200 Years of the University of Liège

The emblem of the University of Liège with the dates 1817–2017, surrounded by the inscription '200 ANS UNIVERSITÉ DE LIÈGE – 200 YEARS UNIVERSITY OF LIEGE' and the country code BE. The Brussels mint mark, the helmeted head of Archangel Michael, and the mint directors' mark (the arms of Herzele) are placed to the right and left of the country code respectively.

The University of Liège was founded in 1817 on the initiative of King William I of the Netherlands - at a time when Belgium was still part of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands. It was established as a state institution tasked with supplying the industrially rising Meuse region with trained engineers, physicians and lawyers. Liège was at the time one of the most important industrial cities in continental Europe, shaped by coal mining, metalworking and early mechanical engineering. The university quickly developed into a centre for applied science and technology and played a key role in the economic development of Wallonia in the 19th century.

Today, the Université de Liège is among the largest and most research-intensive universities in Belgium, with around 25,000 students. Its academic scope is broad, ranging from engineering and aerospace technology to human medicine, law and the humanities. It is internationally renowned, among other things, for its space research - the Centre Spatial de Liège is one of the most respected institutions in Europe for developing and testing space instruments. Belgium honoured the university's 200th anniversary in 2017 with a 2-euro commemorative coin.