On the outskirts of Matagne-la-Grande, in the municipality of Doische, lie the silent remains of what was once known as the Poudrerie de Doische. This gunpowder factory was part of the boom of the Belgian explosives industry, which played an important economic role from the late 19th century onwards.
Its remote location was no coincidence: safety and discretion were essential in the production and storage of gunpowder and related materials. For decades, the site provided employment and was closely connected to larger industrial networks, the Poudreries Réunies de Belgique.
In the early 1990s, the final curtain fell. Production ceased and the buildings were abandoned. Since then, nature has slowly reclaimed the site. Roofs collapsed, windows disappeared and machinery rusted away. Today, the poudrerie stands as a symbol of industrial decline: a forgotten place where history visibly crumbles, yet one that still recalls an important, if closed, chapter in Belgium’s industrial past.
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