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Nearby is the former brick factory Frateur. The site can only be visited with a guide, but even from the outside it reveals quite a few secrets. “In the drying sheds, for example, you can still see the little trains used to transport the clay and bricks,” points out Annik. Or the ring kiln where bricks were continuously baked.

The brick factories thrived between 1850 and 1950, but had a much longer history. “A first boost came in the thirteenth century when part of Mechelen burned down. ‘We could have prevented that if we had used roof tiles instead of straw roofs,’ was the sentiment, and so the city mandated stone roofs. The Boom roof tile is still well-known today,” explains Annik.

In the 1980s, brick production in the Rupel region came to a halt due to stricter environmental standards and alternative building materials. Now, only one brick factory is still active in the region: Wienerberger in Rumst.

GVA - Gazet van Antwerpen