Discovering Haute Wanze

Parking: Place de Gottignies in Gottignies.

(S/E) Take Rue Saint-Léger, opposite Gottignies Church, join Rue du Vent Val and turn left until the next crossroads. Leave Rue des Salinques on your right and continue straight ahead.

(1) Turn left onto Rue du Puits Salomon until you reach the junction with Rue de la Place. Turn right, then pass the Basse farm, leaving Rue de la Casse on your right.

Just after the Basse farm, go down the path on the left until you reach the junction with Rue des Fonds.

(2) At the crossroads, turn left. Cross the small bridge over the Wanze and continue straight on Rue des Fonds until you reach Rue de la Biercée. (Just after the bridge over the Wanze is the turn-off for the Basse Wanze walk).

(3) At the crossroads, continue straight ahead along the path that winds through the fields. At the end of the path, turn right onto Rue du Mont Coupé. At the Payelle ponds, continue straight ahead until you reach the country lane on the left.

(4) At this intersection, turn left onto the country lane. Cross the small bridge over the Wanze and continue straight ahead.

(5) At the crossroads, turn left onto Rue du Blanc Boquet. At the next junction, turn left onto the country lane that descends towards the Wanze. Cross the Wanze via the small bridge and continue along the path. At the end of the path, after a steep descent, turn right to join Rue du Mont Coupé. Turn right and continue along this road.

(6) At the crossroads, turn right onto Chemin du Gué. At the end of the road, take the path on the left that descends towards La Wanze.

Shortcut: at Chemin du Gué, continue straight on Rue du Mont Coupé and follow it to Place de Gottignies (starting point).

Reduced mobility: The path down to La Wanze is not accessible to people with reduced mobility or with pushchairs. At Chemin du Gué, continue straight on Rue du Mont Coupé and, when you reach the bottom, turn right onto Rue des Prêtres.

(7): When you reach Rue du Mont Coupé, turn right and at the crossroads turn right onto Rue des Prêtres. At the crossroads with Rue du Vent Val, turn right.

Shortcut: At the bottom of Rue du Mont Coupé, you can turn left to reach Place de Gottignies.

Shortcut: At the crossroads with Rue du Vent Val, you can turn left and at the crossroads with Rue Saint-Léger turn left to reach Place de Gottignies.

100 m before the cemetery, take the path on the left (Rue des Salinques). At the crossroads with Rue de la Grange aux Dîmes, continue straight ahead.

When you reach the paved section of Rue du Bourbier, turn left onto a path that runs alongside two meadows to return to Rue du Vent Val. Turn left and continue for 50 metres.

(9) At Calvaire, take the path on the right which will lead you to Rue de la Cure. Continue to the right to arrive at Place de Gottignies (S/E).

This route is marked with yellow signs. QR codes will give you additional information about where you are via your smartphone.

(S/E) Saint-Léger Church. This church dates back to the^9th century. From the early^12th century until the^18th century, the altar was managed by the monks of Saint-Denis-en-Brocqueroie. Shortly afterwards, having ceased to depend on the Abbey of Saint-Denis, it was decided to build a new church as we know it today in a style that is half classical, half Renaissance.
Inside, there is a symbolic painting that appears to date from^{the 16th} century: Christ on the cross on a cloth of honour. The three ends of the cross represent hands:
- one makes the sign of blessing,
- another knocks down an idol with an arrow,
- and the last one holds a key and seems to be opening the heavens.

(1) Rue du Vent Val, which means 'where the wind rages', takes its name from a plain located to the north-west of the village, on the border with Thieusies, which is buffeted by the winds.

Rue du Puits Salomon. Named after Mr Salomon, who owned a well on this street. This well was very important for the village's water supply. Before running water was installed, many homes had their own wells, but there were also public wells (Bavais farm, Chemin Salomon, Grange aux Dîmes, etc.) where residents would go to draw water.

La Ferme Basse. This farm is located on the site of the former seigneury of Gottignies (+ 1115 to 1786). This fiefdom overlooked one of the meanders of the Wanze.

(2) Rue des Fonds and the Wanze. Today, it is difficult to imagine that this was once the most important road in this charming village. You are actually travelling along the old road that linked Mons to Le Roeulx. The bed of the Wanze river occupies the lowest part of the road. The Wanze crosses the village from one side to the other before flowing into the Haine at Ville-sur-Haine.

(3) La Biercée. 'Biercée' comes from the term 'Bersée', which meant an enclosure for game. It is believed that game was kept here in the past.

(4) La Payelle, which means 'frying pan' in local dialect. In fact, it is the shape of the surrounding landscape, with the farm at its lowest point, which slopes in a cylindrical shape and resembles a frying pan. The current owner has added a touch of humour by placing a frying pan on the façade.

The Versailles farm. This farm, located 50 metres before the bridge over the Wanze, has no connection with Louis XIV's palace. This place was more recently known as "el tonne", which means "the barrel" in local dialect. It is said to have been built on the site of a brickworks. It is believed to have served as a refuge or retirement home for Napoleon's veterans and, later, as a drinking establishment. Rumour has it that it was also used as a place of leisure and carnal pleasures for Napoleon's soldiers.

Mont Coupé This was the route to Le Roeulx. The passage over the Wanze was via a small brick bridge, but it was too narrow for agricultural equipment. This bridge was about 7 to 8 metres lower than the current road, which gives you an idea of the steepness of the slope to be crossed, especially for horse-drawn carts. In the meadow on your left, the steep slope is due to the earth that was extracted from there to fill in the road.

(7) Gottignies beach. The famous Gottignies "beach" was located on the site of the property at No. 8. Created in 1934 on the initiative of a garage owner from Jolimont, swimming pools, "gloriettes" (open-air cafés, as they would have been called across the Quiévrain), a velodrome, a kiosk and a slide adorned this site covering more than one hectare. On Ascension Day in 1935, no fewer than 1,500 visitors were counted! Unfortunately, four years later, a serious accident put an end to the adventure.

(9) Rue de la Grange aux Dîmes. The name of this street presupposes the former existence of such a building on this site, where the clergy collected "tithes". Not far from this spot stands the village's calvary. Made of brick and blue stone, it was the^fourth station on the procession route on 15 August. It dates from the first half of the^19th century.