Editing Huy (section)

==History==
The first village originated around the [[Ancient Rome|Roman]] ''[[castra|castrum]]'', an early fortress located on the right bank of the river [[Meuse]]. The village was [[evangelize]]d by [[Domitian of Huy|Saint Domitian]], bishop of [[Bishopric of Tongeren|Tongeren]] in the 6th century and the town is mentioned for the first time in a 7th-century testament (as ''Hoius vicus'', taking its name from the river [[Hoyoux]]).

In the [[early Middle Ages]], Huy was one of the most prosperous cities on the Meuse, with a flourishing economy based mostly on [[metallurgy]], but also on [[Tanning (leather)|tanning]], [[sculpting]], [[woodwork]]ing, and [[wine]]-making.  In the 10th century, Huy [[County of Huy|was promoted to county status]], but soon became part of the [[Prince-Bishopric of Liège]], with which it would share its history for more than eight centuries.  Huy was the recipient of the first historically known [[charter]] north of the [[Alps]], confirming it as a [[city]] in 1066.  It is around that time that [[Peter the Hermit]] harangued the locals and persuaded them to participate in the [[First Crusade]], having already participated himself in the [[People's Crusade]] and the [[Rhineland massacres]] in 1096.

In the 13th and 14th centuries, the economy boomed thanks to the cloth industry. The castle on a hill right in the middle of town, was used in times of war and strengthened accordingly. By the 15th century, it had become the symbol of the city.  The following two centuries, however, witnessed a gradual decline in the city's fortunes, due in large part to the strategic value of its location on the Meuse. In the latter part of the 17th century, [[Louis XIV]]'s wars caused the city to be repeatedly attacked and put to the sword, to the point that the frustrated inhabitants dismantled their own castle, source of their miseries, in 1715.

A new fortress was built by the [[Netherlands|Dutch]] in 1818 at the same strategic location above the town, called [[Citadel of Huy| Fort de Huy]]. The 19th century was a period of relative prosperity based on the paper and other industries. The decline of [[heavy industry]] in the 20th century was felt here, as in other parts of Wallonia. Today, the city has started to prosper again, thanks in part to its tin products and tourist activity.

In 1970, the [[Tihange Nuclear Power Station]] was built nearby.

===Folklore===
Every seven years, a religious procession takes place in the so-called 'septennial festivities' in commemoration of the end of a [[drought]] in 1656. The last one took place on 15 August 2019.