Timeline

Key figures

Origin and history

The Museum of Mine and Men was founded in 1975 by former volunteer miners from the Blanzy-Montceau Basin. Its objective was to preserve the industrial memory of the territory, especially around the well Saint-Claude n°1, operated between 1857 and 1882. The site preserves emblematic equipment such as a cage, a dumpster, 600 metres of railway tracks with wagons, and a engine room dating back to 1877.

The underground galleries, set up over 200 metres, illustrate the techniques of coal extraction, from the Blanzy peak to the hammer-picker, through a unique rabot plateau in France. The tile of the Saint-Claude well, active for two centuries, bears witness to the economic and social importance of the mining industry in the region. The museum, labeled Musée de France, is part of an approach to valorizing the local technical and ethnological heritage.

The site highlights the mining trades, the tools used, and the regional history of coal mining. The collections cover various themes: ethnology of trades, industrial history, and technical sciences. The location in Blanzy, Saône-et-Loire, makes it a key place to understand the mining heritage of Burgundy-Franche-Comté.

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