Musée de la Pierre

About the museum

The Musée de la Pierre is in Maffle, in the former house of the quarry master Jean-Baptiste Durieux, built in 1841 in the heart of old quarries. Since the Middle Ages, Maffle has seen the extraction and working of blue stone (petit granit), a sedimentary rock suited to construction and sculpture, which was also burnt in lime kilns. In the second half of the 19th century, between 170 and 225 workers worked at the Broquet et Cie quarry; extraction ceased in the 1960s and nature reclaimed the area around the ponds.

The museum reports on the local industry and broadens its scope to the whole of stone working in Belgium and Europe: techniques of extraction, cutting and carving, presented with machines, tools and iconographic documents; the evolution of transport since the Middle Ages (steam cranes, travelling cranes, industrial railways); and the social condition of quarry workers and quarry masters. It is run by the association Les Amis du Musée de la Pierre.

Among the highlights are a “chaire de vérité” (speaker's platform) made in 1897 by thirty apprentices, a triptych of the Dendre quarries, a blue-stone bas-relief from 1954 and the statue “Le Tailleur de pierre” by Constantin Meunier, dated 1898. Paths run past the old ponds to the lime kiln of the Rivière quarry, built around 1885.

Highlights

• Former quarry master's house from 1841, in the heart of the quarry site
• Machines, tools and documents on the extraction, cutting and carving of blue stone
• “Chaire de vérité” of 1897, made by thirty apprentice stonecutters
• Statue “Le Tailleur de pierre” by Constantin Meunier (1898)
• Paths around the old quarries as far as the lime kiln

Permanent exhibitions

• Collections du Musée de la Pierre – Tools, machines and documents on the extraction and cutting of stone, and on the social condition of quarry workers and quarry masters.
• Les incontournables – Selection of highlights: the “chaire de vérité” of 1897, the triptych of the Dendre quarries, the blue-stone bas-relief and the statue by Constantin Meunier.

Operated by

Association des Amis du Musée de la Pierre

Admission & discounts

Individual admission rates during normal opening periods. Birthday party: €10 per child (minimum 10 children; flat fee of €100 below that), with animation, workshop and drinks.

Accessibility

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Kids & families

Great for kids & families

• Family tours & workshops
• Activity booklet, scavenger hunt or kids’ audio guide
• Kids’ birthday parties

Family visit with the “Pierre et le secret des carrières” travel notebook (museum collections, then a walk in the surroundings), available to download; birthday parties for children.

Getting there & parking

5 minutes by car from the centre of Ath; on foot along the towpath, allow about 30 minutes from Ath.

Amenities & dining

• Museum shop

Shop; documentation centre accessible by appointment.

Events & venue rental

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Plan your visit