Le Roeulx – La Louvière by bike, between land and water

Grand’Place car park in Le Roeulx

(S/E) Opposite the town hall, turn right towards the narrow part of the Grand Place towards the Faubourg de Mignault.

(1) At the T-junction, by the former Saint-Jacques Hospital, turn left into Rue Saint-Jacques and, at the next junction, turn left into Rue Trieu à Bergeole. Continue straight on towards the junction with the traffic lights.

(2) Turn right onto Rue de Houdeng. Carry on straight ahead until you reach the T-junction. Turn left onto Rue des Arbalestriers.

(3) At the bottom of Rue des Arbalestriers, on your left, you’ll see Square Mabille. At the T-junction, take the road on the right, Rue Sainte-Gertrude.

(4) Turn right onto Rue de la Station. At the Y-junction, turn right onto Faubourg de Mignault, then, at the Fork in the road, turn left onto Chemin de Mignault. Continue straight on along Rue François Onckelet until you reach the junction in the centre of Mignault.

(5) At the junction, carry on straight ahead along Rue des Combattants. At the first junction, turn right onto Rue Hector Blondiau. Carry on straight ahead.

(6) At the T-junction, turn left and then immediately right. Continue straight on along Rue de Wavrin and carry on along this street until you reach the bridge that passes under the motorway.

(7) Go under the motorway bridge and carry on straight ahead.

(8) At the T-junction, turn right onto Chemin de Familleureux. Cross the motorway bridge and then the Canal du Centre bridge.

(9) Just after the canal bridge, take the path on the right which leads down to the towpath. Once on the towpath, turn right and continue along it.

(10) Pass under the canal bridge and, immediately afterwards, head up Rue Tout-Y-Faut, slightly to your right. Continue along this road. At the Y-junction, turn left towards lift No. 1.

(11) Cross over and continue along the towpath.

(12) Walk past the Cantine des Italiens on your right, where you can take a break and have a drink. Go under the Pont Capitte, then under the Chaussée Houtard bridge. Continue along the towpath.

(13) Carry on along the towpath. Pass the church at Houdeng Aimeries on your right.

(14) At the T-junction, turn right onto Rue Beau Séjours. A little further on, you’ll come to lift number 2. Turn sharply left to rejoin the towpath.

(15) Continue to the right along the towpath. Take a left-hand bend to reach the canal bank. When you reach lift number 3, turn right onto the towpath.

(16) Pass under the motorway bridge. Carry on straight ahead.

(17) At the junction by the Strépy-Bracquegnies drawbridge, carry on straight ahead.

(18) When you reach the drawbridge, turn right onto Rue des Saules. Continue along Rue Jules André. At the T-junction, turn left onto Rue Raymond Cordier.

(19) Just before the bridge, turn right onto Rue de la Chapelle Bertrand.

(20) At the Y-junction, take the sharp left-hand bend to join the towpath and carry on straight ahead. On your right is the Strépy-Thieu funicular lift.

(21) Pass under the bridge on Rue Saint-Géry. On your left is Thieu’s No. 4 lift. Stay on this path until you reach the marina. Bikes are available for hire at the Sports Centre, which is located on the other side of the lift bridge (about 150 metres after the bridge on the right)

(22) At the marina, just before the bridge over the canal, turn right onto the towpath of the old Canal du Centre.

(23) At the drawbridge, cross the road and continue along the towpath opposite. Turn right onto the path leading up to the towpath of the New Canal. At the T-junction, turn right onto the path leading to the George Price footbridge.

(24) Cross the George Price footbridge. At the end of the path, turn left onto the Sentier des Prés. At the junction, turn left onto Rue du Coron towards the roundabout.

(25) At the roundabout, take the first exit on the right, Rue des Enhauts. Continue along Rue Sent du Chien. Pass under the motorway bridge and take the path on the right.

(26) Turn right at the hairpin bend to run alongside the motorway. At the junction, turn right onto Rue de la Ville. Continue along this road

(27) Turn right onto Rue de la Place to reach Place de Gottignies. Turn right onto Rue du Mont Coupé. At the Y-junction, continue to the right.

(28) At the Y-junction, turn left. Pass the Étang de la Payelle and carry on straight ahead.

(29) At the Y-junction, opposite the Sainte-Anne Chapel, continue to the right. Pass the Étangs de la Renardise.

(30) At the Y-junction, near the Notre-Dame de Bon-Secours Chapel, keep to the right. Pass the Saint-Roch Chapel.

(31) Cross the Chaussée de Mons. Continue straight ahead along Rue de l’Hôtel de Ville. Turn right to reach the Grand Place (S/E).

Tourist information about the route is available on the Le Roeulx Tourist Office website. Website: Le Roeulx Tourist Office

Bicycles are available for hire (8 available) at the Centre Sportif des Ascenseurs de Thieu – Waypoint (21) Address: Rue du Manoir Saint-Jean, 7070 Thieu
Website: Centre Sportif des Ascenseurs de Thieu -
Email: info@leroeulxsport.be – Telephone: 064 65 20 64

(1) The former Saint-Jacques Hospital. Around the year 1202, during the period of the Crusades. Before setting off for the East at the Pope’s behest, Baudouin, bailiff of Le Roeulx, entrusted his estates to Eustache, Lord of Le Roeulx, so that they might be turned into a hospital to care for the town’s poor and pilgrims setting out for Santiago de Compostela. At the time, this was a way of ensuring the repose of one’s soul in the event of misfortune. For the first four centuries, the running of the hospital was entrusted to lay people, nuns and hospitaller brothers. They were responsible for welcoming guests, providing care and managing the household. On 25 April 1622, the running of the hospital was entrusted to four Augustinian nuns from Ath. They set about rebuilding the hospital and the chapel and founded a school for girls. The hospital’s entrance door is decorated with a bas-relief of St James standing above a burning heart, surrounded by the word ‘charitas’. The chancel of the Gothic chapel dates back to the 16th century. One of the rooms adjoining the chapel allowed patients to attend services without risk of infection. During the French Revolution, the hospital became a civil hospice and a charity office. Finally, at the beginning of this century, the care home came under the authority of the CAP (Centre d’Assistance Publique). Today, it still houses the care home run by the CPAS (Public Centre for Social Action). Visits are possible by appointment.

(3) Léon Mabille Square. Named after the most illustrious of Le Roeulx’s mayors (from 1903 to 1922), Mr Léon Mabille. He was born in Le Roeulx on 24 March 1845 and died on 11 July 1922 in Leuven.
The park was created in the early 1900s. It is surrounded by stone bollards taken from the Grand Place.

(11) Hydraulic lift number 1.

(12) The Italians’ canteen. It was built in 1947 by the Gustave Boël factories to accommodate Italian workers arriving to work in the region’s mines and steelworks under the bilateral Italy–Belgium agreements between ‘FEDECHAR’ (Federation of Belgian Coal Mines) and the Italian government. They were housed in dormitories accommodating eight people. The complex of barracks, a reminder of the era of Italian immigration, comprised thirty-two rooms, a canteen and a small shop. Food is available.

(14) Hydraulic hoist number 2.

(15) Hydraulic lift number 3 – Tour of the lift’s engine room. The lift passes alongside a barge; visitors can travel to the Strépy-Thieu funicular lift by barge.

(20) Strépy-Thieu funicular lift. Construction began in 1982 and it was inaugurated in 2002; thanks to its two independent gondolas, it overcomes a height difference of 73.15 metres between the Scheldt basin and a leat (at an altitude of 121.10 metres) leading to the Meuse basin, which also includes a section of the Brussels–Charleroi Canal, bounded by the Ronquières inclined plane (to the north) and the Viesville lock (to the south). The junction between the Canal du Centre and the Brussels–Charleroi Canal is at Seneffe. The boat lift now replaces six structures: the four boat lifts on the Canal du Centre and two locks, whilst minimising water loss at the leat. Until 18 September 2016, it was the world’s largest boat lift, until the boat lift at the Three Gorges Dam was inaugurated on that date. Visits to the facilities are available.

(21) Hydraulic boat lift number 4.

(24) George Price Footbridge and Memorial. Named in memory of Private George Price, who was shot on 11 November just minutes before the armistice came into force. He was the last soldier of the Canadian Corps to fall on the Western Front during the First World War. A new memorial was unveiled on 11 November 2018.