Attraction

Groeve Roosburg

Gielenstraat 18
Bilzen
The Roosburg is a hill, but the name is more often used for that in the hill, namely a system of corridors that arose after centuries of limestone mining.

The largest mushroom nursery in Western Europe was located in this quarry. About 80% of all mushrooms for the Belgian market came from this quarry, until 1958…

In this fateful year, a few days before Christmas, on December 23, as every year, a top production was turned up for the holidays. While some 120 people were busy picking mushrooms underground, part of the quarry collapsed.

During the Roosburg Disaster, eighteen people lost their lives in the quarry, after which the mushroom farm closed for good. The mourned dead and the lost workshops left a huge scar in the nearby village of Zichen.

In retrospect, the nursery ceilings had too large a span and the rock in that spot was too soft to form a stable space.

Survivors are said to have heard crackling sounds days before, with some not entering the quarry as a result. In 1960 a monument was erected to the deceased.
This text has been automatically translated using an online translation service.

Itineraries in the area

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