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 Château du Lude is one of the many great châteaux of the Loire Valley in France. Le Lude is the most northerly château of the Loire Valley and one of the last important historic castles in France, still inhabited by the same family for the last 260 years. The château is testimony to four centuries of French architecture, as a stronghold transformed into an elegant house during the Renaissance and the 18th century. The monument is located in the valley of Le Loir. Its gardens have evolved throughout the centuries.
