New Urban Relics
februari 13, 2026
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Shortly after the mine closed in 1977, the site was purchased for a pittance by the Flemish industrialist Armand Lowie. He began dismantling the old coal mine almost immediately. Some of the old mining machines thus disappeared irrevocably into the scrap heap... Fortunately, the Walloon government intervened quickly and protected a number of the buildings and their contents. This sparked a polemic between the new owner and the Walloon government that dragged on for almost thirty years. From that moment on, absolutely nothing moved on the site. No more demolition work, but also not a single attempt at reconversion or restoration of the remaining buildings. Only dilapidation and decay...
In early 2012, Armand Lowie passed away unexpectedly, and following expropriation, Hasard Cheratte returned to government ownership. Barely a year later, a remediation plan was on the table, in which the buildings, now protected, would be preserved and the rest demolished. From 2017—approximately a year after my first visit—the remediation works commenced, starting with the removal of asbestos and the demolition of the extraction tower of shaft No. 3. Scaffolding was erected around the listed buildings of shaft No. 1, indicating that the restoration work was being taken seriously.
Just as suddenly as they began, the restoration work came to an end. The scaffolding disappeared, as did all activity on the site. At the time of my second visit, there was little to no indication of a new life for the beautiful mining site...
My (first) take on this coal mine, abandoned since 1977. The Hasard Coal Mine (French: Charbonnage du Hasard de Cheratte) needs little introduction. There are not many urbex locations that have their own Wikipedia page, but this is one of them. It is the main mining site of the 'Société anonyme des Charbonnages du Hasard'. It comprised four shafts and is named after the eponymous district of the city of Visé in Liège, where it is located.
Operation of the mine site began around 1850. Following an accident in 1877 caused by a flood, the mine closed, only to reopen thirty years later, in 1907. It would remain in operation from then until 1977.
After the closure, several parts of the mine, including the coal washing plant, were demolished. Fortunately, it was soon realized that the unique architecture, particularly the Neo-medieval architecture of the buildings around Shaft 1, was worth preserving. Shaft 1 was classified as a monument and came into the hands of another owner, who wanted to preserve the mine as completely as possible. However, he passed away before he could realize his plans, after which the mine came into the hands of the municipality. Remediation of the site and the demolition of a number of buildings began in February 2017. Only Shaft 1, with all the buildings connected to it, and the passerelle over the road, will be spared and restored.
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