Lier, Belgium
Encyclopedia
Lier (ˈlir) is a municipality
located in the Belgian
province of Antwerp
. The municipality comprises the city of Lier proper and the village of Koningshooikt
. On January 1, 2010 Lier had a total population of 33,930. The total area is 49.70 km² which gives a population density
of 669 inhabitants per km².
Lier is known for its beers 'Caves'
, 'St. Gummarus'
and the pastry 'Lierse vlaaikes'. It is also home to Van Hool
(Koningshooikt
), one of the largest manufacturers of buses and coaches.
Football clubs Lierse S.K.
(Belgian First Division) and K. Lyra T.S.V.
(promotion
) are based in Lier.
The patron saint
of Lier is St. Gummarus
.
Historical facts:
King Christian II of Denmark and his wife Isabella (in Denmark Elisabeth, sister to Charles V.) lived in Lier from 1523 after he had been driven out of Denmark by the nobility, in vain hoping to get military support from his brother in law. He tried to regain the throne of Denmark but was taken prisoner and spent the rest of his life detained in Sonderburg and Kalundborg castles in Denmark. Elisatbeth died in 1526.
Lier is a very famous nightlife center in Flanders. The discothèques are well-known as far as The Netherlands.
Municipality
A municipality is essentially an urban administrative division having corporate status and usually powers of self-government. It can also be used to mean the governing body of a municipality. A municipality is a general-purpose administrative subdivision, as opposed to a special-purpose district...
located in the Belgian
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
province of Antwerp
Antwerp (province)
Antwerp is the northernmost province both of the Flemish Region, also called Flanders, and of Belgium. It borders on the Netherlands and the Belgian provinces of Limburg, Flemish Brabant and East Flanders. Its capital is Antwerp which comprises the Port of Antwerp...
. The municipality comprises the city of Lier proper and the village of Koningshooikt
Koningshooikt
Koningshooikt is a village that since 1977 creates a municipality with Lier in the Belgian province of Antwerp. In the local dialect Koningshooikt is often named after Jut or Koningsjut...
. On January 1, 2010 Lier had a total population of 33,930. The total area is 49.70 km² which gives a population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...
of 669 inhabitants per km².
Lier is known for its beers 'Caves'
Caves (beer)
Caves is a dark Belgian beer, available around the cities of Lier and Ghent.Caves has a long history of success and decline. From the 16th century onwards, it was brewed by several breweries around the city of Lier, but when the last brewery Cuykens disappeared in 1967 it seemed that this was also...
, 'St. Gummarus'
Gummarus
Saint Gummarus was the son of the Lord of Emblem. He received no formal education, but served in the court of Pippin the Younger until he left to serve in Pepin's army, serving eight years in the field in Lombardy, Saxony, and the Aquitaine.He married a noblewoman named Guinmarie with whom he had...
and the pastry 'Lierse vlaaikes'. It is also home to Van Hool
Van Hool
Van Hool NV is a Belgian coachbuilder and manufacturer of buses, coaches, trolleybuses, and trailers.The company was founded in 1947 by Bernard van Hool in Koningshooikt, nearby Lier, Belgium. In the early years, the company introduced serial production and exported their products all over Europe...
(Koningshooikt
Koningshooikt
Koningshooikt is a village that since 1977 creates a municipality with Lier in the Belgian province of Antwerp. In the local dialect Koningshooikt is often named after Jut or Koningsjut...
), one of the largest manufacturers of buses and coaches.
Football clubs Lierse S.K.
Lierse S.K.
Koninklijke Lierse Sportkring is a Belgian professional football club, from the city of Lier in the Antwerp province. Lierse has been playing in the Belgian Pro League since the 2010-11 season and they have already won the competition 4 times. They also have won 2 Belgian Cups...
(Belgian First Division) and K. Lyra T.S.V.
K. Lyra T.S.V.
K. Lyra T.S.V. is a Belgian association football club team from Lier. The team colours are red and white....
(promotion
Belgian Promotion
The Belgian Promotion is the lowest nationwide division in Belgian football. Since 1905, Promotion has been the name of the lowest nationwide level but it is the fourth one since 1952. There were already 4 leagues at the time . The champion of the Promotion is declared to be the winner of a...
) are based in Lier.
The patron saint
Patron saint
A patron saint is a saint who is regarded as the intercessor and advocate in heaven of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, family, or person...
of Lier is St. Gummarus
Gummarus
Saint Gummarus was the son of the Lord of Emblem. He received no formal education, but served in the court of Pippin the Younger until he left to serve in Pepin's army, serving eight years in the field in Lombardy, Saxony, and the Aquitaine.He married a noblewoman named Guinmarie with whom he had...
.
Places of interest
- The St. Gummarus ChurchGummarusSaint Gummarus was the son of the Lord of Emblem. He received no formal education, but served in the court of Pippin the Younger until he left to serve in Pepin's army, serving eight years in the field in Lombardy, Saxony, and the Aquitaine.He married a noblewoman named Guinmarie with whom he had...
, gothic architectureGothic architectureGothic architecture is a style of architecture that flourished during the high and late medieval period. It evolved from Romanesque architecture and was succeeded by Renaissance architecture....
, 14th century. - The Zimmer towerZimmer towerThe Zimmer tower is a tower in Lier, Belgium, also known as the Cornelius tower, that was originally a keep of Lier's fourteenth century city fortifications...
. - The Town hall, rococoRococoRococo , also referred to as "Late Baroque", is an 18th-century style which developed as Baroque artists gave up their symmetry and became increasingly ornate, florid, and playful...
architecture, 18th century. - The BeguinageBéguinageA béguinage or begijnhof is a collection of small buildings used by Beguines. These were various lay sisterhoods of the Roman Catholic Church, founded in the 13th century in the Low Countries, comprising religious women who sought to serve God without retiring from the world.-Description:A...
(UNESCOUNESCOThe United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...
World Heritage SiteWorld Heritage SiteA UNESCO World Heritage Site is a place that is listed by the UNESCO as of special cultural or physical significance...
) and St. Margarite Church, 17th century. - The Museum Timmermans-Opsomerhuis.
- The Saint-Peter's Chapel
Historical facts:
- Lier was in 1496 the scene of a very important marriage in European history, when Philip the HandsomePhilip I of CastilePhilip I , known as Philip the Handsome or the Fair, was the first Habsburg King of Castile...
, son of Maximilian of AustriaMaximilian I, Holy Roman EmperorMaximilian I , the son of Frederick III, Holy Roman Emperor and Eleanor of Portugal, was King of the Romans from 1486 and Holy Roman Emperor from 1493 until his death, though he was never in fact crowned by the Pope, the journey to Rome always being too risky...
, got married to Joanna of CastileJoanna of CastileJoanna , nicknamed Joanna the Mad , was the first queen regnant to reign over both the Crown of Castile and the Crown of Aragon , a union which evolved into modern Spain...
. The son born out of this marriage, Charles VCharles V, Holy Roman EmperorCharles V was ruler of the Holy Roman Empire from 1519 and, as Charles I, of the Spanish Empire from 1516 until his voluntary retirement and abdication in favor of his younger brother Ferdinand I and his son Philip II in 1556.As...
(born in GhentGhentGhent is a city and a municipality located in the Flemish region of Belgium. It is the capital and biggest city of the East Flanders province. The city started as a settlement at the confluence of the Rivers Scheldt and Lys and in the Middle Ages became one of the largest and richest cities of...
, 1500), would later rule over the combined Austrian & Spanish empires.
King Christian II of Denmark and his wife Isabella (in Denmark Elisabeth, sister to Charles V.) lived in Lier from 1523 after he had been driven out of Denmark by the nobility, in vain hoping to get military support from his brother in law. He tried to regain the throne of Denmark but was taken prisoner and spent the rest of his life detained in Sonderburg and Kalundborg castles in Denmark. Elisatbeth died in 1526.
Famous Lier people
- Anton BergmannAnton BergmannAnton Bergmann was a Belgian writer and a liberal Flemish activist. Already during his youth he was fond of Dutch literature, and together with Julius Vuylsteke, he was a member of 't zal wel gaan, a Flemish cultural and liberal organization...
, lawyer and writer - Cornelis de BieCornelis de BieCornelis de Bie was a Brabant rederijker, poet, jurist and minor politician from Lier.He is the author of about 64 works, mostly comedies...
, lawyer and writer - Jan CeulemansJan CeulemansJan Anna Gumaar Ceulemans is a Belgian former football player who played as a midfielder.He is his country's most capped player with 96 international appearances. Most of his time with Belgium took place under the guidance of Guy Thys...
, football player - Jean-Baptist DavidJean-Baptist DavidJean-Baptist David was a canon and professor Dutch and history at the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven.Jean-Baptist David was born in the Belgian city of Lier...
, canon and founder of the DavidsfondsDavidsfondsThe Davidsfonds is a Catholic organisation in Flanders, Belgium with the purpose of promoting the Flemish culture in the areas of literature, history and art.... - Patrick DewaelPatrick DewaelPatrick Yvonne Hugo Dewael, in Lier, Belgium is a liberal Belgian politician. He is a member of the Flemish Liberals and Democrats, or Vlaamse Liberalen en Democraten . He is the nephew of the late liberal minister Herman Vanderpoorten and the cousin of Marleen Vanderpoorten, who also served as...
, politician, former Minister-President of Flanders - Isidoor Opsomer, painter
- Felix TimmermansFelix TimmermansLeopold Maximiliaan Felix Timmermans is a much translated author of Flanders.Timmermans was born in the Belgian city of Lier, as the thirteenth of fourteen children in the family. He died in Lier, aged 60. He was an autodidact, and wrote plays, historical novels, religious works, and poems. His...
, Flemish writer and painter - Lodewijck Van Boeckel, ornamental smith
- Herman Van BredaHerman Van BredaHerman Leo Van Breda was a Franciscan, philosopher and founder of the Husserl archives at the Higher Institute of Philosophy of the Catholic University of Leuven in Belgium....
, founder of the Husserl archive - Herman Vanderpoorten, politician (1922–1984)
- Yanina WickmayerYanina WickmayerYanina Wickmayer is a Belgian professional tennis player who is currently ranked world no. 22 and is the second-highest ranked female Belgian tennis player. She reached her career-high ranking of world no. 12 on 19 April 2010...
, tennis player - Marc ZabeauMarc ZabeauMarc Zabeau is a Belgian scientist and businessman.- Biography :Marc Zabeau graduated in 1971 as licentiate in zoology at the University of Ghent and obtained a PhD in 1974 on the genetics of Escherichia coli in the lab of Jeff Schell....
(b. Lier, 1949), scientist and businessman. - Wim VandekeybusWim VandekeybusWim Vandekeybus is a Belgian choreographer, dancer, film director and actor. His dance company is based in Brussels, and is called Ultima Vez. He directed several shows, since his first piece in 1987, What The Body Does Not Remember...
(b. Lier, 1963) choreographer, director, film maker and founder of "Ultima Vez" http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wim_Vandekeybus