Hubert le Theatre invandrade till Norrköping från Liège 1630.

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Hubert le Theatre was a melter by trade and he emigrated to Sweden from Liège in Belgium in 1630. He was a "vallon" and was called upon by the Swedish king (as were many other vallons- to help out with the manufacturing of iron in Sweden, The vallons were very skilful at the trade.

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Immigrated to Sweden from Liège in Belgium (then France). He was a WALLOON. His occupation was melter. He first came to the city of Norrköping, province of Östergötland, Sweden in 1630.

Walloon identity

The heartland of Walloon culture is the Meuse Valley, Dinant, Namur (the regional capital), Huy and Liège. Its Walloon language could be considered as an element of Walloon identity. However, not the entire French-speaking population of Wallonia can be culturally considered as Walloons, since a significant portion in the west (around Tournai and Mons) and smaller portions in the extreme south (around Arlon) belong to other languages (namely Picard, Champenois, Luxembourgish, and Lorrain) as mother tongues. Furthermore, Walloon and those other languages are mostly spoken by elderly people nowadays, and all of them can speak French as well or better. The younger can usually understand only bits and pieces of their ancestors' language. On the other hand, Givet commune, several villages in Ardennes département in France and a few villages in Luxembourg are historically Walloon-speaking.

The Walloon Region institutionally comprises also the German-speaking community of Belgium around Eupen, in the east of the region, next to Germany which ceded the area to Belgium after the First World War. Many of the about 60,000 inhabitants of this very small community fiercely reject being considered as Walloon and – with their community executive leader Karl-Heinz Lambertz – demand separation from Wallonia and recognition as a separate region in Belgium.

In the 13th century, the German medieval colonisation of Transylvania (central and North-Western Romania) comprised also considerable numbers of Wallons. Almost 10% of the Romanian Germans are of Wallon descent. At their height, the German minority of Transsylvania accounted over 10% of the area's population. Actually, there are abb. 700.000 Transylvanian Germans and descendants all over the World, especially in Germany. Only 39.000 of them are still living in Transylvania (as 2007). Place names like "Wallendorf" (Wallon Village) and family names as "Valendorfean" ("Wallon peasant") can be found among the Romanian citizens of Transylvania.

Starting from 1620s, a considerable number of Walloon miners and their families had settled in SWEDEN They were originally led by entrepreneur Louis de Geer who commissioned them to work in the iron mines of Uppland and Östergötland. The wave of migration continued substantially into 18th century. Walloons became gradually integrated into Swedish society. However, Walloon ancestry is still traceable through Walloon surnames and people of Walloon descent are organised in Sällskapet Vallonättlingar (Society of Walloon Descendants).