Visé (French pronunciation: [vize] ; Dutch: Wezet, Dutch pronunciation: [ˈʋeːzɛt]; Walloon: Vizé) is a city and municipality of Wallonia, located on the river Meuse in the province of Liège, Belgium.

Visé
Vizé (Walloon)
Wezet (Dutch)
Flag of Visé
Coat of arms of Visé
Location of Visé
Map
Visé is located in Belgium
Visé
Visé
Location in Belgium
Location of Visé in Liège province
Coordinates: 50°44′N 05°42′E / 50.733°N 5.700°E / 50.733; 5.700
Country Belgium
CommunityFrench Community
RegionWallonia
ProvinceLiège
ArrondissementLiège
Government
 • MayorViviane Dessart (MR)
 • Governing party/iesMR - PS
Area
 • Total27.73 km2 (10.71 sq mi)
Population
 (2018-01-01)[1]
 • Total17,767
 • Density640/km2 (1,700/sq mi)
Postal codes
4600-4602
NIS code
62108
Area codes04
Websitewww.vise.be

The municipality consists of the following districts: Argenteau, Cheratte, Lanaye, Lixhe, Richelle, and Visé.

In the north-east (on the eastern bank of the Meuse) the area of the municipality extends up to the village of Moelingen in the Limburgian municipality of Voeren, while in the north-west (on the western bank of the Meuse) it extends up to the border between Belgium and the Netherlands (on the other side of which the Dutch municipality of Maastricht is situated).

The city of Visé is located in a distance of some 20 km (12,4 miles) north eastern of Belgian Liège city and of some 15 km (9,3 miles) southern of the most southern Dutch city of Maastricht.

In addition to the Meuse, the Albert Canal also passes through this town.

History

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The Germans entered Belgium on 4 August 1914, and entered Visé that day as part of the opening movements of the Battle of Liège. A small group of Belgian gendarmes opposed the advancing Germans and two of their number, Auguste Bouko and Jean-Pierre Thill, were killed in the action becoming the first Belgian casualties of World War I.[2] On 7 August, in the Lixhe section of the town, the German 90th Infantry Regiment killed eleven civilians and destroyed eleven houses. By 17 August 1914, forty-two civilians were killed, and 586 out of the village's 840 houses had been destroyed.[3]

The Lixhe part of the town was also the site of one of Belgium's ninety eastern-frontier advanced-warning posts (postes d'alerte de la frontière est), aimed at preventing a German invasion in 1939 – its number was "PA 0". [citation needed] The coal mine of Hasard de Cheratte was dug in Cheratte and exploited between 1850 and 1977.

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Wettelijke Bevolking per gemeente op 1 januari 2018". Statbel. Retrieved 9 March 2019.
  2. ^ Poelmans, Marc. "Les gendarmes Auguste Bouko et Jean-Pierre Thill, premiers héros belges de 1914". Arquebusiers. Archived from the original on 30 August 2018. Retrieved 18 April 2018.
  3. ^ Tixhon, Axel (2014). Villes martyres. Namur, Belgium: Presses Universitaires de Namur. p. 64. ISBN 978-2-87037-848-9.
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  •   Media related to Visé at Wikimedia Commons