The Grand-Hornu

Le Grand-Hornu has been built between 1810 and 1830, and combines mining infrastructures with the homes of administrators and workers.

The mine buildings are arranged around an oval courtyard while the management offices are adjacent to the equipment stores and workshops.

The 400 houses for the workers were built during the same period and each has a living-room, kitchen, three bedrooms upstairs, a cellar, and a small garden in the back.

The town also had a school, public baths, a dance-hall and a library.

Restoration work began in 1971 led by the architect, Henri Guchez. Acquired by the Province of Hainaut in 1989, the site now houses the "Grand-Hornu Images" association and the Belgian French-speaking community’s museum of contemporary art (MAC's) in a new building designed by the architect, Pierre Hebbelinck.

Building listed (11-03-1993 and 22-08-2011)

Listed as an exceptional heritage site of Wallonia

World Heritage listed in 2012