On May 22, a sunny Sunday, Chapter Limburg welcomed the Fulbright Alumni and some of the 2010-11 American grantees, in total 24 people, for the National Event 2011. The theme of the day was the coal-mining business.  The discovery of coal in As in 1901 changed Limburg drastically and even though the mining stopped in 1992, its impact is still very much alive in our province today. It was a good reason to choose this topic for the National Event.

We started the tour in C-Mine (Genk) which is on the former coal mine site in Winterslag. C-Mine is a beautiful example of industrial heritage: nowadays, it’s  home to a brand new cultural center, the atelier of Piet Stockman and the Media, Arts and Design faculty of KHLim (associated with KUL – the university of Leuven). Our guide, a coal miner’s son, tried to do his best in English. He then took us to the ‘Mine depot’ on the former coal mine site in Waterschei where we learned a lot about daily life in the mines. The participants showed a lot of interest and asked plenty of questions. Afterwards we drove through the cité (quarter) of Waterschei to see the prestigious mine infrastructure, the dwellings and cultural facilities of the miners - in the past but still in use today.

We had lunch in ‘Casa Papa Giovanni:’ an authentic meeting place for the Italian immigrant community in Genk. Italians celebrate their weddings there, language lessons and classes on pure Italian cuisine are held there as well as lots of other activities. Our lunch started with a promising first course (a delicious salad), but the main one (pasta with tomato sauce) was very simple and a bit disappointing, dessert (tiramisu) was small but tasty.

The coal mine business didn’t only bring Italians to Genk; it attracted 85 different nationalities; most of them brought along their culture and religion. During the visit at the Ukrainian-Orthodox Church we admired the icons and listened to an entertaining and very enthusiastic guide who told us a lot about their rituals and beliefs.

After a small detour to Ford Genk by bus we then set off for the mine in Beringen. Unfortunately we lost some of the group as the meeting place for cars and the bus in Lummen hadn’t been very clear. The warm afternoon sun and the tempting cosy outdoor café discouraged some of us to visit the simulation of a‘deep down’ coal mine setting in the dark.

At about 5 pm the bus driver really wanted to get home. There was therefore not enough time for a final drink for all of us.

As Limburg has always been considered as an ‘emerging area,’ we are very happy to have been able to show the participants some part of our history which is still so important for us as it still has a clear mark on present life in our province. We thank you for your interest and hope you’ll be able to come back! Limburg is known for its hospitality, its good restaurants (Hasselt is called ‘the city of taste’), its bicycle paths and… there’s the National Park Hoge Kempen (a 50 km² nature reserve of forests and heaths) and a lot more to experience!

Renilde Reynders, Chapter Leuven-Limburg