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Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The chivalry of pit n°13bis, called Saint-Félix or Felix Bollaert, was built by the Lens Mine Company at the beginning of the 20th century. The ventilation well, which began in 1908 or 11 September 1909, was initially used to ventilate the nearby pit number 13. A burrow (no.67) was built with the well's debris, and the pit entered service in 1910. Destroyed during the First World War, it was rebuilt in the 1920s with a reinforced concrete structure and bricks, including a new chivalry.

Nationalized in 1946, the Lens Mining Company merged in 1952 with the Lievin Group to form the Lens-Liévin Group. The pit n°13bis provided ventilation of pit n°18-18bis from 1954, before embankment in 1958. The site, preserved with its facilities, its three workers' houses and its wooded earth, was listed as historical monuments on 23 October 2009. Since 30 June 2012, it has included the UNESCO World Heritage List, among the 353 elements of the mining basin.

The 331-metre deep, 4.80-metre-diameter horse riding symbolizes the region's industrial history. After its closure in 1957, the land was sold in 1982 to become a hunting reserve. Today, Charbonnages de France still materializes its head, while the BRGM inspects the well annually. The site, owned by the municipality, bears witness to the mining era and its post-war reconstruction.

The pit is named after Felix Bollaert, in tribute to this character associated with the Mining Company. During the First World War, the Germans systematically destroyed the mining facilities, flooding the galleries and blasting the wells, except for Nos. 15 and 16bis. The post-war reconstruction, particularly that of the straddling in 1920, marked a gradual resumption of activity, despite the damage suffered.

Burrow No. 67, flat and wooded, was formed by the sanding of the well. The three twin houses, built near the tile, housed the miners. The site, classified site #63 by UNESCO, illustrates the industrial mining architecture and its integration into the local landscape. The facilities, entirely preserved, offer a rare example of the technical and social heritage of the early twentieth century.

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