Hainaut

Trucks and cars rush over the Estaimpuis bridge towards Kortrijk or Tournai. But under the bridge, you will only find a traffic-free meadow.

The Borinage must once have had the densest railway network in the world, and that was due to the large concentration of coal mines in the region.

European heritage organization Europa Nostra has added the ruins of Charles of Lorraine's Palace in Mariemont to its shortlist of most endangered monuments in 2023.

The former Morlanwelz orphanage is only a shadow of its former self. However, in the early twentieth century, it was the social showcase of the liberal philanthropist Raoul Warocqué.

Half a century ago, the Belgian Ministry of Public Works rolled up its sleeves to build an industrial road between a factory and a nearby freight station in Hainaut.

The concrete remains of the Cimenteries Alexandre Dapsens are perhaps the oldest witnesses to the technique of prestressed concrete in Belgium.

Dozens of historic lime kilns stretch along the banks of the Scheldt between Antoing and Tournai. They evoke the heyday of the cement industry in the region.

The ten-kilometre-long railway line 102 cut through the Borinage and connected several coal mines between Saint-Ghislain and Frameries.