Palais des princes-évêques de Liège

The Prince-Bishops Palace of Liège or Episcopal Palace of Liège is located on Place Saint-Lambert in the center of Liège. A first palace, integrated into the fortifications, was built around the year 1000 by Prince-Bishop Notger and disappeared in a fire in 1185. The palace was rebuilt under Raoul de Zähringen.

The second building, which was severely damaged after the plunder of 1468 by the Burgunds, suffered the same fate in 1505. The current palace, now the courthouse of Liège, was rebuilt in the 16th century at the initiative of Cardinal Érard de La Marck, on the site of an old building destroyed during the sack of Charles the Bold. In 1526 he entrusted the construction of a new palace to the master builder Arnold van Mulken. Construction was completed at the end of the 16th century.

In 1849, a new west wing was built in neo-Gothic style by architect Jean-Charles Delsaux for the services of the provincial government. The palace will be used as a Kommandantur by the German occupiers during the First and Second World Wars.

In the 21st century, the building was occupied by both the provincial services and the Palace of Justice. The large courtyard is surrounded by galleries with raised arches with both massive and elegant columns with richly decorated capitals. The variety of decorations on the columns is extraordinary. The second courtyard accessible through the palace is more intimate. It is also closed to the public except on rare occasions such as Heritage Days. The palace was proposed as a World Heritage Site in 2008 and is on UNESCO's 'indicative list' in the cultural heritage category.