Statue of Peter the Great

The statue of Peter the Great may be a recent monument, but it recalls a remarkable chapter in Liège’s history. In June 1717, Tsar Peter I of Russia stopped here during his grand tour of Europe. The principality of Liège welcomed him with great ceremony, fully aware of the importance of this ruler who sought to modernize his empire by drawing on Western knowledge and techniques. Peter the Great also spent nearly a month in Spa, following a thermal cure on his doctors’ advice—a stay that greatly boosted the international reputation of the spa town, still remembered today at the Pouhon Pierre-le-Grand. The statue you see was inaugurated in 2017 to mark the 300th anniversary of his visit. Created by Russo-Dutch sculptor Alexander Taratynov and offered by the Russian Federation in partnership with Liège, it shows the tsar cast in bronze, standing in solemn pose, a symbol of his role as reformer and builder. Its location is no coincidence: it stands on Place Saint-Pierre, close to the Palace of the Prince-Bishops, where Peter the Great was received in 1717. With this monument, Liège joins other cities like Brussels, Antwerp, and Spa that also commemorate the tsar’s passage. Today, the statue recalls not only an eighteenth-century diplomatic visit but also the cultural dialogue between Russia and Belgium, attracting many visitors—especially Russians—who retrace their sovereign’s footsteps through Europe. More than just a bronze figure, it is a reminder of Liège’s openness to the world and its role, even then, as a crossroads of European cultures.