Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The Hély d'Oissel well, located in Gréasque in the Bouches-du-Rhône, is one of the main sites of the coalfields of Provence. Created in 1912 under the direction of engineer Étienne Émile Hély d'Oissel, it reaches 455.85 metres deep. Its metal horse riding, built in 1917 by the company Derobert, is equipped with 5 meters in diameter. The commissioning, originally planned earlier, was delayed by accidental flooding, delaying its actual operation to 1923.

Exploited until 1960 by the Houillères du Bassin du Centre et du Midi, the well is marked by its key role in regional coal mining. Its straddling, a symbol of the mining industry, was listed as historic monuments in 1989 for its heritage value. The site also preserves the original extraction machine, with its engine, reducer and control devices, which are witnesses to the mining techniques of the time.

Since 2000, the well has housed a museum dedicated to the history of the Gréasque mine, offering a dive into the daily life of miners and the technological evolution of coal mining. The chivalry, always visible, and the associated buildings illustrate the industrial heritage of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur. The site remains public property, managed in a logic of preserving and transmitting worker memory.

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