Bois du Cazier

Charbonnages du Bois du Cazier

Useful Information

Location:	Rue du Cazier 80, 6001 Charleroi. Marcinelle, near Charleroi. (50.380637, 4.443045)
Open:	All year Tue-Fri 9-17, Sat-Sun 10-18. Guided Tour: 3rd Sun 15. [2023]
Fee:	Adults EUR 9, Children (7-18) EUR 5, Children (0-6) free, Students EUR 5, Senior EUR 8. Audioguide EUR 1, Guided Tour EUR 7. Groups (10+): Adults EUR 7, Children (7-18) EUR 4.50, Students EUR 4.50. [2023]
Classification:	Coal mine
Light:	Incandescent Electric Light System
Dimension:
Guided tours:	self guided. Audioguide
Photography:	allowed
Accessibility:	no
Bibliography:	Lootens, De Roeck, Urbain (2006): Tutti Cadavreri, Aden Publishers, 1 May 2006, French, EUR 22. Piotr Langer (2019): "POST-MINING REALITY” in Western Europe: Selected Collieries in Belgium and France Following Discontinuation of Coal Mining IOP Conference Series: Materials Science and Engineering. 471. 112003. researchgate DOI
Address:	Le Bois du Cazier, Rue du Cazier 80, 6001 Marcinelle-Hennegau, Tel: +32-71-880856, Fax: +32-71-880857. E-mail:
As far as we know this information was accurate when it was published (see years in brackets), but may have changed since then. Please check rates and details directly with the companies in question if you need more recent info.

History

June 1946	Italian-Belgian men for coal agreement.
08-AUG-1956	great fire claiming 262 lives.
1967	mine closed.
1990	ensemble listed.
08-MAR-2002	restored and converted into a museum, opened to the public.
2012	inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

Geology

The La Louvière Basin runs east-west, to the west the Mons Basin follows, to the east the Charleroi Basin. They are bordered by the Brabant Massif in the north and the Diannt Fold & Thrust Belt in the south. Those basins are composed of sedimentary rocks which were deposited during the Mesozoic, on the surface there are Cretaceous rocks, below Carbon sediments with coal seams. The basins are the main coal areas of Belgium.

Description

The site at Bois du Cazier is visited self-guided, and the visitor information text is available in French, Dutch, English and Italian. Actually a very good thing for foreign tourists, for people who prefer a slower visit and especially for photographers who need some time for taking pictures. The site includes the pithead, the 8th August 1956 site, the glass museum, the industry museum (with audio-guide), the forges and the green spaces. There is also a documentation centre which is open by appointment. Guided tours are offered for groups with reservation, and on the first weekend every month a single guided tour which costs extra.

After World War II, Belgium needed workers for the mines and Italy needed coal. In June 1946 the two governments signed an agreement which was called minatori-carbone or des hommes contre du charbon (men for coal). Italy agreed to send 50,000 workers to Belgium, which in return would provide coal to Italy. Post-war conditions in Italy were pretty difficult, especially in southern Italy, so soon about 2,000 Italians arrived every week after a two-day train journey, in total more than 77,000 between June 1946 and December 1947. Most of them had never seen a mine before. The workers and their families had to be housed by the mines, who often simply recycled former POW camps built by the Germans to house Russian prisoners, and later used by the Allies for German prisoners. Some of them stayed in these so-called "nissan huts" for ten years.

This exchange, while difficult for the Italians, was nevertheless a win-win situation. However, something happened here at Bois du Cazier mine which changed the situation and ended the Italian immigration into Belgium. On 08-AUG-1956 at 8:10 a wagon of coal was pushed into the lift cage at the 975 m level. It pushed out an empty wagon partly, which already had been in the cage. The lift started moving with both wagons partly in the cage. The two wagons destroyed electrical cables, oil and air pipes in the shaft while they were dragged up. The oil and the woodwork in the mine caught fire.

A fire in a mine is a difficult thing, it is even more dangerous in a coal mine. Smoke and poisonous gas spread rapidly through the galleries. The heat destroyed essential installations, especially the cable of the lift which made access for the rescue teams very difficult. The miners were trapped and died from the heat or chocked on the smoke. On the first days some workers were rescued, but only 12 miners were able to escape. 262 men died, the youngest only 14 years old. When the rescue teams finally gave up after 23 days the word spread: tutti cadaveri - all dead.

Among the victims were 136 Italian, 95 Belgians, 8 Poles, 6 Greeks, 5 Germans, 5 Frenchmen, 3 Hungarians, 1 Englishman, 1 Dutchman, 1 Russian and 1 Ukrainian. This accident had two consequences, the safety regulations were tightened, and the Italian immigration to Belgium ended. It actually had great influence on the safety regulations in mines at European level. Today there is a memorial walk with trees from the twelve countries whose miners died in the tragedy.