At the time of the Industrial Revolution, Liege flourished as a center of steel industry, along with Charleroi. Steel continues to play an important role in its industrial profile today, and so do chemicals, textiles and paper. South-east of the city, by the university, there is a 'science park' housing high-tech industries, including space industry. Liege is also a major river port. A canal links the city with Antwerp.

Liege was first mentioned in writing in 558. About 705 St. Lambert was murdered at Liege, and St. Hubert built a basilica to hold his relics. Throughout the Middle Ages, the city flourished as a cultural, intellectual and religious center. In the 15th Century it came under Habsburg rule, then under Spanish sovereignty, but always preserved a degree of independence. In 1815 the Congress of Vienna awarded Liege to the Kingdom of the Netherlands but just 15 years later, in 1830, the Belgian Revolution broke out and the city became part of independent Belgium. It developed quickly as a major industrial city.

At the end of the 19th Century, the city's fortifications were reconstructed and the city put up brave resistance to the German troops on their way to France in 1914. The disastrous bombardment by the Big Bertha cannons forced the defenders to surrender. Liege managed, however, to delay the passage of the German army through the Meuse Valley. A second German occupation took place in 1940, and the city again suffered heavy bombardment. The post-war period saw a collapse of the steel industry and large-scale unemployment. Only with the establishment of the European Union did economic recovery set in.