Seraing is a Walloon municipality of Belgium in Liège Province. The municipality of Seraing includes the old communes of Boncelles, Jemeppe-sur-Meuse, and Ougrée. With Liège, Herstal, Saint-Nicolas, Ans, and Flémalle, it forms the greater Liège agglomeration (600,000 inhabitants).

In addition to its steel factories, Seraing is home to the crystal manufacture Val Saint Lambert, which has been operating on the site of an old Cistercian abbey since 1826. The site of the Arcelor steel company, previously known as Cockerill-Sambre, is the former summer residence for the Prince-Bishopric of Liège.

Sights

• The Val Saint Lambert site includes the old Val-Saint-Lambert Abbey and the crystal manufacture, where glass workers still blow, carve, and etch the world-famous pieces of art. The neighbouring castle houses a glass museum.
• The Cockerill castle used to be the summer residence of the prince-bishops of Liège, then a hospital under Napoleon, a powder magazine, and the personal property of William I of the Netherlands, who ceded it to the Cockerill family in 1817.
• Besides the Cockerill castle, the historic centre of the city also includes the city hall and the main church, which harbours 12th-century baptismal fonts.
• The forested region south of Seraing offers a multitude of strolls and hikes.

Folklore

• According to an old local legend, witches (Walloon: macrales) abound in the Seraing area. The macrales have been resurrected in the year 2000 and are now a regular staple of the local folklore.
• Like many other towns in Wallonia, Seraing has its own giant puppet: Li Rayeû d’class.
• Seraing also counts a number of colourful associations, including a coopers’ brotherhood, whose goal is to revive the wineries of the Val Saint Lambert abbey, and the “Gay Boulet” brotherhood, whose mission is to popularize Boulets à la Liégeoise, a local recipe.