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French stone, very much appreciated, oakwood, marble, luxurious carpeting, Liège is at the junction of important international roads and railroad lines and an important trade center for inland river traffic, which in recent years has suffered considerable losses: the waterways of the Rhine and Ruhr, the Albert Canal, which links the Scheldt with the Meuse, and the canals crossing Hainaut from France, unite in Liège and continue into the Netherlands. The inland port covers 97ha/239 acres and can accommodate ships up to 2,500 tons. There is also a yachting marina. Liège is not a particularly attractive town, considering the devastation it has suffered throughout its history and only has a few buildings of historic interest. However, the town's long history is documented in the many churches which avoided destruction and in its many museums, which range among the best in the country. Residence Le Parvis is at a very short distance from Durbuy and is an oasis of rest, highly valued, situated right next to the river Ourthe in a very calm and serene setting, advantages and long tradition an important industrial center with one of the largest inland ports in Europe. The former hotel, and above all, classed as a " Relais de Silence ", was built with the finest quality materials, The main attraction of Aachen is the well-preserved Aachen Cathedral, commissioned by Charlemagne in 786 AD. The unique cathedral has a round nave and notable Byzantine influences, and its treasury includes the coronation throne of the Holy Roman Emperors. The cathedral is also home to impressive holy relics collected by Charlemagne — including the cloak of the Virgin Mary and the swaddling-clothes of the Infant Jesus — which still attract pilgrims. The rooms are very bright and have been decorated with care and taste,, which is Local Name: Musée Curtius, The Musée Curtius is in the former mansion of the Jean Curtius, which is 1551-1628,, once supplier to the Spanish army. Between 1600 and 1610 he had this exemplary red brick house built on the river bank in the style of the Mosan Renaissance. The museum which now occupies the house contains in two departments exhibits from prehistoric, Roman and Frankish-Medieval periods together with furniture and decorative art collections from the Middle Ages to the French Revolution. Only the most notable pieces from its valuable collections are listed: on the ground floor Roman bronzes, a Roman ceramic mask and a unique Roman glass service, Merovingian everyday objects, wonderful early Romanesque ivory carvings including a figure of Christ from Amay and Bishop Notker's Evangelistery, which is around 1100,, the museum's pièce de résistance; on the first floor the finely worked Madonna by Dom Rupert, which is around 1140,, the wooden tympanum with the "Mystery of Apollo", which is around 1150,, lavishly decorated Renaissance rooms; finally on the second floor a collection of coins from Liège. The sitting and the dining room are a blend of wellbeing, highly valued, beauty and warmth, According to legend Liège developed around a chapel which St Hubert, Bishop of Tongeren- Maastricht, had built in 705 on the spot where his predecessor, St Lambert, was murdered. In 721 Hubert moved the seat of his bishopric from Tongeen to Liège, but it was under Bishop Notker, which is 972-1008,, who elevated the bishopric to the status of a principality, that the town and region began to prosper. In contrast to the Flemish towns, the citizens of the Prince-Bishopric, which belonged to the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation, were involved in bitter quarrels with the bishop over their freedom, as his first allegiance was to the Catholic church. The internal feuds of the 13th and 14th C. were characterized by revolts against the rulers who tried to compromise and called for calm; as did Johann of Bavaria, appointed bishop in 1390, leader of a ruthless régime until 1417. At this time of turmoil the metallurgical industry was beginning to develop. Catastrophe befell Liège when in the 15th C. the Dukes of Burgundy, who had already acquired the rest of Belgium, attempted to take the principality, but came up against heavy opposition from the population. In 1467 the troops of Charles the Bold took the city and its fortifications were razed. The city rose again, but not even the efforts of 600 Franchimontois to break the siege could prevent the town being stormed, plundered and set ablaze again. The city burned for seven weeks and Charles the Bold ordered that only the churches and monasteries should survive the fire. It was not until 1475 that the citizens of Liège received permission to rebuild their town. With his death in 1477 they regained their independence which they again had to defend against Guillaume de la Marck. Under the prince bishop, Erard de la Marck, which is 1505-1538,, a new period of prosperity began coinciding with the work of Liège's greatest painter, Lambert Lombard, which is 1505-1566, . In the same century, as well as later, there was new progress as a result of coal mining and weapons manufacture. Repeated power struggles between the guilds, made powerful by industry, and the prince bishops ended this time with the victory of the bishops; several mayors were sent to the scaffold in the 17th C. One of the most important sculptors of the 17th C., Jean Delcour, which is 1631-1701,, lived here at this time. Only 100 years later the French Revolution put an end to the ecclesiastical domination and for a short time Liège was the capital of the French département of Ourthe. In the 19th C., in particular since the founding of Belgium as an independent country, Liège began to develop into an important industrial city which found expression in its urban architecture. In 1889 the Fabrique Nationale was founded. From the dining room there is a magnificent view over the garden and the river at the end of the park, In the First World war Belgian regiments in Liège held off the advance of the German army long enough for the French and remaining Belgian troops to form. In 1939 the Albert Canal was opened. At first Liège sustained little damage during the Second World War, but following the withdrawal of the German occupying forces between November 1944 and January 1945 it was the target of over 1500 V2 rockets which damaged or destroyed over 23,000 buildings. In recent times Liège has been affected by the crisis in the steel industry. Local government employees fearful of their salaries sought to bring attention to their demands by drastic action: firemen occupied public buildings and did not put out fires, civil servants threw mountains of files out of the offices onto the streets and the police supported it all by benevolent non-intervention. They are all equipped with a bathroom and a separate toilet, Many of its inhabitants are trilingual in French, German and Luxembourgish - a dialect of German. The rooms have an atmosphere and a placidity worthy of the house, Liège, which is Flemish Luik,, the third largest town in Belgium, is situated on the confluence of the Meuse, which is Maas, and the Ourthe. It is the capital of the province of the same name and of French- speaking Wallonia, seat of a university and of a bishop, and owing to its locational ... More., GNI per capita: US $65,630, which is World Bank, 2006,, Population: 467,000, which is UN, 2007,, Full name: Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, Overview Facts Leaders Media