Formation of exposed fossils 300 millions d'années (≈ 500)
Vestiges of the tropical forest of Carbonifera.
1900
Paris Universal Exhibition
Paris Universal Exhibition 1900 (≈ 1900)
Presentation of the coal basin model.
début des années 1980
Deposit of the Boisse collection
Deposit of the Boisse collection début des années 1980 (≈ 1980)
Enrichment by the Society of Letters, Art and Science.
Aujourd'hui
Aujourd'hui
Aujourd'hui Aujourd'hui (≈ 2025)
Position de référence.
Key figures
Pierre Vetter - Founder and geologist
Collected the museum's main collection.
Adolphe Boisse - 19th Century Geologist
Set up a collection deposited in 1980.
Origin and history
The Musée de geologie Pierre Vetter owes its existence to the passion of its founder, Pierre Vetter, a geologist who worked at Les Houillères d'Aquitaine. It brought together a collection rich in fossils and minerals, mainly from the Carbonifera period, reflecting the biodiversity of an ancient tropical forest at the origin of coal deposits in the region. These pieces, some of which are unique in Europe as a 4 metre fossilized tree trunk, illustrate local geological history.
The collection was enriched in the early 1980s by a deposit from the Société des Lettres, Art et Sciences de l'Aveyron. This fund, constituted in the 19th century by Adolphe Boisse, another geologist, completes the pieces assembled by Pierre Vetter. The museum highlights coal mining, from the formation of coal to its extraction, with historical models such as that of the coal basin of Decazeville, presented at the Universal Exhibition in Paris in 1900.
The museum, labeled Musée de France, focuses on the development of the regional geological heritage. It exhibits fossils of missing ferns and plants, witness to an ecosystem of 300 million years old, as well as tools and documents tracing the industrial history of coal. His official address, although mentioning Almont-les-Junies in some sources, is actually located in Decazeville, Aveyron.
