Pays Noir
Former industrial region in Belgium
title: "Pays Noir" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["geography-of-charleroi", "geography-of-hainaut-province", "regions-of-wallonia", "coal-mining-regions-in-belgium", "areas-of-belgium"] description: "Former industrial region in Belgium" topic_path: "geography" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pays_Noir" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary Former industrial region in Belgium ::
::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5b/Charleroi_vu-depuis-Couillet.JPG" caption="Photo of Charleroi from Couilet" alt="Photo of Charleroi taken from Couilet"] ::
The Pays Noir (French for 'black country') refers to a region of Belgium, centered on the city of Charleroi in the province of Hainaut in Belgium so named for the geological presence of coal. In the 19th century the region rapidly industrialised first with coal mines, then with related industries such as steel manufacture and glass production. The Pays Noir former part of the wider industrial region known as the Sillon industriel.
Description
The region, centred on Charleroi, also known as the Pays de Charleroi includes the communes of Aiseau-Presles, Charleroi, Châtelet, Courcelles, Farciennes, Fleurus, Fontaine-l'Évêque, Gerpinnes, Les Bons Villers and Pont-à-Celles.
In the west, the Pays Noir borders the Centre-region around the town of La Louvière. Geologically, the region - as well as the other coal bearing areas in Belgium - lies on the northern edge of the Rhenish Massif.
References
References
- Leanne Logan. (2004). "Belgium & Luxembourg". Lonely Planet.
- "Maison du tourisme du Pays de Charleroi".
- Caractéristiques des bassins industriels dans l'Eurégio Meuse-Rhin, section 2.
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