In 1779, the Prince-Bishop of Velbrück founded the Société libre d’Émulation, dedicated to the cultivation of Letters, Science and the Arts. The building of the same name was destroyed by the Germans in August 1914, rebuilt in 1939, classified in 1998, and declared an endangered monument in 2000… Restored in 2013, it favors wood, concrete and glass, and today houses the Théâtre de Liège, in a space blending neoclassicism and contemporary design, theater and dance from here and elsewhere.