Engis
Encyclopedia
Engis is a Walloon municipality
located in the Belgian
province of Liège
. On January 1, 2006 Engis had a total population of 5,686. The total area is 27.74 km² which gives a population density
of 205 inhabitants per km².
It is in this village that in 1829 the first Neanderthal
er skulls were discovered by Philippe-Charles Schmerling
, prior to the official discovery in the Neander Valley
in 1856.
In late 1930 and early 1931, several thousand cases of acute pulmonary attacks occurred in the Meuse valley, centered on Engis, and 60 people died. A commission of inquiry set up by the Belgain government concluded that the cause was poisonous waste gases, primarily sulfur dioxide, emitted by the many factories in the valley and the furnaces used by the population, in conjunction with unusual climatic conditions coupled with the unique topographic characteristics of the area. Others have claimed that the deaths were the result acute fluorine intoxication.
Municipality
A municipality is essentially an urban administrative division having corporate status and usually powers of self-government. It can also be used to mean the governing body of a municipality. A municipality is a general-purpose administrative subdivision, as opposed to a special-purpose district...
located in the Belgian
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
province of Liège
Liège (province)
Liège is the easternmost province of Belgium and belongs to the Walloon Region. It is an area of French and German ethnicity. It borders on the Netherlands, Germany, Luxembourg, and in Belgium the provinces of Luxembourg, Namur, Walloon Brabant , and those of Flemish Brabant and Limburg . Its...
. On January 1, 2006 Engis had a total population of 5,686. The total area is 27.74 km² which gives a population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...
of 205 inhabitants per km².
It is in this village that in 1829 the first Neanderthal
Neanderthal
The Neanderthal is an extinct member of the Homo genus known from Pleistocene specimens found in Europe and parts of western and central Asia...
er skulls were discovered by Philippe-Charles Schmerling
Philippe-Charles Schmerling
Philippe-Charles Schmerling is a Belgian prehistorian, pioneer in paleontology, paleoanthropology, paleopathology and geologist. He is often considered the founder of paleontology....
, prior to the official discovery in the Neander Valley
Neanderthal, Germany
The Neandertal is a small valley of the river Düssel in the German Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia, located about east of Düsseldorf, the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia. The valley belongs to the area of the towns Erkrath and Mettmann...
in 1856.
In late 1930 and early 1931, several thousand cases of acute pulmonary attacks occurred in the Meuse valley, centered on Engis, and 60 people died. A commission of inquiry set up by the Belgain government concluded that the cause was poisonous waste gases, primarily sulfur dioxide, emitted by the many factories in the valley and the furnaces used by the population, in conjunction with unusual climatic conditions coupled with the unique topographic characteristics of the area. Others have claimed that the deaths were the result acute fluorine intoxication.