Houthalen-Helchteren colliery

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Talk about a facelift! The current administration center is situated at the former Houthalen mining site. A fine example of modern architecture that immediately catches the eye.

Present and past

Houthalen’s mining past is still clearly present. You cannot ignore the two large mine shafts. The mine site’s main building now does service as the GreenVille museum, where you can see lots of equipment from the mining era. Yet this is also a place where the future is not forgotten. GreenVille brings together people with knowledge and experience of the green economy.

Greenville, cleantech dienstencentrum - Voorgevel Greenville

Greenville

HOUTHALEN-HELCHTEREN
The former main building of the Kempen coal mines in Houthalen-Helchteren has been transformed into a cleantech service center for sustainable energy.
Visitors can learn about Limburg's mining past and future in the fields of energy and materials.
TiKB/mijnschool - 1

TiKB

HOUTHALEN-HELCHTEREN
Originally, it was intended as a training school for young miners.
Today it is a service centre, which houses the Centre for Adult Education, among other things.
Nieuw Administratief Centrum (NAC) - NAC

NAC (New Administration Center)

HOUTHALEN-HELCHTEREN

In Houthalen-Helchteren the past goes hand in hand with the future. As symbols of two major periods, they stand out over our community: the pit heads and the New Administrative Centre (NAC), which has even made it onto the list of ‘100 places in the world that you just have to see’.

This futuristic and at the same time sober, ecological and extremely functional building is located on the old mining site and houses among others the municipal services, the OCMW (Social Service Department), the library, VVV-Toerisme and the police. The observation point on the roof of the building's blue tower, an artistic spot with an extensive view over this community and the region, is called ‘het Oog van Daubechies’ ('the eye of Daubechies').

This tower is named after a resident of Houthalen-Helchteren: Ingrid Daubechies. In the stairway enclosure you will find more information on her brilliant and famed mathematical formulas.
Mijnmonument Schachtbokwiel - 1

mining memorial

HOUTHALEN-HELCHTEREN
Artwork in honor of the community's miners.
With this work of art, the municipality wishes to pay a fitting tribute to the mining past.
Directeurswoning - Directeurswoning

The director's residence

HOUTHALEN-HELCHTEREN
The director's residence is the largest villa in the Meulenberg district and was built by mine director Achille Ampe. Not so much as a prestige project but rather for practical reasons. After all, he had no fewer than 12 children! The house is surrounded by a huge garden. At the beginning of 1941, the director's house was move-in ready and the director was able to settle there permanently with his family. However, their stay in the villa was short-lived because, after the director's death in 1943, the family was obliged to move. The later directors Alphonse Soille and Robert Deltenre, upon their appointment, as director-gerant of the coal mine also moved into the villa.

Now it is a boarding school for secondary school students (Houthalen Boarding School).
Cultuurcentrum Casino - Cultuurcentrum Casino

Cultural Center Casino

HOUTHALEN-HELCHTEREN
This crowning piece of Isia Isgour's work on Meulenberg was designed in the 1950s and was then one of the most modern theaters. Far beyond the provincial borders, it was known for its good acoustics and modern equipment. In 1973, the Casino became the property of the municipal government, which immediately began to revalue the complex with the goal of turning it into a community cultural center. Meanwhile, the social function of the center is undeniable: it is the meeting place, a melting pot for all cultures.
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