Industrial Heritage

A more than 100-year-old port crane waltzed around Antwerp's port docks until early this century.

At barely 25, Jules de Hemptinne stood at the cradle of a cotton spinning and weaving mill on the Kolveniersgang.

An offshoot of the South Limburg coal vein extends far beyond the German border. That explains why you can also find coal mines north of Aachen.

At the edge of a flooded clay pit, a rusting clay dredger recalls the mechanical mining of clay for the brick industry.

On 31 December 1974, the miners of the Oranje-Nassau I in Heerlen mined the last lump of Dutch coal, half a century ago.

Antwerp has been connected to the Netherlands by rail since 1854. In the early days, trains wriggled through the city centre at street level, which was not ideal. Indeed, steam locomotives caused a lot of noise and odour during their passage.

The Wiedauwkaai bridge over the canal-Terneuzen is a swing bridge that allows passenger traffic over the railway line between Ghent and Eeklo and goods transport towards the Kluizendok.

The invention of the Bessemer process in 1856 made large-scale steel production possible, heralding the start of the Second Industrial Revolution.
 

You will find relics of the former railway yard Spoor Oost along the ring track around Antwerp.

In 1951, the Hydraulic Laboratory De Voorst settled in the Dutch Noordoostpolder. There, scientists had a constant supply and drainage of water to test out scale models for hydraulic works.