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Former Sainte-Barbe Clinic à Carmaux dans le Tarn

Tarn

Former Sainte-Barbe Clinic

    24 Avenue Bouloc Torcatis
    81400 Carmaux
Crédit photo : Philichel - Sous licence Creative Commons

Timeline

XIXe siècle
Époque contemporaine
1900
2000
1882–1891
Initial construction
1919–1922
Family expansion
1948
Major changes
1983
Decommissioning
6 septembre 1990
MH classification
1992
Cultural Inauguration
Aujourd'hui
Aujourd'hui

Heritage classified

Façades and roofs of the clinic; chapel; staircase and interior tiles of the clinic; façades and roofs of the concierge (cad. AO 230): entry by order of 6 September 1990

Key figures

Valatx - Architect/Designer Author of initial plans (1882).
Société des mines de Carmaux - Contractor Sponsor and manager until 1983.
Jean-Baptiste Calvignac - Former Mayor of Carmaux Syndicalist, eponymous of the cultural center.
François Mitterrand - President of the Republic Inaugurated the centre in 1992.

Origin and history

The Sainte-Barbe clinic, also called the mine hospital, was built between 1882 and 1891 in Carmaux (Tarn) by the Société des mines de Carmaux, according to the plans of architect Valatx. Destined for wounded miners, his style, imitating a classical castle, symbolized the company's generosity to its workers. The main building, with its forebody adorned with mining badges and a statue of Saint Barbe (patron of miners), dominated a stone façade.

Between 1919 and 1922, the clinic was enlarged to accommodate the miners' families, with an annex made of reinforced concrete and bricks, initially surmounted by a window. In 1948, this window was replaced by a receding floor, and a chapel was added. A concierge was completed together in 1957, in a style consistent with the original building. Disused in 1983 by coal mines, it was bought by the municipality in 1988.

Ranked a historic monument in 1990, the clinic became in 1992 the cultural center Jean-Baptiste-Calvignac, named after a former mayor of Carmaux, union activist and close to Jean Jaurès. His inauguration in the presence of President François Mitterrand marked his heritage conversion. Today, it bears witness to the social and industrial history of the Carmelite mining basin.

Protected elements include facades, roofs, the chapel, the interior staircase and its tiles, as well as concierge. The building, a communal property, combines medical heritage and cultural vocation, embodying the working memory of the region.

External links