Minérail – Messeix Mining Museum

This museum in the Auvergne region preserves the heritage of coal mining and railways at the site of the St Louis coal mine, which operated from 1928 to 1988. Mining began in the area in 1768. In 1931 the St Louis mine employed nearly 1,000 people. The preserved buildings include the steel headframe over the shaft, the winding engine, workshops, the miners’ baths and engines for producing compressed air. There is a fascinating model of the area in historic times and displays of working models, videos and photographs. A train previously used underground to take miners to the coalface carries visitors around the surface.