Huy

Huy
Flag Coat of arms
Location of Huy in the province of Liège
Sovereign state	Belgium
Region	Wallonia
Community	French Community
Province	Liège
Arrondissement	Huy
Coordinates	50°31′0″N 05°14′0″E / 50.51667°N 5.23333°E / 50.51667; 5.23333Coordinates: 50°31′0″N 05°14′0″E / 50.51667°N 5.23333°E / 50.51667; 5.23333
Area	47.74 km²
Population – Males – Females - Density	20,071 (1 January 2006) 48.32% 51.68% 420 inhab./km²
Unemployment rate	22.52% (1 January 2006)
Mean annual income	€11,333/pers. (2003)
Mayor	Anne-Marie Lizin-Vanderspeeten (PS)
Governing parties	PS, MR
Postal codes	4500
Area codes	085
Website	www.huy.be

Huy (Walloon: Hu; French: Huy, Dutch: Hoei) is a municipality of Belgium. It lies in the country's Walloon Region and Province of Liege. Huy lies along the river Meuse, at the mouth of the small river Hoyoux. It is in the sillon industriel, the former industrial backbone of Wallonia, home to about two-thirds of the Walloon population. The Huy municipality includes the old communes of Ben-Ahin and Tihange.

History

The first village originated around the Roman castrum, an early fort located on the right bank of the River Meuse. The village was evangelized by Saint Domitian, Bishop of Tongeren, in the 6th century and it is mentioned for the first time in a 7th century testament.

Old streets of Huy

In the early Middle Ages, Huy was one of the most prosperous cities on the Meuse, with a flourishing economy based mostly on metallurgy, but also on tanning, sculpting, woodworking, and winemaking. In the 10th century, Huy was promoted to county status, but soon became part of the Prince-Bishopric of Liège, with which it would share its history for more than eight centuries. Huy was the recipient of the first historically known charter north of the Alps, confirming it as a city in 1066. It is around that time that Peter the Hermit harangued the locals and persuaded them to participate in the First Crusade.

In the 13th and 14th century, the economy boomed thanks to the cloth industry. The castle was occasionally used in times of war and strengthened accordingly. By the 15th century, it had become the symbol of the city. The following two centuries, however, witnessed a gradual decline in the city’s fortunes, due in large part to the strategic value of its location on the Meuse. In the latter part of the 17th century, Louis XIV’s wars caused the city to be repeatedly attacked and put to the sword, to the point that the frustrated inhabitants dismantled their own castle, source of their miseries, in 1715.

A new fort was built by the Dutch in 1818. It was a strategic defensive position, especially during the heavy fighting that took place during two world wars. The 19th century was a period of great prosperity based on the paper and other industries. The decline of heavy industry in the 20th century was felt here too. Today, the city is rebounding, thanks in part to its tin products and tourist activity.

Li Bassinia

Sights

The four “wonders” of Huy are

• Li Bassinia, the 15th-century fountain that stands in the middle of the Grand Place,
• Li Tchestia, the 1818 castle that dominates the city,
• Li Rondia, the rose window of the Gothic-style Notre-Dame collegiate church, and
• Li Pontia, the bridge over the River Meuse.

Huy is also home to the finish of the famous Flèche Wallonne (English: Walloon Arrow; Dutch: Waalse Pijl) one-day professional cycling race held midweek in mid-April. The races traverses, and finishes at the summit of the Mur de Huy (English: Wall of Huy), a climb of about 1km with an average gradient near 10%, with sections of 20%.

Citadel of Huy (1818)

Fountain at the church

Folklore

Every seven years, a religious procession takes place in the so-called “septennial festivities” in commemoration of the end of a drought in 1656. The last one took place on August 15, 2005.

Famous persons

• Joseph Lebeau, politician (1794-1865)
• Anne-Marie Lizin, politician (born in 1949)
• André Malherbe, three-time motocross world champion
• Jean-Joseph Merlin, inventor of the roller skate (September 17, 1735 in Huy - May 4, 1803 in London)
• Peter the Hermit, instigator of the First Crusade (1050 in Amiens - 1115 in Huy)
• Le Père Pire, recipient of the 1958 Nobel Peace Prize, lived in Huy (February 10, 1910 in Dinant - January 30, 1969)
• Alizée Poulicek
• Patrick Sarsfield, (1660 – 21 August 1693) 1st Earl of Lucan. Cavalry commander of Jacobite forces at the Siege of Limerick, Ireland, General in French Army following "Flight of the Wild Geese" is buried here, in the graveyard of St. Martin's Church.

Twin cities, friend cities

France: Compiègne	Côte d'Ivoire: Port-Bouet, near Abidjan
Luxembourg: Vianden	South Korea: Seosan
Italy: Arona	United Kingdom: Bury St Edmunds
Benin: Natitingou	Italy: Montagano
Belgium: Tienen	Albania: Krujë
Senegal: Vélingara	China: Taizhou, Jiangsu

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Huy

• Official web site (in French)