Mine relics in Charleroi

Two metal headframes in Charleroi are a last reminder of the glorious past of the Pêchon coal mine, where coal has been extracted since 1910.

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 Martinet coal mine in Charleroi is only a shadow of itself. At the beginning of the 20th century, le Martinet became a leader in the European coal mine industry.

You first have to wade through a field, sticking brambles and a tyre dump, but then you stand at one of the only concrete headframes in Charleroi: le petit Martinet.

The former grandeur of Charleroi still resonates in Art Deco buildings and modernist gems such as the colourful newspaper kiosk by architect Léon Coton.

Unlike the Belgian cities of Liège, Antwerp, Ghent or Brussels, Charleroi never hosted a World Fair. Therefore, the smaller-scale Universal Exhibition of Charleroi in 1911 was no less ambitious.

Neither the city of Charleroi nor the Walloon Region wants to release the money to maintain blast furnace 4 in Marchienne-au-Pont and preserve it for future generations.