TOWNS. 



407 



rises a column surrounded by the three Graces, wLich replaces the ancient 

 jyerroii, the symbol of the municipal liberties of the city, destroyed in the dis- 

 astrous year 1468. The old palace of the prince bishops is now occupied by 

 the courts of justice and the provincial authorities. This huge edifice stands on 

 the Place St. Lambei^t, thus named after a sumptuous cathedral, to which every 

 Liégeois was bound to leave a legac}^ but Avhich was demolished during the 

 French Revolution. The university was established in 1817, by the Dutch, in an 

 old Jesuit college, and possesses a valuable library, a collection of coins, a natural- 

 history museum, and chemical laboratories. Including its affiliated institutions, 

 it is attended by 970 students. The conservatory has trained several pupils who 



Fig. 227. — LikoE and the Confluence of the Meuse and Ourthe. 

 Scale 1 : 80,000. 



have acquired celebrity, and the courses of the Academy of Art are well attended. 

 Monuments have been raised in honour of Dumont, the geologist; Grétry, the 

 composer ; and Charlemagne, whom the Liégeois claim as one of their townsmen. 

 Amongst the numerous churches that of St. Martin is historically the most 

 interesting. During the popular revolt of 1312 the " grandees " sought a refuge 

 in its tower, but were burnt alive in it by the populace. 



If local traditions can be credited, coal was first discovered near Liege, in the 

 twelfth century, by a smith, and named houille, after Houllos, its discoverer. What- 

 ever this etymology may be worth,* it proves, at all events, that coal, which is so 



* According to A. Scheler ("Dictionnaire d'étj-mologie française") the French word houille is 

 derived from the German word Scholle. 



