Parcours urbain : Fumay parcours n°1

Easy (blue) route in the city centre with 7 points of interest:

1 - The Carmelite Convent :

Part of a convent founded in 1630 by order of Madeleine d'Egmont, Princess of Chimay, it housed a dozen Carmelite nuns until the French Revolution. The building was purchased by the town in 1825 to open a girls' school before becoming home, in the early 1970s, to a slate museum created by the youth and community education center headed by Mr. Michel Paradon.

2 - The Slate Quarry of the Dead : 

The exploitation of the slate quarry began around 1680, but only reached its full scale from 1757 onwards. The drainage (removal of water) was done using horses. In 1771, a steam engine known as a "Newcomen" was installed. This steam-powered pump, built by Belgian mechanics, made it possible to overcome flooding and revive the most important production in the town center before 1789. Its imposing slate roof remains a clear testament to this intense slate activity.

3 - The Chapel of Saint Barbara :

The building, erected in 1821 by the workers of the Saint-Roch slate quarry in honor of Saint Barbara, patron saint of slate workers among others, whose statue was stolen in 1989, has been replaced by a replica donated by the priest of the Belgian village of Oignies-en-Thiérache, near Fumay. Its slate roof is surmounted by a spire topped with a wrought-iron cross.

4 - Saint-Roch Chapel :

Building constructed in 1662 in honor of Saint Roch, who was responsible for many cures of plague victims and who protected Fumay from this disease which ravaged neighboring towns.

A procession organized on August 16th leads the statue from the chapel to the parish church. 

A legend is associated with the nail fixed under the door lock.

5 - Saint-Georges Church : 

A neo-Gothic style building, constructed between 1872 and 1876 on the site of an older church dating, according to the oldest handwritten records, from the 15th century. The plans were drawn up by the architect Jean-Baptiste Couty (1821-1894) and the project financed by a local patron, Mr. Davreux. 

The building is constructed of Dom stone and is 76 meters high. It is one of the largest churches in the Ardennes with a seating capacity of 1200.

6 - Rochettes Street : 

One of the most picturesque streets in the town, carved into the slate vein known as the Renaissance. The slate quarry that gave it its name was worked from the mid-17th century. It remained in operation until around 1780. In 1966, the newly created tourist office had the idea of ​​establishing a slate museum there, but the project was abandoned.

7 - Town Hall Square : 

The town hall square was formerly called market square before the latter was demolished and then replaced in 1891 by the current town hall, which was inaugurated in 1892. This square would later take the name of Lambert-Hamaide, who served as mayor between 1896 and 1908.