Limestone

Belgian Blue Limestone, also called Petit Granit, is the best known of Wallonia’s stones. It is extracted by ten or so quarries and is characterised by the presence of small fossils called crinoids. The different finishes that it allows means that it perfectly suited for indoor and outdoor applications. 

The Meuse river valley has always been a privileged quarrying area for ornamental rock and, at the present time, two Meuse limestone quarries are still in operation. Those are the Vinalmont and Longpré quarries. 

Tournai Stone was used in prestigious buildings such as Tournai Cathedral.

Golzinne black marble has always been much sought-after on account of its purity and its unique character, while the brightly-patterned aspect and chromatic scale of red and grey marbles appealed to tonal awareness.

Among light-coloured limestone varieties, Gobertange sandy limestone and Fontenoille sandy limestone are the stones coming closest to French ornamental stone. 

Why Walloon stone?

Because it blends in with the landscape and environment, lending itself to both modern and traditional architecture, because it plays its part in enhancing our cities and green spaces, because it has contributed to the quality of our lives over the centuries, natural stone has long been associated with a sense of comfort and well-being.

The Walloon Region, naturally rich in stone, has become a true centre of excellence. Today, thanks to its 15 varieties of fine quality stone, and to remarkable technological developments, the ornamental stone sector can offer you a wide range of products for any application.

Stone masonry in our country is synonymous with age-old know-how. Its continued use is the final seal of approval for any building material and all our stones have successfully stood the test of centuries. When people choose Walloon stone, they contribute to preserving local jobs. Our quarries are close to their customers who take direct advantage of the first-rate services provided by the entire sector. There is also a matter of trust and traceability. There are few middlemen and it is easy for people to find a deposit where the character and qualities of the stone are known by experience. Stone is intuitively termed an ecological material. The major ecological asset of our stones is that the stages between its actual extraction and its application are short and cause little pollution, i.e. on the whole, stone consumes little energy and releases few harmful emissions, such as CO2, for example. A series of other heritage value criteria obviously come into consideration as, of course, the harmonious integration of new construction into the built environment. 

BE DEMANDING, THERE IS NO SUBSTITUTE

FOR OUR COUNTRY'S NATURAL STONE !