Photos

The title is taken from Emily Dickinson's poem

°°°

Grand-Hornu is an old industrial mining complex - a remarkable reminder of the Industrial Revolution. Built between 1810 and 1830 by Henri De Gorge, a captain of industry of French origin, it is a real urban project, an example of functional town-planning unique on the European continent at the start of the great era of industrialisation.


Built in the Neo-classical style, Grand-Hornu consists of workshops, offices, a workers' estate and the administrators' residence, known as "De Gorge Castle". With their arcades, pediments and half-moon windows, the colliery workshops and offices form a majestic sight.
The site of Grand-Hornu was built around two magnificent courtyards : one is huge and ellipsoidal, and the other smaller and square-shaped. There are shops, stables, building workshops, iron and copper foundries, coke furnaces and engineers' offices, still called the "Big offices".

The De Gorge estate adjoins the industrial complex. It was the first of its sort in Europe. First a dormitory and then a residence, it accommodated workers from various regions in some 440 houses which were remarkably comfortable for the period, each with its own garden.

In 1968 a conservating committee is set up.
In 1971, The architect Henri Guchez, who is from the region, acquires Grand-Hornu and undertakes its restoration. He sets up his architecture workshops on the site.

September 2002 sees the installation on the site of MAC's (The Contemporary Arts Museum of the French Community), designed by the architect Pierre Hebbelinck and built thanks to the joint efforts of the French Community, the Walloon Region, the European Union (Objecive 1) and the Province of Hainaut.

A long story, cut short here, more to follow. In any case, a favorite place of mine, where I like to linger and visit the modern art exhibitions.

Have a happy weekend!