The Maas or Meuse River cuts across three countries, carving a rocky valley through the dark forests of the Ardenne. Here, isolated from the bickering cities of the Lowlands and the power struggles of the Rhineland, Charlemagne founded his pan-European Empire.

The Prince-Bishops of Liege looked upon themselves as heirs to an Empire long after it had ceased to be relevant. The region would remain a state loyal to the Holy Roman Empire until its demise in 1804. Its level of independence from the Spanish Lowland territories and distance from the Imperial throne gave it a free hand in foreign affairs. Coveted by France, though, the French-speaking region relied on the emperor on more than one occasion to preserve its freedom. It would be the only part of the modern-day “Benelux” to have never been ruled by a foreign power. As a result, the region offers a unique historical legacy in its landscapes.

Under Belgian Rule, the region prospered even further as the heartland of the continental efforts to industrialize. Large deposits of coal and iron turned the city of Liege into Belgium’s economic engine. In particular, weapons became a specialty of the region, and firearms workshops from Liege and Herstal flooded Europe with guns. The legacy of this industrial might is today a region marred with a post-industrial landscape. Abandoned factories and shrinking 20th-century boomtowns sit at the edge of every urban center.