Seraing

"Serè" redirects here. For other uses, see Sere (disambiguation).

For Belgian First Division A football club, see RFC Seraing (1922).

Seraing Serè (Walloon)
City and municipality
City Hall
Flag Coat of arms
Location of Seraing in the province of Liège
Interactive map of Seraing
Seraing Location in Belgium
Coordinates: 50°35′N 05°30′E / 50.583°N 5.500°E / 50.583; 5.500
Country	Belgium
Community	French Community
Region	Wallonia
Province	Liège
Arrondissement	Liège
Government
• Mayor	Déborah Géradon [fr] (PS)
• Governing party	PS
Area
• Total	35.25 km^2 (13.61 sq mi)
Population  (2018-01-01)[1]
• Total	64,270
• Density	1,823/km^2 (4,722/sq mi)
Postal codes	4100, 4101, 4102
NIS code	62096
Area codes	04
Website	www.seraing.be

Seraing (French pronunciation: [səʁɛ̃] ^ⓘ; Walloon: Serè) is a municipality and city^[2] in Liège Province, Wallonia, Belgium.

The municipality consists of the following districts: Boncelles, Jemeppe-sur-Meuse, Ougrée, and Seraing. With Liège, Herstal, Saint-Nicolas, Ans, and Flémalle, it forms the greater Liège agglomeration (600,000 inhabitants). South of Seraing are the Condroz and the Ardennes regions.^{[citation needed]}

History

Antiquity and Middle Ages

The first mention of Saran dates from 956, when a Carolingian farming domain extending on both sides of the river Meuse and owned by someone named Saran was donated to the abbey of Sint-Truiden. The whole territory soon passed to the Prince-Bishopric of Liège.

Industrial development

Bridge over the Meuse, in 1902

The first ironworks were founded there in 1809. John Cockerill and his brother James revolutionized the steel industry by using blast furnaces and coke instead of traditional charcoal. These inventions were the basis for the new company, John Cockerill & Cie established in Seraing in 1817.^{[citation needed]}

List of mayors

• 1977–1988: Guy Mathot [fr] (PS)
• 1988–1993: Gaston Onkelinx [fr] (PS)
• 1994–2000: Jacques Vandebosch (PS)
• 2000–2005: Guy Mathot (PS)
• 2005–2006: Jacques Vandebosch (PS)
• 2006–2018: Alain Mathot [fr] (PS)
• 2018–2023: Francis Bekaert [fr] (PS)
• 2023–present: Déborah Géradon [fr] (PS)

Sights

Val-Saint-Lambert Abbey

See also: List of protected heritage sites in Seraing

• The Val Saint Lambert crystal factory site includes the old Val-Saint-Lambert Abbey

Notable people

John Cockerill statue and tomb

• John Cockerill, British entrepreneur and founder of the Cockerill-Sambre steel company (1790–1840)
• Eugenio Barsanti, Italian inventor of the internal combustion engine (1821–1864)
• Leo Anton Karl de Ball, astronomer (1853–1916)
• Julien Lahaut, communist (1884–1950)
• Louis-Clément Picalausa, Scout novelist (1898–1969)
• Charles Lecocq (poet) [fr], (1901–1922)
• André Renard (Secretary-General of the General Federation of Belgian Labour and leader of the 60-61 General Strike) (1911–1962)
• Christian Piot, football goalkeeper (b. 1947)
• Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne, filmmakers (b. 1951 and 1954, resp.)
• Laurette Onkelinx, politician (b. 1958)
• Michel Preud'homme, football goalkeeper (b. 1959)
• Gilbert Bodart, football coach (b. 1962)
• Marc Tarabella, politician (b. 1963)
• Fabrizio Cassol, saxophone and aulochrome player (b. 1964)
• Marc Laho, opera singer (b. 1965)
• Alain Mathot [fr], politician (b. 1972)
• Michaël Goossens, football striker (b. 1973)
• Viktor Klonaridis, football player (b. 1992)
• John Wartique, racing driver (b. 1990)

International relations

Main article: List of twin towns and sister cities in Belgium

Twin towns—Sister cities

Seraing is twinned with:

•  France: Douai
•  Italy: Rimini
•  France: Châtel

See also

• Liège Science Park
• The Dardenne brothers' films L'Enfant and Deux jours, une nuit

References

1. "Wettelijke Bevolking per gemeente op 1 januari 2018". Statbel. Retrieved 9 March 2019.
2. "Wet tot toekenning van de titel van stad aan de gemeenten Genk, Mortsel, Seraing en Waregem". www.ejustice.just.fgov.be (in Dutch). Belgian Official Gazette. 23 June 1999. Retrieved 28 February 2025.

External links

• Postcards and old photographs of Seraing
• Steel mill in Seraing