The Lewarde Mining History Centre : case study.
Date: 2025-05-13
Institutions: Directorate-General for Energy
Subjects: EU energy policy, EU initiative, France, case study, coalmining policy, cultural heritage, energy transition, mining operation

Case Study
The Lewarde 
Mining History 
Centre

Energy2

EUROPEAN COMMISSION 
Directorate-General for Energy 
Directorate B – Just Transition, Consumers, Energy Security, Efficiency and Innovation
Unit B.1 - Consumers, Local Initiatives, Just Transition

EC-ENER-JUST-TRANSITION@ec.europa.eu

European Commission  
B-1049 Brussels 

ISBN: 978-92-68-25058-7 

doi: 10.2833/8583841 

MJ-01-25-039-EN-N

Manuscript completed in February 2025
1st edition
This document should not be considered as representative of the European Commission’s official position. 
Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union, 2025

© European Union, 2025

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THE LEWARDE MINING HISTORY CENTREINITIATIVE FOR COAL REGIONS IN TRANSITIONC A S E   S T U D Y

3

The Lewarde Mining History Centre

The Lewarde Mining History Centre in France is an  
important example of how cultural heritage has been preserved while  
opening up new economic opportunities for the region.

D E S C R I P T I O N

Location: Lewarde, France

Type of action: heritage 

Actors: regional councils, coal mining company

Financing conditions: private sector, government.  
Since opening: public contributions and  
own financial revenues

Type of coal: hard coal

Region: peri-urban

GDP: below national average

Unemployment rate: above national average

Population: growing population, ageing society

HAUTS-DE-FRANCE

K E Y   P O I N T S

A P P R O A C H

•  Heritage preservation combined with 

further cultural activities

•  Foundation of the cultural centre co-

financed by the former mining company

E N A B L I N G   C O N D I T I O N S

•  Persuading stakeholders about the 

potential of the heritage preservation 
(before the opening of the centre)

A C H I E V E M E N T S

•  Region is part of several tourist attractions in the 
region (which is a UNESCO World Heritage site) 

•  Publicity through a famous novel and film

K E Y   C H A L L E N G E S

•  150,000 visitors annually

•  50% financial self-sufficiency

•  Former miners employed as tour guides

THE LEWARDE MINING HISTORY CENTREINITIATIVE FOR COAL REGIONS IN TRANSITION4

P R E S E R V I N G   T H E   H E R I T A G E   O F   L E W A R D E

A major milestone in the effort to preserve this heritage was the 

establishment of the Mining History Centre on the old Delloye 

colliery yard, which opened its doors in 1984. The mission of the 

centre is to preserve mining culture and to make this heritage 

accessible to the public.

Introduction

In coal mining regions, coal is more than an economic 
factor – it generally forms an important part of the region’s 
identity as well. Thus, the prospect of phasing out coal is 
not only perceived as a threat to the economic prosperity 
of the region, but also as a challenge to cultural heritage 
and regional identity. 

The Lewarde Mining History Centre in France is an 
important example of how cultural heritage has been 
preserved and at the same time how new economic 
opportunities for the region have been opened up. It 
symbolises the transition from a highly industrialised 
region into a tourist hot spot with a national significance. 
Many other coal mining regions in Europe have established 
museums and heritage sites (for further examples see 
below), but Lewarde, as one of the oldest, has long-term 
experience that can serve as a source of inspiration.

colliery yard, which opened its doors in 1984. The mission 
of the centre is to preserve mining culture and to make 
this heritage accessible to the public. To fulfil this aim, 
the centre consists of three departments: i) the museum, 
ii) an archive, and iii) a science and cultural centre (see 
graph below). The centre is run by the Mining History Centre 
Association which was created with the involvement of 
the French government (Ministry of Culture), the Nord-Pas 
de Calais Regional Council, the Nord Departmental Council 
and the Nord-Pas de Calais coalfield nationalised mining 
company. Since 2016, the centre is a cultural cooperation 
institution (EPCC in French). Its board of directors consists 
of the French state, the region, the Douai Communauté 
d’Agglomération and the Communauté de Communes 
Cœur d’Ostrevent.

Besides keeping mining heritage alive, the centre offers 
further cultural, scientific and educational activities. It 
explicitly aims to develop and promote the attractiveness 
of the region towards its inhabitants as well as national 
and international visitors.

Lewarde is a small town in the former Mining Basin of 
northern France, where coal 
had been extracted between 
the 18th and 20th century. 
Over those three hundred years 
coal mining shaped the face 
of the region, its landscape, 
and geographical and urban 
conditions. The importance 
of this heritage has been 
acknowledged through the 
region Nord-Pas de Calais Mining 
Basin becoming a UNESCO 
World Heritage Site in 2012. 

The Museum

Largest mining
museum of France

Themed exhibitions,
guided tours

A major milestone in the effort 
to preserve this heritage was 
the establishment of the Mining 
History Centre on the old Delloye 

“Meet a former
miner” experience

The archives
and documentary
resource centre

Scientiﬁc energy
culture centre

Film archive with 
1 000 ﬁlms

Video library with
600 cassettes

Photo library with
500 000 slides
and negatives

Bringing knowledge
on energy issues to
the general public 

Exhibitions, lectures,
publications,
workshops, etc.

Oﬀers for children,
general public and
people with a
professional interest

THE LEWARDE MINING HISTORY CENTREINITIATIVE FOR COAL REGIONS IN TRANSITION5

In 1993, the above-mentioned movie Germinal created 
great publicity for the mine. As a result, the centre has been 
struggling to accommodate the crowd of visitors coming in. 
In 1999, efforts were started to enlarge the visitor centre 
and to revise the museographic project.

Achievements 

The establishment of the history centre has been a 
collaborative effort from various regional stakeholders, 
ranging from government to industry to individual workers 
in the region – an achievement set against a backdrop 
of initial scepticism from some stakeholders. The 
infrastructure, initially financed by the former coal-mining 
company, exemplifies a positive example of responsibility 
taken up in reclamation activities following the termination 
of coal mining. As for the operational financing scheme, 
the centre has managed to create a sustainable business 
model, which requires public support of only 50% of 
running costs. The centre has a wider economic impact, 
attracting tourists to the region who consume in hotels, 
restaurants and shops nearby.

180,000

A N N U A L   V I S I T O R S

The Lewarde Mining History Centre hosts       
180,000 visitors annually – approximately 4 
million during its existence, which makes it the 
most visited site of its region, Hauts-de-France. 

2025 update

The Lewarde Mining History Centre remains one of the 
top five most visited museums in Hauts-de-France. 
Approaching its 40th anniversary, the center draws both 
local visitors and international tourists from Belgium, 
the Netherlands, the UK, Germany, and Switzerland. This 
milestone demonstrates the ongoing public interest in 
mining heritage and underscores the site's importance in 
preserving industrial history.

Challenges

Before the foundation of the centre, not all stakeholders 
were convinced about the adequacy of the touristic and 
cultural potential of the region’s mining heritage. There 
were concerns about how to implement the transition 
from a highly industrialised past to a future in which 
tourism could play an important role. The concept was also 
criticised for not providing a significant replacement of jobs, 
which were lost following the mine closures. 

Interestingly, a novel and a film play an important - but 
ambiguous - role for the Mining Centre: “Germinal” is a 
world-famous novel by Emilie Zola from the late 19th 
century, describing the harsh living conditions and the 
protests of the French miners at the time. The book and 
movies based on the novel did create publicity for the topic 
and the region, however some visitors linked the negative 
events described in the story directly to the Delloye colliery 
and its History Centre.

Enabling conditions

A good starting point for the foundation of the centre 
had been that the company that owned the former 
coal mines in the region (Nord-Pas de Calais Coalfield 
Nationalised Mining Company - HBNPC) agreed to finance 
the infrastructure of the museum. Costs were reduced by 
the renovation of the old mine sites instead of building new 
facilities for the centre. This also allowed a more authentic 
display of working conditions and the cultural heritage. 
Today, 50% of the museum’s costs are funded by the 
revenue generated by the centre (tickets, restaurant, gift 
shop, etc.). The other 50% come from public contributions 
(the main contributor is the Region Hauts-de-France).

In order to establish an authentic exhibition for the Mining 
History Centre the founders of the centre called upon 
former mining workers and other concerned groups to 
provide their existing objects (tools and so on) characteristic 
of the mining industry. This had the side-effect of fostering 
a sense of ownership in the region towards the museum. 
This grassroots process was complemented by measures 
to ensure a high quality exhibition. For example, a 
scientific council was established to provide a high level of 
professionalism to the exhibition.

Furthermore, it is important to note that the museum 
is not a singular site. The Nord-Pas de Calais Mining 
Basin UNESCO heritage area offers several other tourist 
attractions. Thus, there is a synergy within the heritage 
area that makes the whole region a more attractive  
tourist destination. 

THE LEWARDE MINING HISTORY CENTREINITIATIVE FOR COAL REGIONS IN TRANSITION6

I M P O R TA N T   L E A R N I N G   P O I N T S

 y Partnership between different regional (and national) stakeholders contributed to the 

successful delivery of the project, local ownership and long-term success. 

 y Financial sustainability was achieved through a long-term business model in which 50% of 

running costs are covered through generated revenue and the remains through public funding. 

 y Although the number of jobs directly created by the centre itself is fairly small, in synergy with 

other tourist attractions in the region, the centre has become an economic factor. 

 y The employment of former coal miners as tour guides and asking miners to provide mining 
gear to the exhibition did not only result in a positive economic effect, but increased local 
ownership of the museum as an institution preserving local heritage.

 y Obviously, not every museum can hope to become a film location like the Lewarde Centre. 
But the story of the Germinal novel and movie underpins the necessity of some sort of PR 
strategy if a mining museum is to aim at a greater reach-out with subsequent positive 
economic effects.

References

 https://www.chm-lewarde.com/en/
 https://www.memhisto.com/site/en/centre-historique-minier-gb/

Other examples of mining heritage sites in Europe

Silesian Museum, Katowice, Poland

 https://muzeumslaskie.pl/

Zeche Zollverein, Essen, Germany

 https://www.zollverein.de/

Muzeum Górnictwa Węglowego, Poland

 https://muzeumgornictwa.pl

Centrum Nauki i Sztuki Stara Kopalnia, Poland

 https://starakopalnia.pl/en/about-us/

Italian Centre for Coal Mining Culture
 https://www.museodelcarbone.it/it/

THE LEWARDE MINING HISTORY CENTREINITIATIVE FOR COAL REGIONS IN TRANSITIONGETTING IN TOUCH WITH THE EU

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Credits

P1: Icons made by Freepik from www.flaticon.com are licensed 
by CC 3.0 BY.

P2: Photo by Pierre Cheuva / Centre Historique Minier.

P4: Photo by S. Jarry / Centre Historique Minier.

© European Union, 2019, updated 2025

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