Verviers (in Walloon Vervî ) is a French-speaking city of Belgium located in Walloon region, chief town of district in Province of Liege, at the end is industrial Sillon. The current entity is the result of fusion on January 1st, 1977 of the old communes of Verviers, of Ensival, Heusy, Lambermont, Small-Rechain and Stembert.

Verviers is also the center of an urban center, known as agglomeration verviétoise, made up of the communes of Dison, Pepinster as well as part of the village of Polleur, counting approximately 80.000 inhabitants, and is consequently the 2nd provincial town in importance after Liege, which does of it one of the 10 most important cities of Wallonia

It is located at about thirty kilometers of the German border and border Dutchwoman, which makes of it the crossroads between Liege, Aachen and Maastricht. In the valley of the Vesdre, it is not far from the stopping of the Gileppe and the High Fagnes. The agglomeration is bordered in north by the Pays of Herve and in the south by the Ardenne.

In the old mode it belonged to the Principauté of Liege, from which it became one Bonnes Cities (the 23e and last to obtain this title), and was the chief town of the Marquisat de Franchimont. At the industrial era (of XVIIIe at the beginning of XXe) it was an important center of production wool known and recognized universally for its innovations technological. Verviers was besides the starting point of the industrialization of the area. For example it is in the valley of Vesdre that were established a family of industrialists of British origin, the Cockerill. Today, it carries the title of Walloon Capitale of water granted by the Walloon region, which in made its pole of blue gold. Verviers is clearing of thousand and one fountains which honor this title. And yet, paradoxically, a project to cover its river is in hand.

Toponymy

The name of Verviers could come from the anthroponyme Virovius, which would have given the Viroviacus toponym.

Whimsical etymologies are current, most persistent of them being " Green and vieux" , qualities indicating the oak which would have shaded Verviers, and whose branches are reproduced on the armorial bearings of the city. On the lintel of a door of old Grand' Poste one can read laconic “old Glass” . André Blavier as for him imagined an etymology much at the same time more elaborate as harder: Verviers . Of “liveliness”. Place of inspiration, where to exert its liveliness. “Your liveliness me ragit”, confessed certain countess to him (“to ragir” is a dialectal form of “rager” and “to act”, to make enrager by provocations); what the defender and preface writer of the School verviétoise could answer: “I like when my liveliness plays delighted. ”

Monuments

Monuments
  • the Town hall
  • the Green Place
  • old Grand' Posts
  • the Law courts
  • the Large Theater
  • the Central station
  • the Place of the Victoire
  • the Fountain Ortmans
  • the Royal Company of Harmony
  • the tourist Center Laine and Mode
  • the Center Hositalier Peltzer the Turret
  • the House Closset
  • the Notre-Dame Church of Récollets
  • the Church Saint-Remacle
  • the Church Holy-Julienne
  • the secret fountain
  • the fountain " burettes"
  • the fountain " Rio + 10"
  • the old granting
  • the house of the Prince
  • the house Moulan
  • the museum of archeology
  • the museum of the Art schools
  • the house of water Pierre de Bonvoisin

Walks
  • the Street of Groove, its old residences and its accesses
  • the Park of the Harmony and its kiosk
  • the Park of Séroule
  • the Street Jules Cerexhe
  • the quays in edge of Vesdre (J.Brel and P.Rapsat)
  • Pedestrian the Bridge-with-Lions and the 2 places (Green and of the Martyr)

Teaching

List schools situees has Verviers
  • the college Saint-François Xavier (SFX)
  • the college Saint-François Xavier 2 (SFX 2)
  • the institute Saint-Michel
  • the royal Athenaeum Lorraine Thil
  • the royal Athenaeum Made green
  • the technical Institute Gift Bosco Verviers
  • the Institute Notre-Dame de Heusy
  • the school St-Nicolas de Stembert
  • the elementary school of Stembert
  • elementary schools of Verviers

Events and Attractions

Events
  • 80 spectacles per annum - in all the fields of the expression - on the scene of the Large-Theater and the Duesberg Space managed by the regional Arts center of Verviers asbl. www.ccrv.be
  • the international Contest of song of Verviers (every 2 years)
  • the international Contest Vieuxtemps (violin) (every 4 years)
  • the Jazz festival
  • Verviers City of Light (illuminations of the festivals of end of the year)
  • Verviers one Ice (large skating rink installed Green Place, from November to January)
  • the international festival of film of water
  • the Festival of the Guitar
  • Secondhand trade of the Easter Monday
  • large Jogging de Verviers (June)
  • Fiesta City (free concerts in all the city, in September)
  • Fair plays of Stembert (every 2 years (sometimes 3) at the end of September)
  • the Festival of the chocolate, pastry making and the gastronomy (mid-October)
  • Vervi-Rice
  • the departure of the Ardenne Blue Rally

Attractions
  • Shopping (Large Bazaar, Street of the Husks, Crapaurue, Green Place and Place of the Martyr)
  • Cinema (MovieWest)
  • the Ardennes Outlet Center
  • Large Theater of Verviers
  • Bowling (Zenith and Meadows Carat)
  • Theater (Spirit off 66, Duesberg Space)
  • Coffees with environment (Chicco, Put It Cubana, At Georges, the ball Rouge, Beluga…)
  • Goolfy (Zenith)

Economy

Verviers was a great European center of the wool industry of XIIe at the XXe century, prosperous city internationally recognized for the quality of his wool, until the decline of wool industry in the area in second half of the XXe century. Today Verviers turns to the future, by in particular developing the offer tourist by developing its rich person commercial inheritance, with the creation of new shopping malls like the Ardennes Outlet Center, and industrial, unceasingly attracting new companies in the area. Verviers owes also his redeployment with his new title of Walloon capital of water. This title is noticed concretely by its active companies in the field like SWDE ( Walloon Société Of Water ), its Polygone of Water (training center on the trades of water and which is used also as work place to the pupils technician () S in Environment of the Technical Institut Gift Bosco Verviers ) like by the many fountains disseminated with the 4 corners of the city.

Tourism
  • Many buildings of architectural interest varied to visit
  • regional Tourism of in the vicinity of the Ardennes (stopping of Gileppe, high fagnes, circuit of Francorchamps, town of Spa…)

Industry
  • Zonings industrialists ideally located thanks to the proximity of the highways E40 and E42 allowing to move towards the 4 corners of Europe. Let us quote the Small-Rechain Zoning of , Stembert, Lambermont and Plenesses (2nd in importance of the province)

Trade
  • Commercial streets of the downtown area like the Street of the Husks, Crapaurue, Place of the Martyr, Places Green, Bridge-with-Lions, Bridge-St-Laurent… as well as the shopping malls located except downtown area like the Boulevard of Gérardchamps and the site of Verviers-West or the district of the boulevards and the Avenue of Spa on the heights of the city (Heusy - Verviers-south) and with north with Dison.
  • the Ardennes Outlet Centers on the reallocated site of the station of Verviers-West.

Twinnings

  • since 1967
  • since 1970
  • since 1969
  • since 1970
  • (twinning with Stembert) since July 25th, 1971

Verviétois (be) famous

Gastronomy

Sports

Principal teams

Photographs
Random links:Landelles | Polish cheeses | Hockey with the Olympic Games of 1994 | Elisabeth Förster-Nietzsche | Urgency (televised series)

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