The “Syndicat Mixte”

The “SYNDICAT MIXTE POUR LA CREATION ET LA GESTION DU MUSEE DE LA MINE” was created by prefectoral decree on 22 July 1998.

The statutes were subsequently amended to only retain the name “SYNDICAT MIXTE DU MUSEE DE LA MINE”

This syndicate is a public structure for intermunicipal cooperation, bringing together the Forbach urban community and the Freyming Merlebach community of municipalities, which have joined forces to implement the Syndicat’s designated purpose.

This structure is administered by a Syndicate Committee, composed of representatives of these two communities. Decisions are taken like a municipal council.

Each year, the syndicate committee votes on the syndicate’s budget, the financial framework without which no establishment can operate.

In 2018, the budget of the museum’s Syndicat Mixte was around €2 million for operations and €1.5 million for investments.

Since its creation, the syndicate committee has also decided to carry out major work on the site now known as “Explor Wendel Park”:

  • Development of the washhouse (LE LAVOIR)
  • Development of the underground elements (THE WENDEL MINE)
  • Development of the central building (WENDEL MINERS MUSEUM)

The syndicate committee has also decided to hold several temporary exhibitions, to enhance the collections and to develop leisure time activities at the EXPLOR WENDEL PARK site.

Since the beginning of 2018, it has also contributed to the financing by EPFL (Etablissement public foncier Lorrain) of the development of the esplanade, aimed at offering users of the site a space for walking or performing live shows.

It has also recently decided to create a new building to house a RESTAURANT from 2020.

All decisions made by the syndicate committee are implemented by an administrative, technical and cultural team, composed of permanent employees as well as seasonal workers and temporary guides.

The current structure is managed as follows:

  • the president: Robert Ahr
  • the four vice-presidents: Didier Keuper, Constant Kieffer, Bernard Pignon and Yannick Leblanc