Ronse station is the oldest station building on the European mainland. It used to be in Bruges on 't Zand, where the concert hall is now located.
In 1861, the "Compagnie du Chemin de fer Hainaut et Flandres" built the railway line Ghent - De Pinte - Oudenaarde - Ronse - St.-Ghislain. Eight years later, a second line between 's Gravenbrakel and Kortrijk was put into use. The boom in the textile industry led to an increasing demand for coal, cement, bluestone and all kinds of textile raw materials. The railway network was expanded once again.
The station gradually became too small and had to make way for a larger one. The "new" building was the Zand station in Bruges, which was built by the Brussels architect Payen from 1841 to 1848. This makes it the oldest station building on the European mainland. The structure was demolished stone by stone, transported by train to Ronse and rebuilt here. After all, manpower and working hours were much less expensive than building materials. Backwards, because the facade that opened onto the street in Bruges is on the side of the tracks in Ronse. The horizontally accentuated, sleek neoclassical facades are plastered and decorated with bluestone. In 1881, the new Ronse station was solemnly inaugurated. More than a century later, in 1989 and 2001, it was thoroughly renovated.
The Ghent-Blaton railway line cut Ronse in two. That is why two arch bridges were built: one for pedestrians and one for vehicles. The Passerelle - the pedestrian bridge - is one of the few wrought iron bridges that has been so well preserved. It is remarkable that the passerelle is on rollers on one side to absorb tensions and expansions during temperature fluctuations. On the other side of the station is the concrete Pessemiers Bridge, which is one of the earliest concrete constructions in Belgium and is intended for car traffic.