Marcinelle (; wa, Mårcinele) is a town of

Wallonia Wallonia (; french: Wallonie ), or ; nl, Wallonië ; wa, Waloneye or officially the Walloon Region (french: link=no, Région wallonne),; nl, link=no, Waals gewest; wa, link=no, Redjon walone is one of the three regions of Belgium—alo ...

and a district of the municipality of Charleroi, located in the province of Hainaut,

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

. Until 1977, it was a municipality of its own. Home of the comics publisher

Dupuis Éditions Dupuis S.A. () is a Belgian publisher of comic albums and magazines. Based in Marcinelle near Charleroi, Dupuis was founded in 1922 by Jean Dupuis, and is mostly famous for its comic albums and magazines. It is originally a French ...

, as many popular creators of Franco-Belgian comics were based in Marcinelle the town has given name to the famous drawing style known as the

Marcinelle school The term "Marcinelle school" (french: École de Marcinelle) or "Charleroi school" (''École de Charleroi'') refers to a group of Belgian cartoonists formed by Joseph Gillain (known as Jijé) following World War II. The first generation, known as ...

. Marcinelle is also the place where

serial killer A serial killer is typically a person who murders three or more persons,A * * * * with the murders taking place over more than a month and including a significant period of time between them. While most authorities set a threshold of three ...

Marc Dutroux Marc Paul Alain Dutroux (; born 6 November 1956) is a Belgian convicted serial killer, serial rapist, and child molester. Initially convicted for the abduction and rape of five young girls in 1989, Dutroux was released on parole after just thre ...

lived, before his arrest.

History

Mining accident of Marcinelle

On the morning of August 8, 1956, a fire in the mines of Marcinelle resulted in 262 casualties. At the time of the incident, 274 people were working in the

colliery Coal mining is the process of extracting coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron from ...

''Bois du Cazier'', also known as ''Puits Saint-Charles''. A mining wagon incorrectly positioned in the elevator cage struck an oil pipe and electrical cables when the elevator started moving. This caused a fire, which trapped the miners working in the galleries below. Of the 274 people working on that morning, only twelve survived. Most of the victims were immigrants. Among the victims, there were 136 Italians, 95 Belgians, eight Poles, six Greeks, five Germans, five Frenchmen, three Hungarians, one Englishman, one Dutchman, one Russian and one Ukrainian. Rescue operations continued until August 23 when the final verdict came from the mouth of a rescuer: "Tutti cadaveri!" (''All corpses''). The incident prompted Italy to demand better working conditions for the Italian guest workers in Belgium. Belgium, however, decided to recruit foreign workers from other countries more actively. In the resulting prosecution, the trial court acquitted all of the accused on October 1, 1959. An appeal was lodged, and on January 30, 1961, the court gave the mine manager a six-month suspended jail sentence and a 2,000 Belgian franc fine (equivalent to €300 in 2006 after adjusting for inflation) and acquitted the other defendants. The catastrophe had left such a legacy behind that it was selected as the main motif for a 2006 commemorative coin: the ten-Euro 50th anniversary of the catastrophe "Bois du Cazier" at Marcinelle coin. The obverse shows a portrait of a miner, with the mine "Bois du Cazier" in the background. On September 19, 1981 a

souvenir sheet A souvenir sheet or miniature sheet is a postage stamp or a small group of postage stamps still attached to the Paper, sheet on which they were printed. They may be either regular issues that just happen to be printed in small groups (typical of m ...

was issued commemorating the 25th anniversary of the disaster, showing a scene of the disaster and a stamp of the Pieta, by Ben Genaux.

Gallery

Saint-Martin church in Marcinelle, Charleroi (DSCF7717).jpg, 12th century St. Martin's church. File:Marcinelle - avenue Meurée - résidence Albert.jpg, Meurée avenue – Résidence Albert by architect Marcel Leborgne (1938). File:Bois du Cazier 2.jpg, Ruins of ''Bois du Cazier''. File:Chassis du Bois Du Cazier Marcinelle.JPG, Headframes of the 'Bois du Cazier'

Notable inhabitants

, convicted child molester and serial killer (1956–) * Paul Pastur, lawyer and politician (1866–1938) *

Gaston Salmon Gaston Joseph Clement Marie Salmon (5 March 1878 – 30 April 1918) was a Belgian épée, foil, and sabre fencer. He was Jewish. Early and personal life Salmon was born in Marcinelle, in the city of Charleroi, in Belgium, and was Jewish, ...

(1878–1917) – épée fencer, Olympic champion

References

External links

Marcinelle through the years (French)

*

{{Authority control Sub-municipalities of Charleroi Former municipalities of Hainaut (province) History of Wallonia