Charbonnage du Hasard de Cheratte, Visé, Belgium, April 2018

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HughieD

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1. The History
The Coal mine of Hasard de Cheratte a.k.a Charbonnage du Hasard de Cheratte (or Cheratte 10) opened in 1907. Owned by the Company Société anonyme des Charbonnages du Hasard boasted four mine shafts. Located in Cheratte, a part of the Belgian town of Visé located in the Walloon Region in the province of Liège. Mining had already been previously taking place on this site as the first well was dug in 1850 to a depth of 250 meters to extract dice coal. The shaft eventually passed the depth of water table of the nearby river, causing it to flood persistently. Pumps attached to steam engines were installed to keep the lower sections productive, but less than a year later, in 1877, the flooding caused a major tunnel collapse, trapping and drowning the workers in that section

It re-opened thirty years later in 1907 when engineers noticed that the thiny coal was located deeply so first mine was dug again and reaching a depth of 420 meters. It led to the construction of the first ever headframe in Belgium which was fitted with an extraction machine and several motors working with direct current. For some reason they built the tower and support structures in a medieval influenced neo-gothic style. Soon a washhouse followed in 1920, built by Beer de Jemeppe along with a second extraction mine with a metallic tower. In 1927, the Belle-Fleur mine was equipped by a little tower made of reinforced concrete and a low-power winch to bring the tailings back to the surface. A third mine and a headframe were built between 1927 and 1947. By 1938 the mine had reached a depth of 313 metres but it only became operational in 1953. This was then extended to a depth of 480 metres. The extraction machine at its top could no longer cope so the mine’s engineer decided to install a machine on the floor, and to improve it. Archive picture of the mine in its heyday:

27526296158_f2ca2c76a3_b.jpgCherrate old 01 by HughieDW, on Flickr

Subsequently the No. 1 mine stopped the extraction and was utilised as a rescue mine and its additional building converted to showers and cloakrooms. Shortly after No. 2 mine was sealed off. At its peak in the 1930s the site employed 1,500 miners which had fell to 600 when the mine finally closed on October 31, 1977. After its closure the site was purchased cheaply by Mr Armand Lowie, a Flemish real-estate developer who decided to dismantle it. However, several decrees were published to protect the site in 1978, 1982 and 1992.

In the early twenty-first century, the mine has gained some notoriety as an urban ruin and a mecca for urban explorers. Remediation of the site and the demolition of several buildings started in 2017 with the demolition of newer third mine headframe and associated buildings.

2. The Explore
This place has always fascinated me so with it being just over half an hour’s drive from where we were staying was always going to be a target. I knew that there had been some demo work on the newer part of the mine but didn’t no what to expect. On arrival the front of the site was very exposed and a new wire fence had been added. But as with most places it’s a question of going around the back. So, a few wall-hops later and the negotiation of a steep bank I was in. The place didn’t disappoint. The architecture, the views and the sheer site of the place cannot fail to impress. Overall this was the favourite place on my Wallonian tour.

3. The Pictures

The first thing of interest I came over:

40651621634_8ec0f883ab_b.jpgimg6047 by HughieDW, on Flickr

From the side it looks a bit like a church:

41363056121_2aeb702bd0_b.jpgCharbonneres 09 by HughieDW, on Flickr

Let’s start here:

40467652755_1bcfd5f5a6_b.jpgCharbonneres 01 by HughieDW, on Flickr

39555765400_bed341d894_b.jpgimg6097 by HughieDW, on Flickr

27494189198_17f4823d41_b.jpgimg6139 by HughieDW, on Flickr

40649262054_b40d9442f3_b.jpgCharbonneres 02 by HughieDW, on Flickr

Former shower rooms:

40649263404_9638bbf364_b.jpgCharbonneres 03 by HughieDW, on Flickr

40649265584_afda52eb09_b.jpgCharbonneres 05 by HughieDW, on Flickr

40470151625_c0a0f90575_b.jpgimg6087 by HughieDW, on Flickr

40470148275_e7d4548572_b.jpgimg6085 by HughieDW, on Flickr

41365434991_c12b3c6e77_b.jpgimg6073 by HughieDW, on Flickr

Odd bits of graff here and there:

39555767960_b70b20f274_b.jpgimg6098 by HughieDW, on Flickr

40470160295_acd70280bf_b.jpgimg6090 by HughieDW, on Flickr

Looking up to Tower No.1:

40649264624_23c1993672_b.jpgCharbonneres 04 by HughieDW, on Flickr

Some view down:

39555789860_02dfcf5084_b.jpgimg6111 by HughieDW, on Flickr

40470164735_0a9c247e7b_b.jpgimg6092 by HughieDW, on Flickr

and across…

40470145225_c88ba573bc_b.jpgimg6081 by HughieDW, on Flickr

And on up to the top of tower No.1:

39555785150_30bb5c9c95_b.jpgimg6110 by HughieDW, on Flickr

39555775920_df82496d3e_b.jpgimg6105 by HughieDW, on Flickr

39555771410_6e14389db4_b.jpgimg6100 by HughieDW, on Flickr

Some serious winding gear:

40649266544_6f2b785036_b.jpgCharbonneres 06 by HughieDW, on Flickr

More of the winding gear at the top of No.1 Shaft:

41363052541_62c9072a31_b.jpgCharbonneres 07 by HughieDW, on Flickr

39555794550_3940b1f85f_b.jpgimg6113 by HughieDW, on Flickr

Looking back at the site:

27494175668_169769ce52_b.jpgimg6129bw by HughieDW, on Flickr

27494159188_7263a87def_b.jpgimg6120bw by HughieDW, on Flickr

Tower detail:

27494169308_ea37a39d91_b.jpgimg6128 by HughieDW, on Flickr

41365530021_bffc96e4f8_b.jpgimg6131 by HughieDW, on Flickr

Connecting bridge over the road:

41322223662_197b2b2862_b.jpgimg6124 by HughieDW, on Flickr
 
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Very good photographs. I've seen this place on a few other Euro urbex websites, the building is stunning and gives the photographer an opportunity to be creative.
 
wow, what an awesome place
Always surprises me to see a building like this in this condition

Excellent work Hughie
 
Stunning! Great photos.

Good stuff!

Cheers both. Much appreciated.

Love this place, the way it's perched on a hill overlooking the village. Great pics man

Yeah. When you visit it you get a real sense of that. And that bank is damn steep!

wow, what an awesome place
Always surprises me to see a building like this in this condition

Excellent work Hughie

Cheers Mr Wombat. Hopefully they'll save it. Would make a great museum.
 

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