Liège International (1905)

Exposition Universelle et Internationale de Liège was a world's fair held in Liège from 27 April to 6 November 1905[1][2]:416 just 8 years after a Belgian exposition held in Brussels. Intended to show Liege's industrial importance it also marked 75 years of Belgian independence[1] and 40 years of Leopold II's reign.[2]:178

1905 Liège
Official Poster of the Fair
Overview
BIE-classUniversal exposition
CategoryHistorical Expo
NameExposition Universelle et Internationale de Liège
BuildingPalais des beaux-arts de Liège
Area21.08 hectares (52.1 acres)
Visitors7,000,000
Participant(s)
Countries29
Location
CountryBelgium
CityLiège
VenueParc de la Boverie
Coordinates50°37′43.98″N 5°34′32.56″E
Timeline
Opening25 April 1905 (1905-04-25)
Closure6 November 1905 (1905-11-06)
Universal expositions
PreviousLouisiana Purchase Exposition in St. Louis
NextMilan International (1906) in Milan

The exposition received 7 million visitors, covered 52 acres and made 75,117 Belgian Francs.[2]:415

Participants and exhibits
Principal façade of the Liège Universal Exposition of 1905

Twenty-nine countries were official participants, from Europe: Austria, Bulgaria, Denmark, France, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Luxembourg, Montenegro, Norway, Netherlands, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland; from Africa: Egypt and Congo Free State; from America: Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Cuba, and the United States; and from Asia China, Japan, Persia and Turkey. Germany and Spain were unofficial participants[1]

The Liège station as it appeared in 1905 following improvements for the fair

There was an exhibition of medieval and Renaissance art, L'art ancien au Pays de Liège, as part of the event.[3]

Legacy

The Palais des Beaux Arts building was left to the city, and housed the Musee d'Art Moderne et d'Art Contemporaine.[2]:179 After closing in 2013, in May 2016 it reopened, with a contemporary glass extension, as La Boverie.[4]

Music

A piece by Jean-Théodore Radoux entitled Cantate pour l'inauguration de l'Exposition universelle de Liège, 1905, with words by Jules Sauvenière, was written for the expo.

See also

References
  1. "LIEGE 1905". Retrieved 18 December 2011.
  2. John E. Findling; Kimberley D. Pelle (eds.). "Liege 1905". Encyclopedia of World's Fairs and Expositions. McFarland & Company, Inc. ISBN 978-0-7864-3416-9.
  3. Françoise Dumont, Marlène Britta, Christine Renardy, "Les arts à l'Exposition de 1905", in Liège et l'Exposition universelle de 1905 edited by Christine Renardy (Brussels, 2005), pp. 199-200.
  4. Michel Gretry (4 May 2017). "La Boverie fête son premier anniversaire sur un succès de foule". RTBF. Retrieved 24 June 2017.
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