Centre Historique Minier Lewarde

Useful Information

Location:	Rue d’Erchin – CS 30039, 59287 Lewarde. (50.332196, 3.171547)
Open:	APR to OCT daily 9-19. NOV to MAR Mon-Sat 13-18, Sun, Hol 10-18. Closed 01-MAY. [2023]
Fee:	Adults EUR 12.50, Children (5-18) EUR 6.70, Children (0-4) free, Students EUR 6.70, Disabled EUR 6.70, Families (2+2) EUR 33. Groups (20+): Adults 10.60, School Pupils 6.70. [2023]
Classification:	Coal Mine Replica Underground Mine
Light:	Incandescent
Dimension:
Guided tours:	self guided, D=2 h. D=1 h. Audioguides V=150,000/a [2019]
Photography:	allowed
Accessibility:	no
Bibliography:	Piotr Langer (2019): "POST-MINING REALITY” in Western Europe: Selected Collieries in Belgium and France Following Discontinuation of Coal Mining IOP Conference Series: Materials Science and Engineering. 471. 112003. researchgate DOI
Address:	Centre Historique Minier, Fosse Delloye, Rue d’Erchin – CS 30039, 59287 Lewarde, Tel: +33-327-958282, Fax: +33-327-958283. E-mail:
As far as we know this information was accurate when it was published (see years in brackets), but may have changed since then. Please check rates and details directly with the companies in question if you need more recent info.

History

1911	Delloye colliery started by the Compagnie des mines d'Aniche.
1921	reopened after World War I.
1927	beginning of coal production.
1946	colliery nationalised.
1971	colliery closed.
1973	first plans to create a mining museum.
1982	Mining History Centre created by the mining company.
1984	Mining History Centre opened to the public.
1990	last colliery in the Region Nord-Pas-de-Calais closed.
2012	inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

Geology

Description

The Centre Historique Minier Lewarde (Lewarde Mining History Centre) is said to be the largest mining museum in France. The site has a size of 8 ha, which is the former mining site of the Delloye colliery near the village Lewarde. It has the main building with the steel headframe, the machinery for the elevator, the infrastructure for the mine trains and the processing of the coal. There is also the restaurant Le Briquet, which is open for lunch and seats 270.

The surface buildings show the former mine infrastructure, the bathrooms with clothes hanging from the ceiling, lamps lined up in the lamp room, and a horse neighing in the stables. The administrative office of the 1930s was reconstructed where you will meet the accountant and the miners’ representative. The guided tour starts with the staff footbridge to the coal breaker and sorting area. Here women and sorting the coal. Then the underground gallery is entered where the mining techniques between 1720 and 1990 are presented. Also, the risks, including gas, water and collapsing galleries, are explained.

There is also a tour called Meet A Miner, which is guided by an actual miner, who tells about his personal life at home and at work. Those tours are offered only in French, as they do not speak foreign languages. Depending on the participants the tour concentrates on one of the following topics: the career path of a miner, the first day at the mine, the dangers of coal mining, or the private life of miners.

There are guided tours every 45 minutes You can spend the time until the tour starts and afterward visiting the exhibitions. The non-guided visit of the permanent and temporary exhibitions takes about 2 hours, depending on how long you wish to spend looking. The galleries are not heated, so they are rather cold during winter. There are six exhibitions in the surface buildings. The origins of coal: the Carboniferous explains the geology of the coal formation. The Life in a mining village shows the daily life of a miner and his family including leisure, health, and living conditions. The three ages of the mine shows the changes in coal mining over 270 years. Horses and mining is dedicated to the horses which actually spent their whole life underground. The history of Delloye colliery has documents and hirstoric photographs of the mine. And finally there is Energy mine, which explains the use of the coal as a primary energy source. The exhibitions about the horses and the energy are temporarily closed [2023].