Pierreuse District

Pierreuse is one of Liège’s oldest neighbourhoods, hidden just behind the former Prince-Bishops’ Palace and winding up toward the Citadel along a street first mentioned in the eighth century, once the starting point of the road to Tongeren. The name comes from the hillside itself, rich in sandstone and coal shale that were quarried from the Middle Ages onward and used by Prince-Bishop Notger to reinforce the city’s defenses. With a fourteen-percent incline, Pierreuse stayed a tough climb for centuries, paved to keep the mud in check and once bordered by vineyards, and it’s also along this street that Charles V entered Liège in 1520. Over time, it became a neighbourhood of craftsmen and later, in the nineteenth century, a lively mix of working-class and international residents. In the 1970s, an urban motorway project nearly erased it, but locals banded together and stopped it, a victory that still reflects the resilient spirit of Liège. After years of uncertainty, the area began to thrive again thanks to restoration work launched in the 2000s, and today this steep, quirky, independent little district remains one of the most charming and authentic corners of the Fiery City.