Le Grand Hornu
Le Grand Hornu is a district with a monument ensemble of a former industrial settlement, eight kilometers west-southwest of the city center of Mons in Hainaut in Belgium . It was built between 1820 and 1830 according to plans by Bruno Renard (1781–1861) for the mine owner Henri de Gorge (1774–1832).
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history
From 1778 coal was mined on Grand-Hornu. In 1810 Henri De Gorge (1774–1832) bought the colliery from the founder's widow, Charles Sébastien Godonnesche. Between 1810 and 1830 the Grand-Hornu complex was built according to plans by the architect Bruno Renard (1781–1861). It is a model of functional urban planning in the industrial age and includes a former workers' settlement (425 houses in a garden city), offices, shops, hay barns, stable buildings, workshops, a former sugar factory and warehouse, as well as the Château Bossu, the manor house of the Gorge family. Initially, the colliery settlement and colliery also included a school, a hospital, public spaces, a library and a ballroom.
The center of the facility is a monumental oval brick complex that originally housed the mine administration (including the engineers' offices), a machine hall and horse stables. The architecture of the facility, which is reminiscent of a Roman arena, is characterized by neoclassical elements.
From 1951 the colliery had to reduce its production due to European treaties ( European Coal and Steel Community ), in 1954 it was shut down. In view of the increasing deterioration of the buildings, a royal decree in 1969 decided to demolish them. The purchase of the complex by the architect Henri A. Guchez in 1971 ensured the continued existence of the complex and renovation work began. From 1984 onwards, the VoG Grand-Hornu Image was involved in the plant. In 2014, the organization was renamed CID - Center d'innovation et de desigen au Grand-Hornu. CID is the sponsor of the design museum of the same name.
In 1989 the site was acquired by the Belgian province of Hainaut . The renovation work continued. By decision of the Walloon Region (1991), a museum for contemporary art was established on Grand-Hornu (Musée des Arts Contemporains de la Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles, MAC), which opened in 2002. Here, as in the exhibition rooms for contemporary design, CID, there are regular changing exhibitions. There is also a restaurant and a café.
In 1993, Grand-Hornu was declared a Walloon Cultural Heritage, and on July 1, 2012, Grand-Hornu was recognized by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site .
- Le Grand-Hornu
Henri De Gorge statue
Basic plan
literature
- Yves Robert: Le Complexe industriel du Grand-Hornu, éd. Scala, Paris, 2002, 86 p. ISBN 2-86656-305-0
- Hubert Watelet: Le Grand-Hornu, Joyau de la révolutionindustrie et du Borinage, éd. Lebeer-Hossmann, 2e éd. 1993
Web links
- Description (German)
- Belgium tourism [1]
- Museum of Contemporary Art [2]
- Design Museum CID [3]
Blegny mine | Bois du Cazier | Bois-du-Luc | Grand Hornu
Coordinates: 50 ° 26 ′ 7 ″ N , 3 ° 50 ′ 22 ″ E