Liège is the center of the largest Walloon agglomeration, and the cultural center of the Walloon region of Belgium. The city, with a population of about 200.000, is located at the confluence of the Ourthe and Meuse rivers.

Around 705, Saint Lambert of Maastricht is credited with completing the Christianization of the region, but conversion may still not have been quite universal, since Lambert was murdered in Liège. To enshrine his relics, the successor, Hubertus (later St. Hubert), built a basilica which became the nucleus of the city.
In 1468, following an uprising of the inhabitants against Burgundian rule, xof Burgundy had the city plundered and systematically destroyed. The few survivors who had fled into the forests—Charles the Bold allegedly had more than 5,000 inhabitants murdered—were only able to return to the city for reconstruction after seven years.

In 1789, partly in connection with the French Revolution, the Liège Revolution occurred. It was directed against the absolutist rule of the Prince-Bishop and was crushed in early 1791 by troops commissioned by the Holy Roman Empire. In 1795, Liège was occupied by French troops and became part of the First French Republic. The Congress of Vienna annexed it to the Kingdom of the Netherlands, which in 1830 became the Kingdom of Belgium, to which Liège has belonged ever since.
Bishop Ebrachar founded a collegiate here in 966 on what was then an island between two branches of the Meuse.

Construction of the present church began in 1240. The first phase included the choir, the transept, and the two bays of the eastern nave. The church was consecrated in1289. The second, High Gothic construction phase began after 1333 and included the four western bays of the nave, the side portal, the chapels of the side aisles, the polygonal apse, and finally the tower. At the beginning of the 16th century, the west portal was added next to the tower.

In 1794, during the French Revolution, the demolition of the huge St. Lambert's Cathedral began. Under the supervision of a "Commission destructive de la cathédrale". In 1803, the two towers on the facade were destroyed. By 1827, almost the entire complex had been leveled.

After the revolution subsided, the population sought a replacement and chose the Collegiate Church as the church closest to the city center. After the church was elevated to cathedral status in 1804, the tower was raised by a bell tower and a spire; The western towers of the destroyed St. Lambert's Cathedral served as a model. A comprehensive restoration in the Neo-Gothic style took place between 1850 and 1875. The choir received two additional side aisles, and the entire exterior façade was decorated with statues and ornamental elements.