As early as the 16th century, the monks of Val-Dieu Abbey mined Liège's black gold here. In 1779, industrial production reached cruising speed in Blegny, northeast of Liège.

Marie shaft

The buildings above the Marie pit, the excavation of which began in 1849, are among the oldest mining buildings in the country. They house two steam engines.

30 years of silence

In 1887, Argenteau-Trembleur closed its doors for the first time due to liquidity problems. No coal was extracted for more than three decades. It was not until 1919 that coal mining resumed. Pit I was excavated and a concrete headframe was erected on top of it.

Coal washing plant

After the war, reconstruction took place and the brick coal preparation plant was built. Marie served as an air extraction shaft and for passenger transport from then on.

Terril

The Blegny mine lays in the shadow of the 55-meter-high slag heap. The inclined plane along which the rubble was removed from the mine is on the flank of this slag heap.

Discontinuation

After more than 400 years, on March 31, 1980, coal mining stopped and Argenteau-Trembleur closed its doors for good this time. It was the very last active mine in the Liège coal basin.

Already two months after the closure, the first visitors descend into the mine. Blegny, together with le Grand-Hornu, Bois-du-Luc, and Bois du Cazier, became a tourist center recognized as a World Heritage Site in 2012.

Mining Museum

You can descend into the mine, climb the slag heap and visit the Mining Museum where you will discover the story of Belgian coal mining.

Traces of the Kempen mines are also found in Blegny. Trains transporting the crews and materials underground are now set up in Blegny.