Industrial heritage: that's what we're talking about!
The old Wielemans-Ceuppens brewery's buildings and machinery are witnesses of a Brussels that no longer exists. Getting to know them better is like getting to know the birth of Brussels contemporary society.
Indeed, we can learn a lot about a given country/city and its people by analysing its industrial development. When we think of Belgium, for example, the first things that come to mind are its well-known production of beers and chocolate (as well as fries!). Understanding how such activities started and developed to the point of becoming an important part of the history of our societies, as well as safeguarding this technological heritage thus is of great importance. Therefore, industrial heritage should be protected and appreciated as a part of our societies' cultural heritage.
But what exactly is industrial heritage?
According to the International Committee for the Conservation of the Industrial Heritage (TICCIH), “industrial heritage consists of the remains of industrial culture which are of historical, technological, social, architectural or scientific value”. Such remains consist in all industrial processes, buildings and paraphernalia, as well as places used for social activities related to industry such as housing, religious worship or education”.
Such industrial processes and remains are analysed through the lenses of industrial archaeology, which is “an interdisciplinary method of studying all the evidence, material and immaterial, of documents, artefacts, stratigraphy and structures, human settlements and natural and urban landscapes, created for or by industrial processes”.
You can learn more about industrial heritage and industrial archaeology on the following links:
Source: The Nizhny Tagil charter for the industrial heritage at http://www.icomos.org/18thapril/2006/nizhny-tagil-charter-e.pdf
