Méricourt is a city of Pas-de-Calais, in the Hauts-de-France region, 5 km south-east of Lens.
Already occupied during the Gallo-Roman era, the territory is a rural parish from the Middle Ages, the cultivated land and the many woods then belonging to the noble family of Tournay-d'Assignies.
But the agricultural vocation of the town is upset as in most neighboring localities when a survey attests in 1857 the presence of coal in the basement. A pit is exploited since 1860 and since then, the activity as the landscape of Méricourt are transformed by the mining industry.
The population grew from 669 inhabitants in the middle of the 19th century to almost 4000 before the First World War, during which the city was devastated.
The mining activity then resumed, with the exploitation of new pits, and the population of miners who live in corons, is added that of the many railway workers.
Marked by several disasters due to underground explosions, including that of March 10, 1906 which made 1,099 victims including 408 from Méricourt itself, the mining history ends in the 1980s. The city begins then an economic mutation and zones of new activities are developed, while remaining a railway stronghold (maintenance center).
Méricourt is now home to nearly 12,000 inhabitants, keeping alive the memory of its mining past, but retaining an agricultural aspect in the south of the country. Its associative dynamism and its heritage sites justify a detour during a stage or a stay in Lens.
It is not only the typical urban landscape of the mining basin that testifies to the industrial history of the city.
A visit to the city can indeed start with the memorial inaugurated in 2006 paying homage to the victims of the so-called Courrières disaster. Located rue Urianne Soriaux, it is the monument of Silo, the name given at the time to the mass grave where are buried 272 unidentified victims of what was the biggest European mining disaster of the twentieth century (1099 dead).
The necropolis has a memorial erected by the city of Méricourt. And on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the tragedy caused by the firedamp, it was laid out a "route survivors" between the Silo Méricourt and the location of the former pit 2 of Billy-Montigny where 13 survivors are finally reassembled after three weeks underground. The one-kilometer-long route includes 21 metal markers on which the disaster and the events of the following days, on the surface as well as on the bottom, are recounted, where despite the blindness of the dust and the remains strewn with the galleries, men So they managed to come out alive from this hell. Free access.
Another site testifying to the mining past, the Drocourt heap, 90 m high, which forms a set evoking a camel's back. Beware, if the heap can be observed from a distance, access to the site itself is regulated. Inquire at +33 3 21 69 92 92.
As for the railway activity, it is symbolized by the installation of an imposing BB 12032 locomotive, dating back to the 1950s, weighing more than 80 tons, on the children's rights roundabout.
In the district of the miners, rue de Dourges, to see finally, the new church Sainte-Barbe, erected at the turn of the 2000s. It succeeded a replica of the church Notre-Dame-des-Ardents, built in 1927, but was destroyed for safety reasons in 1997. The new contemporary-style building made of traditional brick houses the bell, the portal and stained glass windows of the old church frequented by many families of minors of origin Polish. This is why a sculpture created in Katowice is shown inside, and donated by the municipality of Tarnowskie Gory, a town twinned with Méricourt.
All these sites such as agricultural areas south of the municipal territory can be included in hiking or mountain biking. Documentation and information on +33 3 21 67 66 66 or from the local club, on +33 9 61 14 00 49.
For the sportsmen again, the city stadium of the city of Morocco is available, like the space Jules Ladoumègue which has gymnasiums, tracks and fields of football. Information on +33 3 21 74 32 77.
As for fans of futsal, they can contact +33 3 21 28 36 25.
Finally, at the cultural level, the Espace de la Gare includes a theater where many concerts or plays are scheduled, and a rich media library that hosts exhibitions. Inquire at +33 3 91 83 14 85.
During the month of March, the festival of Poetry in the Streets offers readings, workshops and animations for all audiences.
At the end of March, the week of the sustainable development program animations, debates, conferences and outings "nature" with guides.
Many flea markets are offered by the associations of the municipality. They take place on the first Sunday of April, May 8, Ascension Thursday, the first two Sundays of June, the third Sunday of July, the last Sundays of August and September.
In mid-December, the fairy Christmas program entertainment and fireworks.
Finally, the Saturday morning market allows you to discover the riches of the terroir of Artois.
