Grand-Hornu
UNESCO World Heritage Site (2012, Major Mining Sites Of Wallonia): An Early 19th Century Coal Mining Complex And Model Workers' Town, Its Neoclassical Courtyard Now Home To A Contemporary Art Museum · Boussu, Hainaut Province
Grand-Hornu, in Hornu near Mons, is one of the most complete early coal-mining complexes of the industrial revolution in Europe. Between about 1810 and 1830 the industrialist Henri De Gorge built here not just a mine but a planned town: offices and workshops around a vast elliptical courtyard with neoclassical arches, a school, a library, and a village of several hundred brick workers' houses, many of which are still lived in. The mine closed in the mid-20th century, the site fell into ruin, and it was saved in the 1970s and 1980s. Since 2002 the old workshops have housed MAC's, the contemporary art museum of the French-speaking community of Belgium, and the CID, a centre for design exhibitions. Grand-Hornu is part of the UNESCO listing of the Major Mining Sites of Wallonia, inscribed in 2012. People come for the architecture, the social history and the art. The honest caveat: the exhibitions change, so the art inside may or may not suit you, and the town around the site is quiet and post-industrial.
Rue Sainte-Louise, Hornu (Boussu), about 12 km west of Mons, Boussu, Hainaut Province, Belgium
Grand-Hornu is usually open Tuesday to Sunday, roughly 10 am to 6 pm, and closed on Mondays, on some public holidays and between exhibitions for installation - check the current schedule, as MAC's and the CID can close for days or weeks while shows change. The last entry is usually about 30 minutes before closing. One ticket usually covers the site, MAC's and the CID (confirm); buy it at the desk or online on the site's own website. Booking ahead is rarely needed except for groups, guided tours and special events. Entry has sometimes been free on the first Sunday of the month (confirm). Getting there: SNCB trains run to Mons or Saint-Ghislain, then a TEC bus or taxi to Hornu, about 15-20 minutes; by car, it is about 10-15 minutes west of Mons off the E19/E42, with free parking on site (confirm).