WESTERN WALLONIA 187

Château de

Seneffe 0

Rue Lucien Plasman 7–9, Seneffe;
10 km (6 miles) SE of Écaussinnes-
Lalaing. Road Map C3. Tel (064)

556913. 
        

        10am–6pm Tue–Sun. &

        
        

        0 = http://www.chateaudeseneffe.be

        
        

An elegant château, Seneffe
was built in the Neo-Classical
style during the 1760s as a
grand residence for wealthy
entrepreneur Julien Depestre.
Its interior matches the

Château-Fort

d’Écaussinnes-

Lalaing 9

Rue de Seneffe 1, Écaussinnes-
Lalaing; 6 km (4 miles) SW of
Ronquières. Road Map C3.
Tel (067) 442490. @ # Jul–Aug:
10am–noon and 2–6pm Sat–Thu;
Apr–Jun and Sep–Oct: Sat, Sun
and public holidays. & http://www.
chateaufort-ecaussinnes.be

The small, historic village of
Écaussinnes-Lalaing is domi-
nated by a gaunt and mighty
fort ress. Built during the 12th
century on a rocky spur, it
played a vital strategic role in
the Centre Region, a much-
disputed border area between
France and the Low Countries.
During World War I, it served
as a German bar racks, prison,
munitions store and infirmary.
Now restored, the echoing
interior contains period furni-
ture and armour, as well as
a dun geon, a Gothic chapel
and a 15th-century kitchen.

Charleroi’s impressive Hôtel de

Ville, dominated by its belfry

Charleroi q

25 km (16 miles) SE of Seneffe.

Road Map C3. * 201,000. k £

@ n Place Charles II; (071) 861414.

http://www.charleroi.be

As capital of the Pays Noir

(Black Country), surrounded

by coal pits and monuments

to Belgium’s age of booming

industrial growth, Charleroi is

an important city. Set on the

Sambre, it was first called

Charnoy, but when it became

a military base to fend off the

threat of Louis XIV of France

in 1666, it was renamed after

Charles II, King of Spain and

the Spanish Low Countries.

Glass has been a key industry

here since 1577, but it was

the combination of iron and

the local abundance of coal

refined exterior with parquet

floors, panelling, stucco work

and ornate mar ble fireplaces.

It is now the setting for an

important collection of gold

and silverware, within a

permanent exhibition called

The Art of Living in the 18th

Century. Outside, there is an

extensive garden and park,

with an open-air thea tre and

an orangery. During World

War II, the château was the

local head quarters and

summer residence of General

von Falkenhausen, the Nazi

military governor of occupied

Belgium. The estate subse-

quently fell into disrepair, but

then underwent a prolonged

restoration programme that

was completed in 1995.

that turned Charleroi into an

industrial powerhouse in the

19th century. The Brussels–

Charleroi canal linked the city

ultimately to the North Sea, as

did the Sambre, contributing

to its reputation as a major

centre for indus trial transport.

The main sight in the city is

the massive Hôtel de Ville and

its belfry, built in a blend of

Neo-Classical and Art Deco

styles in 1936. The stylish

int er ior includes the Musée

des Beaux-Arts, on the second

floor, which has a good collec-

tion of paintings, featuring

François-Joseph Navez (1787–

1869), pupil of Jacques-Louis

David and a leader of the

Belgian Neo-Classical move-

ment. It also includes works

by the sculptor Constantin

Meunier as well as Surrealist

artists such as René Magritte

and Paul Delvaux.

Environs

The former colliery of Le Bois

du Cazier at Marcinelle, 3 km

(2 miles) to the south, has

become an industrial heritage

centre with a Musée de Verre

(Glass Museum) and a Musée

l’Industrie, as well as a mem-

orial exhibition on a historic

mining acci dent that took

place here in 1956.

E Musée des Beaux-Arts

Hôtel de Ville, Place Charles II.

Tel (071) 861134. # 10am–6pm

Tue–Sat. & 7 http://www.charleroi-

museum.org

E Le Bois du Cazier

Rue du Cazier 80, Marcinelle. Tel

(071) 880856. # 9am–12:30pm,

1:15–5pm Tue–Fri; 10am–12:30pm,

1:15–6pm Sat & Sun. & 9 7 0

• = http://www.leboisducazier.be
  Formal lines of the elegant Neo-Classical Château de Seneffe