Photo : Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)
Musée de la Mine
The Musée de la Mine in Saint-Étienne, in the Loire, occupies the Puits Couriot, the city's last coal mine shaft. Building began in 1907 to plans by the engineer Henri Couriot; in service from 1919, it became the largest extraction site of the Loire coalfield, more than 700 metres deep. Mining stopped in 1973.
The headframe and extraction buildings have been preserved. The route takes in the 'hanging room', the great washroom, the lamp room and the engine room, and leads to a reconstructed gallery recreating the atmosphere of the coalface. Permanent exhibitions opened in 2014 present the trades, techniques and life of Saint-Étienne's miners. Two spoil heaps, locally called 'crassiers', border the site.
The Puits Couriot was registered in 2010 and listed as a historic monument in 2011. The Friends of the Musée de la Mine association helps enrich the collections and pass on mining memory.
