortars and two German 42 cm Big Bertha howitzers . Due to faulty planning of

4794-526: The Netherlands, making Liège the first city that has hosted stages of all three cycling Grand Tours. Liège is also home to boxer Ermano Fegatilli , the current European Boxing Union Super Featherweight champion. Liège is the most important city of the Walloon region from an economic perspective. In the past, Liège was one of the most important industrial centres in Europe, particularly in steel -making. Starting in 1817, John Cockerill extensively developed

4896-596: The Orchestre Philharmonique Royal de Liège (OPRL) (English: Liège Royal Philharmonic Orchestra ). The city annually hosts a significant electro-rock festival Les Ardentes and jazz festival Jazz à Liège . Liège has active alternative cinemas, Le Churchill, Le Parc and Le Sauvenière. There are also two mainstream cinemas, the Kinepolis multiplexes. Liège also has a particular Walloon dialect, sometimes said to be one of Belgium's most distinctive. There

4998-506: The Saxon colonists remained, and the king allowed them to retain the rights and obligations included within the Diploma Andreanum of 1224 by Hungarian King Andrew II . This document conferred upon the German population of the territory between Drăușeni (German: Draas , Romanian : Drăușeni ) and Orăștie (German: Broos , Romanian : Orăștie ) both administrative and religious autonomy and defined their obligations towards

5100-601: The Saxons in Transylvania during the Middle Ages. The majority of them are still in very good to relatively good shape to this day, after further consolidation and renovation based on European funds or Norwegian grants (for example in Alma Vii or Laslea ), but also based on foreign donations. Nevertheless, there also some still left in ruin or decay, since the vast majority of the Saxons in their respective villages left them deserted during either before 1989 and after 1989 while emigrating for Western Europe or North America. The Transylvanian Saxons also colonized areas outside

5202-404: The Saxons in northeastern Transylvania). The initial waves of Transylvanian Saxons were referred to as hospites flandrenses et teutonici or primi hospites regni in Latin, literally "the Flemish and Teutonic guests" or "the first guests of the kingdom" (i.e. of the former Kingdom of Hungary ). For centuries, the main tasks of the Transylvanian Saxons during the High Middle Ages were to protect

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5304-588: The Saxons led to Transylvania being known in German as Siebenbürgen and Septem Castra or Septem Castrensis in Latin , referring to seven of the fortified towns (see Historical names of Transylvania ), most likely: Other potential candidates for this list include: Other notable urban Saxon settlements include: In addition to fortifying their towns over the passing of time, the Transylvanian Saxons also had to fortify their villages by building their fortified churches (the Transylvanian Saxons were initially strongly Roman Catholic then Evangelical Lutheran after

5406-455: The Sibiu (German: Hermannstadt ) area. Moreover, under the title of Schultheiß (German: Șoltuz ), ethnic Germans were even briefly in charge of some of these Romanian settlements during the High Middle Ages . Additionally, German potters and merchants were also present in the former Moldavian capital of Suceava at the end of the 14th century. Historically, the town of Suceava has also been known in Old High German as Sedschopff . It

5508-466: The Transylvanian 'Saxons' originally stemmed from Flanders , Hainaut , Brabant , Liège , Zeeland , Moselle, Lorraine , and Luxembourg , then situated in the north-western territories of the Holy Roman Empire around the 1140s and 1150s. Alongside the Baltic Germans from Estonia and Latvia and the Zipser Germans (also sometimes known or referred to as Zipser Saxons ) from Zips , northeastern Slovakia , as well as Maramureș and Bucovina ,

5610-465: The Transylvanian Saxons are one of the three eldest German-speaking and ethnic German groups of the German diaspora in Central-Eastern Europe , having continuously been living there since the High Middle Ages onwards. The Transylvanian Saxons are part of the broader group of Romanian Germans as well, being the eldest and one of the most important of all the constituent sub-groups of this ethnic community. Their native dialect, Transylvanian Saxon

5712-435: The Transylvanian Saxons, former federal German president and professor doctor Theodor Heuss ( FDP ) stated, namely: "...their history is a piece of German history as a whole..." . The initial phase of German settlement in Transylvania began in the mid and mid-late 12th century, with colonists travelling to and residing in what would later become known in standard German as Altland (i.e. Țara Oltului in Romanian, after

5814-430: The Transylvanian context, of the terms Lutheran and Saxon, with the Lutheran Church in Transylvania being de facto a "Volkskirche", i.e. the "national church" of the Transylvanian Saxons (or the people's church of the Saxons). The Mongol invasion of 1241–42 devastated much of the Kingdom of Hungary. Although the Saxons did their best to resist and even tried to valiantly fight back the Mongol invaders, their resistance

5916-419: The University; for a few days before the event, students (wearing very dirty lab-coats) beg for money, mostly for drinking. Liège is renowned for its nightlife. Within the pedestrian zone behind the Opera House, there is a square city block known locally as Le Carré (the Square) with many lively pubs which are reputed to remain open until the last customer leaves (typically around 6 am). Another active area

6018-418: The ability to develop the region's economy. Most colonists to this area came from Luxembourg ( Luxembourgish : Lëtzebuerg ) and the Moselle River region (see for instance Medardus de Nympz , former knight and founder of the fortified village of Niemesch/Nemșa in Moșna ). A second phase of German settlement during the early 13th century consisted of settlers primarily stemming from the Rhineland region,

6120-411: The beginning. In the medieval towns situated in the highlands of the Principality of Moldavia (or what would later become Bukovina starting in the Modern Age ), namely Suceava or Câmpulung Moldovenesc (German: Kimpolung ), the type of German town law which operated there was the Magdeburg law . Furthermore, the Teutonic Knights were also present in Siret (German: Sereth ) where they built

6222-401: The best known. The population gathers in a quarter named Outre-Meuse with plenty of tiny pedestrian streets and old yards. Many people come to see the procession but also to drink alcohol (mostly peket ) and beer, eat cooked pears, boûkètes or sausages or simply enjoy the atmosphere until the early hours. The Saint Nicholas festival around 6 December is organized by and for the students of

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6324-433: The case of the first settlement (i.e. Târgu Neamț), they could have been equally helped in establishing it by the Teutonic Knights . Saxons in Wallachia also settled in Râmnic (i.e. present-day Râmnicu Vâlcea ) and Pitești (German: Pitesk ). Saxon colonization in Moldavia had likely occurred through a crossing from the Bistrița area eastward and northward whereas Saxon colonization in Wallachia had likely occurred from

6426-418: The chocolate company Galler , and the water and soda companies Spa and Chaudfontaine . A science park south east of the city, near the University of Liège campus, houses spin-offs and high technology businesses. In 1812 there were three coal pits ( Bure ) in close proximity just outside the city gates: Bure Triquenotte, Bure de Beaujone and Bure Mamonster. The first two shafts were joined underground, but

6528-406: The city to quell the unrest, while strike spread through the whole sillon industriel . Liège's fortifications were redesigned by Henri Alexis Brialmont in the 1880s and a chain of twelve forts was constructed around the city to provide defence in depth . This presented a major obstacle to the Imperial German Army in 1914, whose Schlieffen Plan relied on being able to quickly pass through

6630-454: The city's name was written Liége , with the acute accent instead of a grave accent . In French, Liège is associated with the epithet la cité ardente ("the fervent city"). This term, which emerged around 1905, originally referred to the city's history of rebellions against Burgundian rule, but was appropriated to refer to its economic dynamism during the Industrial Revolution . Although settlements already existed in Roman times,

6732-535: The colonists remained in Burzenland . The Kingdom of Hungary's medieval eastern borders were therefore defended in the northeast by the Nösnerland Saxons, in the east by the Hungarian border guard tribe of the Székelys, in the southeast by the castles built by the Teutonic Knights and Burzenland Saxons and in the south by the Altland Saxons. A common interpretation of the tale of the Pied Piper of Hamelin , dated to 26 June 1284 and recorded in Hamelin records that (the earliest of such records dating from 1384: "It

6834-407: The contemporary Low Countries (i.e. aside from Luxembourg, also contemporary Netherlands and Belgium ) and from modern day France as well. Additionally, it is equally important to mention the fact that the family name 'Sas' or 'Sasu' in Romanian and 'Szász' respectively in Hungarian could denote both an ethnic lineage as well as a social liaison to the Saxon title awarded in Transylvania during

6936-404: The course of the 1794 campaigns of the French Revolution , the French Revolutionary Army took the city and imposed strongly anticlerical regime, destroying St. Lambert's Cathedral . The overthrow of the Prince-Bishopric of Liège was confirmed in 1801 by the Concordat co-signed by Napoléon Bonaparte and Pope Pius VII . France lost the city in 1815 when the Congress of Vienna awarded it to

7038-480: The easternmost frontiers of the former Kingdom of Hungary against certain invading migratory Asiatic peoples, to bring more agriculture to the region, to instil Central European culture, enhance trade, and boost urbanisation and overall economic development. In the process of fortifying the borders of the Kingdom of Hungary to the east, they were early on helped by the Teutonic Knights . Later on, they had to further strengthen their hometowns and rural settlements against

7140-434: The eighteenth century the ideas of the French Encyclopédistes began to gain popularity in the region. Bishop François-Charles de Velbrück (1772–84), encouraged their propagation, thus prepared the way for the Liège Revolution which started in the episcopal city on 18 August 1789 and led to the creation of the Republic of Liège before it was invaded by counter-revolutionary forces of the Habsburg monarchy in 1791. In

7242-458: The expanding Ottoman Empire which posed a major threat from the south. The rural settlements were more protected with a series of fortified churches known as 'kirchenburgen' in standard German . An alternative term for them in standard German is also ' wehrkirchen ' (i.e. fortified churches). During the Modern Age, they favoured more and more the Romanians for the latter to obtain increased and rightful political, social, and cultural rights before

7344-481: The first references to Liège are from 558, when it was known as Vicus Leudicus. Around 705, Saint Lambert of Maastricht is credited with completing the Christianization of the region, indicating that up to the early 8th century the religious practices of antiquity had survived in some form. Christian conversion may still not have been quite universal, since Lambert was murdered in Liège and thereafter regarded as

7446-685: The following territorial extent, as depicted in the maps below: Along with the Teutonic Order, other religious organizations important to the development of German communities were the Cistercian abbeys of Igrisch (Igriș) in the Banat region respectively Kerz (Cârța) in Fogaraschland (Țara Făgărașului). The earliest religious organization of the Saxons was the Provostship of Hermannstadt (now Sibiu ), founded 20 December 1191. In its early years, it included

7548-625: The help of the sympathetic population, as many Jewish children and refugees were hidden in the numerous monasteries. Liege was liberated by the British Second Army in September 1944. After the war ended, the Royal Question came to the fore, since many saw King Leopold III as collaborating with the Germans during the war. In July 1950, André Renard , leader of the Liègian FGTB launched

7650-400: The iron and steel industry. The industrial complex of Seraing was the largest in the world. It once boasted numerous blast furnaces and mills. Liège has also been an important centre for gunsmithing since the Middle Ages and the arms industry is still strong today, with the headquarters of FN Herstal and CMI Defence being located in Liège. Although from 1960 on the secondary sector

7752-458: The last one was a separate colliery. The shafts were 120 fathoms (720 ft; 220 m) deep. Water was led to a sump ( serrement ) from which it could be pumped to the surface. At 11:00 on 28 February 1812 the sump in the Beaujone mine failed and flooded the entire colliery. Of the 127 men down the mine at the time 35 escaped by the main shaft, but 74 were trapped. [These numbers are taken from

7854-602: The modern Transylvanian Saxons originally came from the contemporary Low Countries (more specifically the regions of Flanders , Hainaut , Brabant , Liège , or Zeeland ) as well as the Moselle and Lorraine river valleys, and Luxembourg as well, then situated in the north-western territories of the Holy Roman Empire around the 1140s. Further or subsequent waves of German colonists in Transylvania also stemmed from more southern regions of present-day Germany such as Thuringia or even Bavaria (the latter particularly valid for

7956-456: The opening up of borders within the European Union , surging steel prices, and improved administration. Several new shopping centres have been built, and numerous repairs carried out. On 13 December 2011, there was a grenade and gun attack at Place Saint-Lambert . An attacker, later identified as Nordine Amrani, aged 33, armed with grenades and an assault rifle, attacked people waiting at

8058-499: The outer commuter zone, covers an area of 1,879 km (725 sq mi) and had a total population of 749,110 on 1 January 2008. This includes a total of 52 municipalities, among others, Herstal and Seraing . Liège ranks as the third most populous urban area in Belgium, after Brussels and Antwerp , and the fourth municipality after Antwerp, Ghent and Charleroi . The city is part of the Meuse-Rhine Euroregion . The name

8160-464: The protection of the underground defence tunnels beneath the main citadel, one direct artillery hit caused a huge explosion, which eventually led to the surrender of the Belgian forces. The Belgian resistance was shorter than had been intended, but the twelve days of delay caused by the siege nonetheless contributed to the eventual failure of the German invasion of France. The city was subsequently occupied by

8262-460: The reign of King Géza II of Hungary (1141–1162). For several consecutive centuries, the main task of these medieval German-speaking settlers (as that of the Szeklers for example in the east of Transylvania) was to defend the southern, southeastern, and northeastern borders of the then Kingdom of Hungary against foreign invaders stemming most notably from Central Asia and even far East Asia (e.g. Cumans , Pechenegs , Mongols , and Tatars ). At

8364-477: The reign of Hungarian King Charles I (probably 1325–1329; also referred to as Charles Robert d'Anjou ), the Saxons were organized in the Saxon Chairs (or seats) as follows: The territorial extent of the aforementioned Saxon seats can be clearly seen in depth in the maps from the gallery below: Aside from the Saxon seats, there had also been two districts, namely Bistritz/Bistrița and Kronstadt/Brașov, which had

8466-522: The report, the 18 miner discrepancy is unexplained.] The trapped men attempted to dig a passageway into Mamonster. After 23 feet (7.0 m) there was a firedamp explosion and they realised that they had penetrated some old workings belonging to an abandoned mine, Martin Wery. The overseer, Monsieur Goffin, led the men to the point in Martin Wery which he judged closest to Mamonster and they commence to dig. By

8568-577: The rest of Belgium, the population of minorities has grown significantly since the 1990s. The city has become the home to large numbers of Algerian, Moroccan, Turkish, and Vietnamese immigrants. Liège also houses a significant Afro-Belgian community. The city is a major educational hub in Belgium. There are 42,000 pupils attending more than 24 schools. The University of Liège , founded in 1817, has 20,000 students. The "Le Quinze Août" celebration takes place annually on 15 August in Outremeuse and celebrates

8670-563: The risk of a firedamp explosion. By 7pm that evening an opening was made, 511 feet (156 m) of tunnel had been dug by hand in five days. All of the 74 miners in Goffin's part survived and were brought to the surface. Liège is served by Liège Airport , located in Bierset, a few kilometres west of the city. It is the principal axis for the delivery of freight and in 2011 was the world's 33rd busiest cargo airport. Passenger services are very few. It

8772-405: The same time, the Saxons were also charged with developing agriculture and introducing Central European culture. Later on, the Saxons needed to further fortify both their rural and urban settlements against invading Ottomans (or against the invading and expanding Ottoman Empire ). The Saxons in northeastern Transylvania were also in charge of mining. They can be perceived as being quite related to

8874-502: The season. Liège is the only city that has hosted stages of all three cycling Grand Tours . It staged the start of the 1973 and 2006 Giro d'Italia ; as well as the Grand Départ of the 2004 , 2012 , and 2017 Tour de France making it the first city outside France to host the Grand Départ twice or more times. In 2009 , the Vuelta a España visited Liège after four stages in

8976-423: The second day they had run out of candles and dug the remainder of a 36 feet (11 m) gallery in darkness. On the surface the only possible rescue was held to be via Mamonster. A heading was driven towards Beaujone with all possible speed, including blasting. The trapped miners heard the rescuers and vice versa. Five days after the accident communication was possible and the rescuers worked in darkness to avoid

9078-405: The second last official census (carried out in 2011) indicated 36,042 Germans, out of which only 11,400 were of Transylvanian Saxon descent. As per the latest Romanian census conducted in 2022, they are even fewer, as other sub-groups of the entire German community in Romania as well. The colonization of Transylvania by ethnic Germans later collectively known as Transylvanian Saxons began under

9180-477: The south-eastern region of Transylvania still has one of the highest density of existing fortified churches from the 13th to 16th centuries as more than 150 villages in the area count various types of fortified churches in good shape, seven of them being included in the UNESCO World Heritage under the name of Villages with fortified churches in Transylvania . The rapid expansion of cities populated by

9282-584: The southern Low Countries , and the Moselle region, with others from Thuringia , Bavaria, and even from France . A settlement in northeastern Transylvania was centered on the town of Nösen , the later Bistritz ( Romanian : Bistrița ), located on the Bistrița River . The surrounding area became known as the Nösnerland . That area was important for mining in the Middle Ages. Continued immigration from

9384-524: The territories of Hermannstadt, Leschkirch (Nocrich), and Groß-Schenk (Cincu), the areas that were colonized the earliest by ethnic Germans in the region. Under the influence of Johannes Honterus , the great majority of the Transylvanian Saxons embraced the new creed of Martin Luther during the Protestant Reformation . The first superintendent of the Saxons Evangelical Church, Paul Wiener ,

9486-570: The territory of present-day Romania en masse during and after World War II, relocating initially to Austria, then predominantly to southern Germany (especially in Bavaria ). The process of emigration continued during communist rule in Romania. After the collapse of the Ceaușescu regime in 1989 and the fall of the East German communist government, many of them continued to emigrate to unified Germany. As

9588-478: The time, and defeated him in battle near the city. Shortly after, a unique political system formed in Liège, whereby the city's 32 guilds shared sole political control of the municipal government. Each person on the register of each guild was eligible to participate, and each guild's voice was equal, making it the most democratic system that the Low Countries had ever known. The system spread to Utrecht , and left

9690-624: The western Holy Roman Empire , they came to be collectively referred to as ' Saxons ' because of Germans working for the royal Hungarian chancellery . Gradually, the type of medieval German once spoken by these settlers, craftsmen, guardsmen, miners, and various other workers became locally known as Såksesch (i.e. Transylvanian Saxon ; in its longest form Siweberjesch-Såksesch ) and remains, still to this day, very closely related to Luxembourgish with which it shares many lexical similarities. The Transylvanian Saxon population has been steadily decreasing since World War II as they started leaving

9792-584: Was elected by Saxon pastors at a synod on 6 February 1553. Almost all became Lutheran Protestants , with very few Calvinists , while other minor segments of the Transylvanian Saxon society remained staunchly Catholic (of Latin Church , more specifically) or were converted to Catholicism later on. Nonetheless, one of the consequences of the Reformation was the emergence of an almost perfect equivalence, in

9894-655: Was eventually turned down by the Mongols and many of their settlements were destroyed or ruined in the process. After the Mongols retreated from Transylvania, in the event of another invasion, many Transylvanian towns were fortified with stone castles and an emphasis was put on developing towns economically. In the Middle Ages, approximately 300 villages were defended by the Kirchenburgen , or fortified churches with massive walls and watch towers. Although many of these fortified churches have fallen into either decay or ruin, nowadays

9996-744: Was killed in a bomb attack by a lawyer . Liège is also known as a traditionally socialist city. In 1991, powerful Socialist André Cools , a former Deputy Prime Minister, was gunned down in front of his girlfriend's apartment. Many suspected that the assassination was related to a corruption scandal which swept the Socialist Party , and the Belgian Federal Government in general, after Cools' death. Two men were sentenced to twenty years in jail in 2004, for involvement in Cools' murder. Liège has shown some signs of economic recovery in recent years with

10098-551: Was officially stipulated within the Diploma Andreanum (German: Der Goldener Freibrief der Siebenbürger Sachsen , The Golden Charter of the Transylvanian Saxons , Romanian : Bula de aur a sașilor transilvăneni ) issued by King Andrew II of Hungary which allocated them the royal land ( Romanian : Pământul crăiesc or Pământul regal ) under local autonomy known as Königsboden or Fundus Regius in Latin . The ancestors of

10200-811: Was one of the most religiously tolerant states in Europe at the time, the Saxons were allowed to practice their own religion (meaning that they enjoyed religious autonomy). However, the Habsburgs still promoted Roman Catholicism to the Saxons during the Counter-Reformation . Currently in Romania, about 60% of ethnic Germans reported being Roman Catholic and 40% Protestant (see Religion in Romania ). Li%C3%A8ge Liège ( / l i ˈ ɛ ʒ , l i ˈ eɪ ʒ / lee- EZH , lee- AYZH ; French: [ljɛʒ] ; Walloon : Lîdje [liːtʃ] ; Dutch : Luik [lœyk] ; German : Lüttich [ˈlʏtɪç] )

10302-547: Was shot dead. Belgian broadcaster RTBF said the gunman was temporarily released from prison on 28 May where he had been serving time on drug offences. The incident is currently being treated as terrorism. In spite of its inland position Liège has a maritime climate influenced by the mildening sea winds originating from the Gulf Stream , travelling over Belgium's interior. As a result, Liège has very mild winters for its latitude and inland position, especially compared to areas in

10404-467: Was technically part of the Holy Roman Empire which, after 1477, came under the rule of the Habsburgs . The reign of prince-bishop Érard de La Marck (1506–1538) coincides with the dawn of the Renaissance . During the Counter-Reformation , the diocese of Liège was split and progressively lost its role as a regional power. By the 17th century, the bishopric of Liège became a virtual Secundogeniture of

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