Carreau Wendel Museum, Mining museum in Petite-Rosselle, France.
The Carreau Wendel Museum is a mining museum in Petite-Rosselle that displays industrial equipment, reconstructed underground galleries, and machinery from France's last deep coal mine. The site combines surface structures with recreated mine workings to show how coal extraction actually functioned.
The site started operations in 1856 with the Saint-Charles pit and later expanded with additional shafts named Wendel 1, Wendel 2, Vuillemin 1, and Vuillemin 2. This gradual growth made the mine one of the region's largest coal production centers.
The displays show how miners lived and worked through original spaces like the changing room, showers, and lamp station, revealing the rhythm of their daily shifts. These rooms tell the story of what workers experienced before descending and after returning from the pit.
The museum sits near the A320 highway exit toward Forbach and is open Tuesday through Sunday for visits. Guided tours are available to help visitors navigate the underground sections safely and understand the technical aspects of the mine.
Visitors can experience a simulated descent of 1,200 meters at 12 meters per second to observe coal mining operations up close. This ride gives a visceral sense of how miners traveled daily to their work areas.
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