Who we are
Vieille Montagne Heritage (VMH) is an international non-profit association (AISBL) under Belgian law whose headquarters is located at the Museum Vieille Montagne at 4870 Kelmis / La Calamine – Belgium
This association was created in 2018 to promote the incredible human and industrial adventure of the Société Anonyme des Mines et Fonderies de Zinc de la Vieille Montagne, simply said “La Vieille Montagne”, an adventure that has spread over more than two centuries and continues to this day !
Our Vision
In addition to the efforts to enhance the exceptional archives of the Vieille-Montagne company and its industrial heritage, the VMH association is determined to look to the future by helping the community to understand the conditions in the Liege basin at the beginning of the 19th century to lead the development of several metallurgical enterprises of world size and diffusion.
Our Objectives
- Contribute to the transmission throughout Europe of knowledge of zinc
- Promote and coordinate local, regional or transnational actions of museums and historical sites
- Protect, update and disseminate in various forms throughout Europe, the culture and know-how related to zinc trades
Our Network
The members of the association active all over the world but especially in Europe are :
- companies directly linked or related to the Vieille- Montagne company
- associations which have a direct link (ex : MVM in Kelmis, MMIL in Liège) or indirect with the Vieille-Montagne company
- individuals often involved in the development of a Vieille-Montagne site
In 1896 The Vieille Montagne brought the outside world to this distant part of Cumbria, or Cumberland as it then was, turning it into a focus of international attention, which is hard to believe nowadays when one looks at the village. The company brought huge financial investment, new revolutionary technology, and a foreign workforce from places that locals had only seen in a school atlas