Grand-Hornu

Boussu, Belgium

Grand-Hornu is an old industrial mining complex in Hornu in the municipality of Boussu. It was built by Henri De Gorge between 1810 and 1830. It is a unique example of functional town-planning. Today it is owned by the province of Hainaut, which houses temporary exhibitions in the buildings. As one of four Major Mining Sites of Wallonia, UNESCO designated it a World Heritage Site in 2012

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Address

Rue Sainte-Louise 82, Boussu, Belgium
See all sites in Boussu

Details

Founded: 1810-1830
Category: Industrial sites in Belgium

More Information

www.grand-hornu.eu
en.wikipedia.org

Rating

4.2/5 (based on Google user reviews)

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User Reviews

Albert Zaragozá (3 years ago)
Well worth the visit. Original architecture and nice exhibitions.
Irene (3 years ago)
Nice place, really interesting
Mia Fajarani (3 years ago)
The art gallery of gran hornu has a really big place. Its like an ex of castile, the architecture are sooo nice. Its really cold when you came on auntumn outside the building. This is a great place to have an art exhibition. They have so many rooms for any kind of exhibition, like painting or instalation art. Its a good view on autumn tho
Asmayani Kusrini (3 years ago)
The best contemporary art museum in Belgium constructed from the ex-coal mine. The site and the museum is an interesting mix from historical point of view, geographical as well as from artistic choice. It's a must for people who are interested into Belgium, history and art.
Lise Galuga (4 years ago)
Interesting site. Has been converted to an art gallery with an admission fee. But you can still walk the grounds of this old mining site (although nothing of the actual mines is still visible) for free. The 2 euro audioguide is well worth the money. Loved the storytelling!
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Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

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Historic Site of the week

Glimmingehus

Glimmingehus, is the best preserved medieval stronghold in Scandinavia. It was built 1499-1506, during an era when Scania formed a vital part of Denmark, and contains many defensive arrangements of the era, such as parapets, false doors and dead-end corridors, 'murder-holes' for pouring boiling pitch over the attackers, moats, drawbridges and various other forms of death traps to surprise trespassers and protect the nobles against peasant uprisings. The lower part of the castle's stone walls are 2.4 meters (94 inches) thick and the upper part 1.8 meters (71 inches).

Construction was started in 1499 by the Danish knight Jens Holgersen Ulfstand and stone-cutter-mason and architect Adam van Düren, a North German master who also worked on Lund Cathedral. Construction was completed in 1506.

Ulfstand was a councillor, nobleman and admiral serving under John I of Denmark and many objects have been uncovered during archeological excavations that demonstrate the extravagant lifestyle of the knight's family at Glimmingehus up until Ulfstand's death in 1523. Some of the most expensive objects for sale in Europe during this period, such as Venetian glass, painted glass from the Rhine district and Spanish ceramics have been found here. Evidence of the family's wealth can also be seen inside the stone fortress, where everyday comforts for the knight's family included hot air channels in the walls and bench seats in the window recesses. Although considered comfortable for its period, it has also been argued that Glimmingehus was an expression of "Knighthood nostalgia" and not considered opulent or progressive enough even to the knight's contemporaries and especially not to later generations of the Scanian nobility. Glimmingehus is thought to have served as a residential castle for only a few generations before being transformed into a storage facility for grain.

An order from Charles XI to the administrators of the Swedish dominion of Scania in 1676 to demolish the castle, in order to ensure that it would not fall into the hands of the Danish king during the Scanian War, could not be executed. A first attempt, in which 20 Scanian farmers were ordered to assist, proved unsuccessful. An additional force of 130 men were sent to Glimmingehus to execute the order in a second attempt. However, before they could carry out the order, a Danish-Dutch naval division arrived in Ystad, and the Swedes had to abandon the demolition attempts. Throughout the 18th century the castle was used as deposit for agricultural produce and in 1924 it was donated to the Swedish state. Today it is administered by the Swedish National Heritage Board.

On site there is a museum, medieval kitchen, shop and restaurant and coffee house. During summer time there are several guided tours daily. In local folklore, the castle is described as haunted by multiple ghosts and the tradition of storytelling inspired by the castle is continued in the summer events at the castle called "Strange stories and terrifying tales".

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