Ironworkers à Seraing

FAQ

The town of Seraing, in Belgium, is part of the Province of Liege. It was the summer residence of the prince-bishops of Liege, before becoming an industrial city in the 19th century. The municipality of Seraing has a total of 64,000 inhabitants. The town of Seraing has known the golden age of coal and steel industry, and then the decline, as for many towns in the surroundings. The municipality of Seraing used to have 13 collieries, 9 of which were in Seraing itself. The Cockerill brothers opened the very first coke blast furnace. Around 1850, the Cockerill company was the most important factory in the world and the company enabled Belgium to become the second economic power in the world. The abbey of Val-Saint-Lambert is an abbey founded in the 13th century of a Prince-Bishop. In 1826, the abbey became a crystal factory, the Val-Saint-Lambert crystal factory. In 1880, the Val produced nearly 120,000 pieces per day. Nowadays, the Val-Saint-Lambert still has a prestigious production of high artistic quality, but the economic power is in decline. It produces stained glass windows for public and ecclesiastical buildings.