The major mining sites

Form a set of four mining sites inscribed on UNESCO's World Heritage List. These are the Grand-Hornu, Bois-du-Luc, Bois du Cazier and Blegny-Mine.

These four sites exploit the coal field that runs from Nord-Pas-de-Calais to the Aix-la-Chapelle basin. They condense all aspects of mining, technical and social heritage on a small space. They complement each other. Grand-Hornu and Bois-du-Luc form the social component, Bois du Cazier and Blegny-Mine form the work and workers part, illustrating through architecture the relations of power and social organization.

The Grand-Hornu

Is a former coal-mining industrial complex, part of the former municipality of Hornu, located in the Borinage region, about ten kilometers west of the center of Mons, in Hainaut in Belgium. This site is part of the major heritage of Wallonia.in neo-classical style, it is today one of the most beautiful architectural testimonies of the industrial era and includes one of the oldest working-class cities in the world.

Bois-du-Luc

It is one of the oldest coal mines in Belgium located in Houdeng-Aimeries and whose activity ceased in 1973. The working city was built between 1838 and 1853.the site has undergone a rehabilitation and cultural enhancement.

Bois du Cazier

Is an old coal mine located in Marcinelle in Belgium.on 8 August 1956, a fire killed 262 people there.

The disaster of August 8, 1956

On 8 August 1956, the coal mining was the scene of the largest mining catastrophe in Belgium caused by a fire, with 262 victims (136 Italians, 95 Belgians, 8 Poles, 6 Greeks, 5 Germans, 3 Hungarians, 3 Algerians, French, British, Dutch, Russian and Ukrainian) out of the 274 men in the mine.

The drama has a considerable impact in particular for the Italian community: Calabrian minors were often hired by entire villages and widows are thus numerous in certain regions of southern Italy.it is however the region of Abruzzo that will be the most heavily bereaved and especially Manoppello, with 22 victims for this village alone.

The well of Saint-Charles of the SA of Charbonnages du Bois du Cazier was a concession of more than 875 hectares under Marcinelle, Couillet, Loverval and Gerpinnes.the company then occupied 700 ground and surface workers, the coal mining being divided into three daily breaks.

At the time, Italy exchanged labor for coal.in 1956, out of a total of 142,000 miners, 44,000 Italians work in the mines of Belgium, constituting more than 30% of the miners of the country and more than 50% of those of the region of Charleroi.
At present, the mine is a museum devoted to the catastrophe, as well as to the history of the region through the Industrial Revolution and the coal mines in general.

Blegny-Mine

Is an old coal mine located in Trembleur in the northeast of the city of Liège, Belgium.
This coal mining was the last of the basin of Liège, it stopped its commercial and industrial activities in 1980 and then open itself to the public as tourist space.this coal mining consisted of two wells to ensure the ventilation of the galleries which were here on 8 floors going down to the depth of 530 m.

A visit to the mine is possible with an exploration of the galleries at -30 and -60 meters. The guides are in part former miners of the site who form the new guides.the descent and the ascent are carried out by the elevator always according to tower no. 1, and concludes with a tour of the sorting facilities of the wash house.

(Pictures source)