Grand Est
In a border village near the German–French frontier lies a slumbering industrial giant where, since the second half of the nineteenth century, coal was extracted on a massive scale.
Coal preparation plant
After coal and other ores are brought to the surface, they are separated from rock and sorted in an above-ground washing plant. Discover some beautiful relicts of this industry in Europe.
- 6 destinations
Liège
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.
Limburg
The monumental coal preparation plant of Beringen is the showcase of the Beringen coal mine. Yet the four wings of the complex were threatened with demolition for years. However, in 2023, the be-NATURE project was given the green light.
Saarland
The Reden coal mine's coal preparation plant has partly made way for water basins that regulate the water management of the mining area.
Hainaut
The millions of euros of public money pumped into the renovation of the Binche coal preparation plant since 2008 are still not making any difference a decade later.
Saarland
At the end of the last century, coal mining in the German Saarland seemed unlimited. For example, the Göttelborn mine was expanded in 1994 with a ninety-meter-high headframe, which was then the highest in the world. Göttelborn was ready for the future.
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On the occasion of International Art Nouveau Day, celebrated each year on June 10, a look at how this ornate architectural movement found its way into the most unlikely of places like coal mines, power stations, and railway yards and the long, sometimes heartbreaking battles to save what remains.
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