The coal basin of Mons once stretched from Mons to the French border, at the junction of the Paris - Amsterdam E19-E42 and Wallonia E10 - E41 motorways.

At the heart of this region, better known by the name of Borinage, lies the site of the impressive architectural development of Grand-Hornu.

Grand-Hornu was founded in 1810 by Henri De Gorge, a French industrialist, and is a unique example on the continent of functional town planning at the beginning of the great age of industrialisation.

It is a genuine town project comprising the industrial mining complex, workers housing estate and the directors' luxury residential development.

Built in the neoclassical style, this unparalleled set of buildings is now owned by the Province of Hainaut.

It achieves a synthesis between past and future, memory and a contemporary approach, by housing 2 associations :

- " Grand-Hornu Images " non-profit-making association

- the Museum of Contemporary Arts of the French Community (MAC's).