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For a long time, the landscape of Liège was dominated by industry. Chimneys dominated the roofs. Goods trains circulated between the facilities. The factories rhythmised the lives of entire neighbourhoods. Today, part of these facilities has disappeared. But the industrial history of Liège has not faded with the last smoke.
Before steel, a land of know-how
The industrial history of Liège does not begin with the large factories of the 19th century. Well before the Industrial Revolution, the region has important artisan and metallurgical traditions. The availability of resources, technical skills and commercial networks gradually contribute to the development of specialized activities.
The Cockerill family and the industrial shift
The name Cockerill remains inseparable from this transformation. William Cockerill participated in introducing new mechanization techniques in the region. His son John then developed large-scale industrial activities, particularly in metallurgy and mechanical construction. In 1817, John Cockerill acquired the former summer residence of the Prince-Erzherds in Seraing and developed a vast industrial complex there.
The rise of charcoal works, sawmills and blast furnaces helped to make the Meuse-Vesdre region one of the most dynamic industrial centers in Europe in the 19th century. The change was profound: industry transformed production methods, landscapes, transportation, work organization, and everyday life.
Seraing, a symbol of a bygone era
In Seraing, the industrial history is particularly visible. The large steelworks have long occupied a central place in the landscape and in the local economy. But behind this history of companies and industrial mergers lies above all that of the workers.
Steelmaking is a demanding profession, often arduous and sometimes dangerous. It has also contributed to forging a collective identity, professional pride and lasting solidarity. This memory combines memories of economic stability, difficult conditions, social struggles and concerns caused by successive restructuring processes.
When the factories close, what remains?
The disappearance of an industrial activity does not only mean the loss of a building or a production tool. It can disrupt the organization of a neighborhood, change the habits of the residents, and weaken families whose income depended directly or indirectly on the factory.
In the Liège basin, industrial restructuring has left deep economic and social traces. It has also raised difficult questions: what to do with the former sites? What buildings to preserve? How to treat the soil and prepare for new uses? How to transmit a history without locking the region into nostalgia?
Preserving without idealizing
The industrial past of Liège deserves to be told in all its complexity. It brought innovations, jobs, skills and international recognition. It was also marked by the hard work, accidents, pollution, inequalities and economic crises.
Preserving this memory does not consist in presenting the industry as an age of flawless perfection. It is about understanding what it produced, what it cost and what it left to future generations. Behind some buildings, some street names or some ruins lie decades of work and thousands of human trajectories.
Sources for extending the discovery: City of Liège and the collections of the House of Metallurgy and Industry of Liège.
