Huy tourist information
Huy Belgium
The history of Huy is thousand-year-old. Its reputation, it based it on its know-how artisanal initially, industrialist and commercial then. Proud of its past and conscious of its present, it organizes its future. Huy appears in the number of the oldest cities of the country. The primitive village, at the time Roman certainly, developed around the "Castrum" of right bank. As of IIe century, to the foot of the rock, Saint Materne would have dedicated to the Virgin a sanctuary, ancestor of our Collegial. Before the year millet, the history of Huy is rather little known. Only some documents throw a little light over this obscure remained period of the life of our city. Mention is made by it, for the first time, into 636 in a will. Domitien saint, bishop of Tongres, évangélisa the city mosane as of the Life century and Hutois chose it like first owner of their city. This effort of conversion made emerge two churches: one dedicated to Our-Lady into 634 and one in Saint Côme. Regional market and stage of battellery, Huy offers the image of an economic cell of size reduced, but very active, which characterizes the time mérovingienne. The existence of a very productive monetary workshop and the presence on the slopes close to prosperous vineyards are enough to attest the developments which had taken, in VIIe century, agglomeration born with the confluence of the Meuse and Hoyoux. The Batta district accomodates the first industries then: foundries of bronze, tailors of horn, bone and potters. In the new administrative geography that the Germanic emperor Otton Ier sets up, Huy becomes the seat of a county into 941, which had however only one transitory existence, its last holder, Ansfried, being deprived some with the profit of the church of Liege into 985. Huy consequently followed the destinies of the Principality of Liege, from which it became the second "good city". The commercial climate detected two centuries earlier was developing. The urban prosperity, marked by the extension of the zones of habitat, gave soon to the merchants of the city a collective conscience their rights. On were the edges of Hoyoux more particularly, many the tanners, fullers, ironmongers, carpenters? The most powerful trade was that of the fèbvres. The metallurgy hutoise goes up indisputably extremely far in the past and, supported by Hoyoux favourable with the establishment of waterwheels, the forging mills and furnaces knew in Huy, as of the Average Age, a golden age without precedent. The copper battery, flourishing industry in the city hutoise, was exported in all Europe as of XIe century. Let us quote of famous artists: To disavow of Huy (baptismal font Holy Barthélemy in Liege) and Godefroid de Claire (mountings of Saint Mengold and Saint Domitien with collegial of Huy). Precursor in the commercial life, Huy was it also in policy. In 1066, the Théoduin bishop of Bavaria, in exchange of half of their movable property to finance the rebuilding of the collegial Our-Lady, granted to the hutois a charter freedoms, first of the kind in Western Europe. On the religious level, the first crusade (1096-1099) pleasing on our grounds celebrates it preacher Pierre the Hermit, party haranguer crowd and founder, according to the legend, of the abbey of Neufmoustier, while in "Clear Place" creates for itself the convent which will become the head office of the order of Croisiers. Drapery constitutes the economic engine of XIIIe and XIVe centuries. The discovery of currencies hutoises in Russia and Scandinavia testifies to significant commercial to the town of Huy at that time. The castle becomes a powerful fortress, being used as retirement to the princes inhabitant of Liège in conflict with their subjects. It considerably was increased, arranged, barded additional turns and walls, but also embellished and enriched by various rooms. Huy became a town of pleasures then and saw spreading in all their splendours the ostentation and the opulence of the court of Burgundy. It is of this XVe century that date also the symbolic system choice of the castle like emblème of the city. But brilliant intended that knew Huy hitherto tarnishes little by little: Huy becomes victim of its strategic position. The fortress had to undergo many seats (twelve in thirty years) and fires, plunderings, massacres and epidemics devastated with many recoveries the beautiful city mosane. The culture of the vine, formerly so prosperous (500.000 liters of Briolet per annum), périclite following these multiple invasions and the vine growers hutois are not unfortunately any more legion nowadays. In 1715, the Treaty of the Barrier orders the destruction of Tchestia, floret of the European military architecture. But happy to be removed from the cause of all their misfortunes, Hutois got busy to dismount their castle hones by stone. During one century, the rock piton remained virgin of any construction. It is only April 6, 1818 that the first stone of the current fort is posed, which was never used as position of attack, but knew the sufferings of many soldiers during the first two world wars of this XXe century. Huy can finally breathe and besides it is still the rise of the activities like the paper mill, goldsmithery and later the industrialization, which allowed, at the XIXe century, with several hutoises families to know fortune (let us quote Delloye, Godin), calling Huy "the City with the Millionaires". To the new country which was born in 1830, the Town of Huy offered one as of his in the person of Joseph Lebeau. If the current crisis does not save the town of Huy and its old industries, the production of tin parts remains one of the florets of the local arts and crafts and is exported internationally. But Huy knew to adapt and tourism became one of the strong points of the city. Historic buildings, natural sites of a rare beauty, religious buildings and civil architecture await the visitors, many to be pressed with the doors of Huy.
Huy aerial map
Please click on any icon on the Huy aerial tourist map, to find close by places, offering hotels and tourist information. You can zoom in and zoom out our touristical map as well as switch between satelite and map view of Huy.
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