Page 193 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Belgium & Luxembourg

WESTERN W ALL ONIA  191

9 Château-Fort ornate mar ble fireplaces. It is
d’Écaussinnes- now the setting for an important
Lalaing collection of gold and silverware,
within a permanent exhibition
Rue de Seneffe 1, Écaussinnes-Lalaing; called The Art of Living in the
6 km (4 miles) SW of Ronquières. 18th Century. Outside, there is
Road Map C3. Tel (067) 442490. @ an extensive garden and park,
Open Apr–Sep: 2–6pm Sun; group with an open-air thea tre and an
visits can be booked in advance for a orangery. During World War II,
minimum of 10 people daily Apr–Oct.
& ∑ chateaufort-ecaussinnes.be the château was the local head-
quarters of General von
The small, historic village of Falkenhausen, the Nazi military
Écaussinnes-Lalaing is dominated governor of occupied Belgium.
by a gaunt and mighty fort ress.
Built during the 12th century on Charleroi’s impressive Hôtel de Ville,
a rocky spur, it played a vital q Charleroi dominated by its belfry
strategic role in the Centre 25 km (16 miles) SE of Seneffe.
Region, a much-disputed border Road Map C3. * 210,000. k £ The main sight in the city is the
area between France and the @ n Place Charles II; (071) 861414. massive Hôtel de Ville and its
Low Countries. During World War ∑ charleroi.be belfry, built in a blend of Neo-
I, it served as a German bar racks, Classical and Art Deco styles in
prison, munitions store and As capital of the Pays Noir 1936. The stylish int er ior
infirmary. Now restored, the (Black Country), surrounded includes the Musée des Beaux-
echoing interior contains period by coal pits and monuments Arts, on the second floor, which
furniture and armour, as well as a to Belgium’s age of booming has a good collec tion of
dun geon, a Gothic chapel and a industrial growth, Charleroi is paintings, featuring François-
15th-century kitchen. an important city. Set on the Joseph Navez (1787–1869),
Sambre, it was first called pupil of Jacques Louis David
0 Château de Charnoy, but when it became and a leader of the Belgian Neo-
a military base to fend off the
Classical move ment. It also
Seneffe threat of Louis XIV of France includes works by the sculptor
in 1666, it was renamed after Constantin Meunier as well as
Rue Lucien Plasman 7–9, Seneffe; 10 Charles II, King of Spain and the Surrealist artists such as René
km (6 miles) SE of Écaussinnes-Lalaing.
Road Map C3. Tel (064) 556913. Spanish Low Countries. Glass has Magritte and Paul Delvaux.
Open 10am–6pm Tue–Sun. & 9 been a key industry here since Housed in a Neo-Gothic
7 0 = ∑ chateaudeseneffe.be 1577, but it was the combination former monastery, the Musée
of iron and the local abundance de la Photographie has a
An elegant château, Seneffe of coal that turned Charleroi into significant collection of
was built in the Neo-Classical an industrial powerhouse in the photography from the 19th
style during the 1760s as a 19th century. The Brussels– century to the present day.
grand residence for wealthy Charleroi canal linked the city
entrepreneur Julien Depestre. ultimately to the North Sea, as Environs
Its interior matches the refined did the Sambre, contributing to The former colliery of Le Bois
exterior with parquet floors, its reputation as a major centre du Cazier at Marcinelle, 3 km (2
panelling, stucco work and for indus trial transport. miles) to the south, has become
an industrial heritage centre with
a Musée de Verre (Glass Museum)
and a Musée l’Industrie.
E Musée des Beaux-Arts
Hôtel de Ville, Place Charles II. Tel (071)
861134. Open 9am–5pm Tue–Fri,
10am–6pm Sat. & 7
∑ charleroi-museum.be
E Musée de la Photographie
Avenue Paul Pastur 11.
Tel (071) 435810. Open 10am–6pm
daily. & ∑ museephoto.be
E Le Bois du Cazier
Rue du Cazier 80, Marcinelle.
Tel (071) 880856. Open 9am–5pm
Tue–Fri, 10am–6pm Sat, noon–6pm
Sun. & 9 7 0 - =
Formal lines of the elegant Neo-Classical Château de Seneffe ∑ leboisducazier.be

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