Through the heart of the Borinage

Nodes 3 – 18 – 27 – 45 – 92 – 21 – 23 – 10 – 11 – 13 – 62 – 1 – 67 – 98 – 76 – 85 – 93 – 59 – 15 – 18 – 5 – (for 7 to the right) – 12 – 27 – 7 – 20 – 42 – 1 – 3
The Borinage – a region with a heavy-laden history – stretches out to the southwest of Mons. This was the cradle of European mining. In 1830, there were around 1,200 mine shafts. Thousands of workers descended into the underground daily, usually in miserable conditions. The word 'Borinage' is derived from 'borin', the nickname of the miners. Vincent van Gogh was a preacher here for a while. He wrote in a letter to his brother Theo about the misery. Even today, you can sense the hardship in the chaotically appearing villages. The slag heaps, or terrils, are scattered across the landscape, scars of the harsh mining past. Fortunately, the Borinage is greener than you think. To prevent subsidence, the terrils were actually reforested. This resulted in nature reserves with exceptional ecosystems. There are also some new, promising projects. Just think of SparkOH! (the Walloon Technopolis) or Mac’s: the Musée des Arts Contemporains in the old mining complex Grand-Hornu. So forget all your prejudices and discover a region that is undergoing a cultural and green resurgence. The railway lines over which wagons of coal used to thunder have been transformed into RAVeL’s. This route is tailor-made for people with a great love for history, industrial archaeology, culture, and surprising natural spots.