Individuals and groups
Explor Wendel Park offers many tour options for individuals and groups alike:
The Wendel Miners Museum …
… located in the “miners’ building”, retraces the daily life of the miner for over 150 years before and after his trip underground: the miners’ hall, hanging room (changing rooms), baths and showers, lamp store, lamp workshop, stamp counter,… Spanning over nearly 1,800m², the exhibition spaces installed in the rooms left in their working condition and equipped with sound terminals, videos, objects, etc. present you the origin and history of coal, the history of its exploitation in Lorraine, the daily life of miners, the social policies of mining companies as well as the mining professions.
The museum’s highlights:
- Free visits
- Self-guided tour booklet available free of charge.
- Duration: about 1 hour.
- Information in 3 languages (French, German and English).
- Guided tours available in French, German and English, booking required (duration 1 hour).
- Free discovery booklet for children
The Wendel Mine …
plunges you into the heart of the galleries, at a depth of over 1,200 metres After experiencing the sensations of a real-time descent, the various sites are presented to you in conditions similar to those of the last few years of coal mining (the last French headquarters closed in 2004 at La Houve in Creutzwald). The two preparatory work sites of the rock and the tracing with the single-armed Pantofore and the AM100 allow you to understand how the galleries were dug. Then follow the rock and coal digging galleries with mining sites in horizontal coal seams (inclination of less than 20°), slightly-sloping seams (inclination between 30° and 45°) and sloping seams (inclination of more than 45° and unique in France). For each of them, specific human and technical skills, as well as adapted machines were necessary (Electra 2000, ANF,…). Accompanied by a guide, this trip deep down into the heart of the earth will give you something to think about.
The Wendel Mine’s highlights
- All of the written information in the Wendel Mine is available in 3 languages (French, German and English).
- Private guided tours available, booking required
- Guided tours in German and English available, booking required.
- Suitable for persons with reduced mobility + children
The tour is on foot, so remember to wear sensible shoes.
The mine complex …
… the group of surface facilities needed to operate a mine. This complex in Explor Wendel Park links the Wendel Miners Museum with the Wendel Mine
10 markers mark the route and present its history as well as that of the main buildings (the well, the extraction machines, the store, the workshops, the washhouse, the slag heap…).
The mine complex’s highlights:
- The explanation panels are in 3 languages (French, German and English).
TESTIMONIAL MEETING
BOOKING REQUIRED
Share the experience of a former miner and hear all about his professional life (training, career, work underground in the mine, camaraderie between colleagues as well as accidents, difficulties,…) and family life (life in mining towns, local traditions…). During the course of the conversation, he will probably share some new and exciting stories with you…
The testimonial meetings’ highlights:
- Sharing a life experience with a former miner.
- In German, French and English.
- Duration: about 1 hour.
- Booking required
MINING TOWN TOURS
BOOKING REQUIRED
On foot or by bus, let one of our guides tell you the story of the mining towns of Petite-Rosselle. Discover the architecture designed by mining companies between the mid-19th century and the 1960s.
Mining villages and detached or semi-detached workers’ houses, engineers’ and employees’ houses, dormitories, hospitals… this is what you will see as you visit the various estates known as “Wendel Nord”, “Wendel Sud”, “Leyenne” and “Urselsbach”…
Mining towns tour highlights:
- Discovery of the local mining architecture.
- Guided tours in French, German and English.
- Booking required
The tour starts at the entrance of the Wendel Miners Museum and extends over 8 km, or about 2 hours and 30 minutes of walking. As the route is outside, please remember to wear suitable footwear and clothing.
