Via Nostalgia
  • Chat
  • Trips
  • Explore
  • Saved
  • Themes
  • Routes
  • Essays
  • Books
  • Works
  • Heritage
  • Lists
  • Subscribe
Appearance
Sign In
Via Nostalgia
Nord-Pas de Calais Mining Basin 1
Nord-Pas de Calais Mining Basin 2
Nord-Pas de Calais Mining Basin 3
Nord-Pas de Calais Mining Basin 4
Nord-Pas de Calais Mining Basin 5
© UNESCO World Heritage Centre
UNESCO WHCCulturalInscribed 2012

Nord-Pas de Calais Mining Basin

Overview

Remarkable as a landscape shaped over three centuries of coal extraction from the 1700s to the 1900s, the site consists of 109 separate components over 120,000 ha. It features mining pits (the oldest of which dates from 1850) and lift infrastructure, slag heaps (some of which cover 90 ha and exceed 140 m in height), coal transport infrastructure, railway stations, workers’ estates and mining villages including social habitat, schools, religious buildings, health and community facilities, company premises, owners and managers’ houses, town halls and more. The site bears testimony to the quest to create model workers’ cities from the mid 19th century to the 1960s and further illustrates a significant period in the history of industrial Europe. It documents the living conditions of workers and the solidarity to which it gave rise.

About Nord-Pas de Calais Mining Basin

The Nord-Pas-de-Calais Mining Basin is a mining basin in Northern France that stretches across the Nord and Pas-de-Calais departments. The region is famous for its long history of coal extraction and its testimony to a significant period in the history of industrialisation in Europe, and as a result it was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2012. This area has been shaped by three centuries of coal extraction from the late 17th century through the 20th century, and demonstrates the evolution of coal mining techniques and worker conditions during that time.

Read more on Wikipedia

Selection Criteria

(ii)(iv)

Components(108 locations)

Details

Countries
France
ISO Codes
FR
Area
3,943 ha
Coordinates
50.4625, 3.5461
View on UNESCO World Heritage Centre
← All UNESCO World Heritage Sites
Stay Nearby

Nord-Pas de Calais Mining Basin

Attractions & Tickets

Nord-Pas de Calais Mining Basin

Getting Here

Nord-Pas de Calais Mining Basin