A UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Bois-du-Luc mine site is an exceptional testimony to the Industrial Era. This fully-preserved, authentic heritage offers an eloquent illustration of the impact of industrialisation on a technical, environmental, architectural and social level.
The site relates the exceptionally long story of a mining company founded in 1685, that closed its doors in 1973. The Fosse Saint-Emmanuel pit opened in the hamlet of Bois-du-Luc in 1846 and formed the hub of this remarkably well-preserved industrial and social complex. Further to the strikes of 1893, the workplace was fitted with guillotine doors that were sealed shut in case of a threat of rebellion.
Opposite the workplace lies a remarkable mining village, featuring various social, cultural, festive and religious facilities built between 1838 and 1923. Belgian's first Ecomuseum has occupied the site since 1983 in the aim of safeguarding and promoting both the tangible and intangible aspects of industrial heritage. The Bois-du-Luc mine site is one of the anchors of the international ERIH network (European Route of Industrial Heritage).
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The Church of St Donatus name refers to Donatus of Zadar, who began construction on this church in the 9th century and ended it on the northeastern part of the Roman forum. It is the largest Pre-Romanesque building in Croatia.
The beginning of the building of the church was placed to the second half of the 8th century, and it is supposed to have been completed in the 9th century. The Zadar bishop and diplomat Donat (8th and 9th centuries) is credited with the building of the church. He led the representations of the Dalmatian cities to Constantinople and Charles the Great, which is why this church bears slight resemblance to Charlemagne's court chapels, especially the one in Aachen, and also to the Basilica of San Vitale in Ravenna. It belongs to the Pre-Romanesque architectural period.
The circular church, formerly domed, is 27 m high and is characterised by simplicity and technical primitivism.