The monument is situated in the historical center of Liege, opposite the Palace of Prince-Bishops where the Russian Tsar was received in June 1717. 

Peter I’s first visit to Belgium was in April 1717 when he traveled from Holland to France. On his way back from Paris after an official visit to Liege where Peter was grandly received by the local authorities, the Tsar spent a month in Spa. The “cure” Peter received in Spa had cured him, and he expressed his gratitude to the resort for the treatment by giving the town a marble plaque with a long text in the Latin language.  It was in Spa that Peter became keen on healing waters, paving the way to the development of resort business in Russia.