Youth on the roof

The local youths admire the remains of the Wendel-Vuillemin Colliery from the roof of one of the two washery buildings on this vast site. Also known as Carreau Wendel, the mine was producing 5,000 tonnes of coal a day in the 1960s with a workforce of around 5000. The coal reserves were exhausted by 1986 and the mine closed. Since then the buildings have been listed and the site preserved in varying states according to whether each particular building can find an adaptive re-use.