Things to do in Belgium

A tangle of railways ran through the Limburg coal region, transporting millions of tons of coal to ports and blast furnaces. The coal wagons have disappeared, but old stations and tracks remind us of the busy traffic of yesteryear.

After a century, a concrete gun emplacement is all that remains of "Lange Max," the Germans' giant cannon used during the First World War.

In 1916, the German army constructed a 285-metre-long viaduct in the village of Born in just eight months.

The Frontzate, the former railway line 74 connecting Diksmuide with Nieuwpoort, suddenly played a leading role as a front line during the First World War.

The park of Lede in East Flanders has been the base of the Lords of Lede since 1200. They had a spacious castle built there and were promoted in 1633 when they were given the title of marquis.

Over a century ago, in 1917, the coal mine of Winterslag was the first Kempen mine to open its gates.

On August 8, 1956, disaster struck the Bois du Cazier mine in Charleroi, Belgium. A fire broke out hundreds of meters underground, killing 262 miners.

The Argenteau-Trembleur mine in Blegny is the last bastion of the Liège coal industry. In 1980, It closed its gates for the third time permanently.

The Wielemans brothers founded a brewery on a swampy meadow in Vorst in 1879. Their barley drink was so popular that their complex spread like an oil slick.