Charleroi is a city in the Walloon part of Belgium. It is a city that arose after the Peace of the Pyrenees, which in 1659 ended the Franco-Spanish war that had lasted since 1635. With the peace, Spanish fortresses fell to France, and therefore in 1666 Spain founded a fortress at the village of Charnoy. The city was renamed and named after King Carlos II, which in French became Charleroi.

The following year, a new war started, and the city became French during a period when Vauban completed the fortifications. Charleroi changed hands countless times before the city became part of the Netherlands in 1814 and the new Belgium in 1830. Charleroi was industrialized and its city walls were torn down in 1871 to make way for new development.

Today, Charleroi is one of Belgium’s largest cities, and there are several sights that can be seen on a stroll through the city. The center of Charleroi is made up of Place Charles II, where you can see some of the city’s most famous architectural works. Here is the town hall, a building in an eclectic style that mixes classicism and art deco.

The town hall was inaugurated in 1936 and replaced the previous town hall on the same site. You can also see the town hall tower, which is one of the bell towers in Belgium and France that is included in the UNESCO World Heritage List. The clock tower is 70 meters high and clearly inspired by the art deco of the time.

Opposite the town hall is the Église Saint-Christophe, Charleroi’s main church. The history of the church goes back to 1667, when the French built a garrison chapel. Only the foundation stone survives from this chapel and it was inserted into the porch of the present church. Later, the Église Saint-Christophe was expanded in not least baroque style, until the last major change in 1956.

Therefore, the impressive church stands in a mixed architectural style, one of the highlights being Jean Ransy’s impressive mosaic in the choir. Close to the church, you can see the fine art nouveau house, Maison Dorée, which was designed by the architect Alfred Frère and built in 1899. You can notice some fine examples of sgraffito on the house’s beautiful facade.

South of Place Charles II is Place Verte, another of Charleroi’s large central urban squares. Place Verte is located in the middle of the city’s business district with many shops and narrow streets, and from here it is not far from the river Sambre, where you can walk along the promenades Quai Paul Verlaine and Quai Arthur Rimbaud.

In the city, you can also visit several museums, such as the Musée des Beaux-Arts, which is housed in a historic barracks building from 1887. At the museum, you can e.g. see Belgian art from the 1800s-1900s. Next to the museum you can see one of Charleroi’s most distinctive modern buildings, the Tour Bleue, which was designed by Jean Nouvel and opened as police headquarters in 2015.