Where oh Where Wednesday: Verviers

On the way down to Bible camp in the Ardennes, we pass through the city of Verviers, traveling a bridge which spans the edge of the city and gives a view into the valley in which the city has spread out. Verviers is an old industrial city of Wallonia, the French-speaking area of Belgium, but it is much older than the Industrial Revolution which made it important. 

Although Roman coins have been found in the area of the city, it is known that people lived here even in pre-history. In the 7th century an abbey was Stavelot and the whole area belonged to the bishopric of Liege (which we also drive past on the way to camp). Later the area was known for its industrial activity, especially textiles. This was because the water from the high fens had a low calcium content and was perfect for washing wool. 

With the advent of the Industrial Revolution Verviers became even more important. British industrialist William Cockerill brought machines which turned Verviers, together with Bradford in England, into the “Wool Capitol of the World”. Although the wall has long gone, the water remains and Verviers is also known as the city of water (Spa water and Chaudfontaine are both in the area). 

More recently the area made the news due to the “water bomb” that hit in the summer of 2021. The heavy rain I a very short time flooded the area, wiping some parts of various villages completely away. The damage has still not been completely restored in all areas and people will for a long time remember that summer. We also remember that summer as the floods hit our Bible camp, forcing us to hold our camp weeks in other locations. 

One of the first times I visited Verviers was to visit the church there. This congregation still has a link with Freed-Hardeman University. When I talk about the Advanced Bible Study Series (ABSS) held in Germany every year, it is a program that originally began with the church in Verviers. Every once in a while we get to see members from the congregation at camp activities. When I was a young man in Haarlem, the Netherlands, I biked to camp, passing through Verviers on the long journey (my knees still remember the trip). These days we still regularly pick up kids traveling by train to camp via the train station in Verviers (see the photo).