Things to do in Belgium

The "Charbonnages André Dumont-sous Asch" is the full name of the Waterschei mine—a tribute to Professor Dumont, the geologist who discovered the coal layers in As.

Ostend is a lot more than sand, sea and sun. Two wooden slipways, built in the United States and installed in 1931 in Oostend, are floating on the Oosteroever.

At the end of the 18th century, the Belgian Rupel region counted more than hundreds of brickworks. However, the rise of concrete and mechanization heralded the end of the brick industry in the 1960s.

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.