Herstal

Coordinates: 50°40′N 05°38′E / 50.667°N 5.633°E / 50.667; 5.633
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
"Liers" redirects here. For the Spanish parish, see Lieres. For the French commune, see Lières. For people who lie, see Lie.
Herstal
Hesta (Walloon)
Municipality
Flag of Herstal
Flag
Coat of arms of Herstal
Coat of arms
Location of Herstal
Map
Herstal is located in Belgium
Herstal
Herstal
Location in Belgium
Location of Herstal in Liège province
Liège
ArrondissementLiège
Government
 • MayorFrédéric Daerden (PS)
 • Governing party/iesPS-H
Area
 • Total23.36 km2 (9.02 sq mi)
Population
 (2018-01-01)[1]
 • Total39,958
 • Density1,700/km2 (4,400/sq mi)
Postal codes
4040-4042
NIS code
62051
Area codes04
Websitewww.herstal.be

Herstal (French pronunciation:

agglomeration
, which counts about 600,000 inhabitants.

The municipality consists of the following districts: Herstal,

Liers, Milmort, and Vottem
.

A large armaments factory, the

Fabrique Nationale
or FN, and the biggest industrial zone of Wallonia (Haut-Sart) provide employment locally.

History

Merovingian and Carolingian golden age

The proximity of the river

Jupille
.

The name Herstal is of

Franconian origin, consisting of the elements hari ("army") and stal ("resting place", "camp"; compare Modern German Stall, "stable"). The first mention of Herstal is in Latin documents from ±718 (Cheristalius corrected to Charistalius) and 723 (Harastallius). The first possibly non-Latinized occurrences are Eristail (in 919) and Harstail (1197).[2][3]

Louis Jéhotte
, sculptor, 1867

Carolingian dynasty, probably chose this location as his main residence because of its proximity to the major cities of Tongeren, Maastricht, and Liège. Pippin was the father of Charles Martel, victor of the decisive Battle of Tours that stopped the Arab-Muslim advance into northwestern Europe, and great grandfather of Charlemagne, also supposedly born in Herstal. Charlemagne lived for at least fifteen years in Herstal but later established his capital in Aachen
, ending Herstal's period of medieval glory as capital of the empire.

Late Middle Ages until now

The town was incorporated into the Duchy of

Frederick II of Prussia.[4]
By that time, the town was mainly known for its able craftsmen: ceramists, blacksmiths, and clockmakers.

In the 19th century, Herstal became a city of coal and steel. It would, however, become world-famous thanks to the foundation of the Fabrique Nationale, a major armament factory, in 1889. Several motorcycle manufacturers also established themselves in town. On August 7, 1914, at the very beginning of World War I, the invading German army executed 27 civilians and destroyed 10 homes in Herstal.

Fabrique Nationale

After

Ariane
rocket.

Politics

Municipal head
Mayor Frédéric Daerden (PS)
Deputies Franco Ianeri (PS)
Marc Haeken (PS)
Jean-Louis Lefebvre (PS)
Christian Laverdeur (PS)
Léon Campstein (PS)
André Namotte (E.P.H.)
Isabelle Thomsin (PS)
Party % Diff. 2000 Seat Diff 2000 Leader
PS 50,86 -1,14 20 -1 Albert Crépin
EPH (PSC) 18,99 +2,59 6 +1 Norbert Weytjens
MR[5] (PRL) 14,14 +3,24 4 +1 Jennifer Maus [6]
PTB[7] 9,38 +2,18 2 0 Nadia Moscufo
ECOLO[8] 6,62 -2,28 1 -1 Anne-Marie Meunier-Balthasart

Herstal is a left-wing/socialist stronghold. It was also the strongest area in support of the far-left Workers' Party of Belgium in the 2019 elections, gaining 27.55% of the votes in Herstal.[9]

Sights

See also: List of protected heritage sites in Herstal
  • A museum, housed in a 1664 building typical of the region, shows various artifacts of the
    FN
    .
  • The Pippin Tower incorporates a wall section thought to have belonged to the palace of Charlemagne.

Notable people

Twin cities

See also

  • Rida (River)

References

  1. ^ "Wettelijke Bevolking per gemeente op 1 januari 2018". Statbel. Retrieved 9 March 2019.
  2. ^ Wolfgang Haubrichs: The Multilingualism of the Early Middle Ages: Evidence from Peripheral Regions of the Regnum orientalium Francorum. In: Robert Gallagher, Edward Roberts, Francesca Tinti (eds.): The Languages of Early Medieval Charters: Latin, Germanic Vernaculars, and the Written Word. Leiden 2020, ISBN 9789004428119, p. 85f.
  3. ^ Maurits Gysseling, Herstal in the Toponymical Dictionary of Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Northern France and West Germany (before 1226).
  4. ISBN 2708947753
    )
  5. ^ MR : Section de HERSTAL Archived 2012-06-05 at archive.today
  6. ^ "Jennifer Maus". Archived from the original on 2010-10-27. Retrieved 2009-03-18.
  7. ^ liege.ptb.be: Actuel[permanent dead link]
  8. ^ "ECOLO - Ecolo - Groupe local de Liège".
  9. ^ "Les résultats électoraux du PTB".

External links

Media related to Herstal at Wikimedia Commons

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Herstal&oldid=1189722218"