Fosse n° 11 - 19 des mines de Lens, Coal mine and historical monument in Loos-en-Gohelle, France
Fosse n° 11 - 19 is a former coal mine in Loos-en-Gohelle, northern France, now listed as a classified historical monument. It has two extraction shafts: shaft 11 with a steel headframe from 1923, and shaft 19 with a concrete winding tower from 1960, each built in a different style that reflects its era.
The mine began operations in 1894, during a period when coal extraction in the Lens region was growing fast. It was badly damaged in World War I, rebuilt afterward, and kept working until 1986, when extraction finally stopped.
The name refers to the two numbered shafts that gave the whole site its identity and organized the daily rhythm of miners for decades. The rows of small houses in the surrounding workers' district still show how life was built around the pit, with shared streets and gardens laid out in a regular pattern.
The site is in Loos-en-Gohelle and can be reached by car or by local bus from Lens. Trails on and around the nearby slag heaps are open to walkers and give a broad view over the flat surrounding plain.
The two slag heaps here are among the tallest in northern France and were included in the UNESCO World Heritage listing of the Nord-Pas-de-Calais mining basin in 2012. Wild plants and animals have since moved onto their slopes, turning what was once industrial waste into a place where nature has taken over.
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