Marcinelle (; ) is a town of

Wallonia Wallonia ( ; ; or ), officially the Walloon Region ( ; ), is one of the three communities, regions and language areas of Belgium, regions of Belgium—along with Flemish Region, Flanders and Brussels. Covering the southern portion of the c ...

and a district of the municipality of

Charleroi Charleroi (, , ; ) is a city and a municipality of Wallonia, located in the province of Hainaut, Belgium. It is the largest city in both Hainaut and Wallonia. The city is situated in the valley of the Sambre, in the south-west of Belgium, not ...

, located in the

province of Hainaut A province is an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions outside Italy. The term ''provin ...

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

. Until 1977, it was a municipality of its own. The town of Marcinelle is renowned as the home of

comics a Media (communication), medium used to express ideas with images, often combined with text or other visual information. It typically the form of a sequence of Panel (comics), panels of images. Textual devices such as speech balloons, Glo ...

publisher

Dupuis Éditions Dupuis S.A. () is a Belgium, Belgian publisher of comic albums and magazines. Based in Marcinelle near Charleroi, Dupuis is mostly famous for its comic comics album, albums and magazines. Initially a French language publisher, it now ...

and as the birthplace of the celebrated Marcinelle school of Franco-Belgian comics. Many notable creators in the genre have been based in Marcinelle, lending to its reputation as a hub of comic artists. Marcinelle is also the place where

serial killer A serial killer (also called a serial murderer) is a person who murders three or more people,An offender can be anyone: * * * * * (This source only requires two people) with the killings taking place over a significant period of time in separat ...

Marc Dutroux Marc Paul Alain Dutroux (; born 6 November 1956) is a Belgian convicted serial killer, serial rape, serial rapist, and child sexual abuse, child molester. Initially convicted for the child abduction, abduction and rape of five young girls in 19 ...

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 or from a mine. 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 extra ...

''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 The Belgian franc was the currency of the Kingdom of Belgium from 1832 until 2002 when the euro was introduced. It was subdivided into 100 subunits, each known as a in Dutch, or in French and German. History The ''gulden'' (guilder) of 20 ''st ...

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 sheet on which they were printed. They may be either regular issues that just happen to be printed in small groups (typical of many ea ...

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 Marcel Leborgne (15 April 1898 – 22 January 1978) was a Belgian architect. His work is essentially modernist. His career is concentrated in the Charleroi region at the height of the Modernism, modernism movement in Belgium. Biography Born in ...

(1938). File:Bois du Cazier 2.jpg, Ruins of ''Bois du Cazier''. File:Chassis du Bois Du Cazier Marcinelle.JPG,

Headframe A headframe (gallows frame, winding tower, hoist frame,Ernst, Dr.-Ing. Richard (1989). ''Wörterbuch der Industriellen Technik'' (5th ed.). Wiesbaden: Oscar Brandstetter, 1989. pit frame, shafthead frame, headgear, headstock, poppethead) is t ...

s of the 'Bois du Cazier'

Notable inhabitants

, convicted child molester and serial killer (1956–) *

Paul Pastur Paul Pastur (7 February 1866 – 8 June 1938) was a Belgian lawyer and politician from Hainaut. He obtained a law degree of the University of Liège, and started working at the bar of Charleroi in 1893. Biography Pastur was born on 7 February 1 ...

, 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