Visit Major Mining Sites of Wallonia, Belgium (UNESCO site)

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There are no working coal mines at one of the newest UNESCO World Heritage Sites at Wallonia, Belgium. Instead, early examples of utopian architecture attract visitors to the 4 sites spread over a 170 kilometer (107 mile) strip of land. The sites provide a consolidated window into all aspects of the mining culture that spanned the 19th and 20th centuries including worker migration, idea and technology exchange, architectural achievements and landscaping. The Grand Hornu coal mine and associated structures along with a worker’s city is perceived as a wonderful example of early town planning. The Bois-du-Luc, Bois du Cazier and Blegny-Mine sites along with Grand Hornu are found in the predominantly French speaking Wallonia region of southern Belgium; some sites are within an hour’s drive of Brussels Exploiting the “coal seam” located between Nord-Pas de Calais in France and the Aix-la-Chapelle Basin, the four sites present a scaled version representative of the Industrial Revolution exemplifying all the different stages of technological and social development. The Blegny-Mine and Bois du Cazier sites exemplify the work element while the Grand Hornu and Bois-du-Luc sites presents the social element through their architecture including the relationships of hierarchy and social organization through the creation of workers’ villages preserved as ecomuseums. Harsh and dangerous working conditions are illustrated at Bois du Cazier, the site of a terrible mining disaster in August, 1956 claiming more than 250 lives. The development of the coal fields gave rise to a number of cities thriving in the Wallonia region today with widely diverse characteristics. Your dream trip to Belgium can be made even more memorable by including See the Major Mining Sites of Wallonia on your itinerary. Add it to your list and spend some time investigating the aspects of these important sites paying homage to the industrial revolution.

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