Experience the Ardennes of yore at the Fourneau Saint-Michel

Immerse yourselves in the Ardennes’s past in an untouched natural setting. Industrial past, old trades and traditional life - discover an exceptional heritage!

At the Domaine provincial du Fourneau Saint-Michel, visit the Iron Museum and/or the Open Air Museum and find out how people lived in the Ardennes and Wallonia ‘in the olden days’.

The iron industry in the 17th and 18th centuries

The Iron Museum is located on a site classified as an industrial heritage monument — the only preserved charcoal blast furnace in Belgium still standing in its original location. These buildings are exceptional witnesses of a flourishing iron industry in the Luxembourg region during the 17th and 18th centuries. They reveal the techniques used in cast iron production and highlight the importance and uses of iron in daily life in the past.
Discover this museum through its collection of objects, interactive activities, and informative videos that bring the ironworks and its blast furnace to life.

Rural life in the 19th and 20th centuries

The Open Air Museum is showcasing the homes, trades, and way of life of the past. Over 60 buildings from the 19th and 20th centuries have been relocated or reconstructed on a 40-hectare estate in the heart of nature. Houses, a school, chapel, grocery store… immerse yourself in the daily life and traditions of our ancestors through this remarkable architectural ensemble and its many associated collection pieces.