Mine-image de la fosse n° 2 de Oignies
Monument
Mine-image de la fosse n° 2 de Oignies, located in Oignies (Pas-de-Calais), is a medieval landmark built in the Middle Ages. The monument is currently closed to visitors.
Key facts
- Type
- autre
- Period
- Medieval (11th-15th century)
- Location
- Oignies, Pas-de-Calais, Hauts-de-France
- Visit
- Closed to visitors
- Mérimée Reference
- PA62000101
At the gateway to the Artois region, pit no. 2 at Oignies embodies the soul of the Nord-Pas-de-Calais coalfield, a UNESCO World Heritage site: a preserved image mine where the story of the black faces comes alive.
History
Nestling in the commune of Oignies, on the edge of the Pas-de-Calais department, pit no. 2 is one of the jewels in the crown of the Nord-Pas-de-Calais coalfield, which has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2012. Designated a "mine-image", it embodies the collective desire to preserve the memory of an industry that has shaped the land, landscapes and people of northern France for almost three centuries. What makes this site truly unique is the remarkable integrity of its industrial complex: metal headframes still standing, extraction buildings, machine rooms and partially preserved underground infrastructure form a coherent and rare testimony to 20th-century mining architecture. No. 2 pit is part of this archipelago of 109 components that together make up an exceptional cultural landscape recognised worldwide. To visit No. 2 Pit is to plunge into an industrial world of singular evocative power. You can feel the rhythm of the descents to the bottom, the heat of the coal seams and the solidarity of the working-class communities who lived here for decades. Guided tours of the site provide an insight into the mechanics of coal mining and a close-up view of the miners' lives. The surrounding area, marked by the characteristic slag heaps of the basin - veritable black mountains that have become refuges for biodiversity - also offers a memorial walk through a landscape transformed by the hand of man but reclaimed by nature. Oignies, a modest town steeped in social history, welcomes this site with pride, aware that it is the guardian of an essential part of the region's identity.
Architecture
Oignies No. 2 pit displays all the characteristics of the industrial mining architecture developed in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais basin between the late 19th and mid-20th centuries. The metal headframe, an emblematic figure and instantly recognisable silhouette, dominates the surrounding landscape: a riveted steel structure, it was used to hoist the cages carrying miners and coal between the surface and the lower levels. Its height, characteristic of deep shafts used for intensive mining, testifies to the productive power achieved by the operation. The surface buildings - machine room, lamp house, screening plant, revenue building - are mainly built in northern red brick, the dominant material in regional industrial architecture. Their sober facades, punctuated by round-headed or straight-headed windows, and their slate or tiled gable roofs, reflect the functional and robust aesthetic of the mining engineers. A few details, such as ashlar surrounds, moulded cornices and engraved inscriptions, bear witness to the concern for representation that was typical of large companies. The general organisation of the pithead follows a rational plan dictated by the constraints of mining: circulation of materials, safety, management of worker flows. This coherent whole, in which each building fulfils a precise function in the extraction chain, is today a first-rate architectural and technical document for understanding the organisation of work in 20th-century mines.
Related Figures
Ingénieurs des mines de la Compagnie des mines d'Oignies (concepteurs des installations au XIXe-XXe siècle)Mineurs polonais, italiens et maghrébins (communautés ouvrières ayant façonné l'identité sociale du site)Délégués mineurs et syndicalistes de la CGT (figures de la résistance sociale dans le bassin)Responsables des Charbonnages de France (gestionnaires après la nationalisation de 1946)Militants de la reconnaissance UNESCO (acteurs de la labellisation Patrimoine mondial en 2012)Familles de gueules noires d'Oignies (héritières de la mémoire ouvrière perpétuée sur le site)
Map
Coordinates not available for this monument.
Tags
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Mine-image de la fosse n° 2 de Oignies located?
Mine-image de la fosse n° 2 de Oignies is located in Oignies, Pas-de-Calais department, Hauts-de-France region, France.
When was Mine-image de la fosse n° 2 de Oignies built?
Mine-image de la fosse n° 2 de Oignies dates back to a period built in the Middle Ages (11th-15th century).
Is Mine-image de la fosse n° 2 de Oignies open to visitors?
Mine-image de la fosse n° 2 de Oignies is currently closed to visitors.