0 Havré - Corons de la Chaussée du Rœulx (1)

urbanism Urbanism is the study of how inhabitants of urban areas, such as towns and cities, interact with the built environment. It is a direct component of disciplines such as urban planning, which is the profession focusing on the physical design and ...

, a coron is a historical type of working-class housing found in parts of Northern

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

and

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

. Emerging during the

Industrial Revolution The Industrial Revolution was the transition to new manufacturing processes in Great Britain, continental Europe, and the United States, that occurred during the period from around 1760 to about 1820–1840. This transition included going f ...

, corons were a form of low-cost dwelling commonly found in coal mining and

steelmaking Steelmaking is the process of producing steel from iron ore and carbon/or scrap. In steelmaking, impurities such as nitrogen, silicon, phosphorus, sulfur and excess carbon (the most important impurity) are removed from the sourced iron, and alloy ...

regions of

Wallonia Wallonia (; french: Wallonie ), or ; nl, Wallonië ; wa, Waloneye or officially the Walloon Region (french: link=no, Région wallonne),; nl, link=no, Waals gewest; wa, link=no, Redjon walone is one of the three regions of Belgium—alo ...

and the

Nord-Pas-de-Calais Nord-Pas-de-Calais (); pcd, Nord-Pas-Calés); is a former administrative region of France. Since 1 January 2016, it has been part of the new region Hauts-de-France. It consisted of the departments of Nord and Pas-de-Calais. Nord-Pas-de-Calais ...

. Originating as a form of

vernacular architecture Vernacular architecture is building done outside any academic tradition, and without professional guidance. This category encompasses a wide range and variety of building types, with differing methods of construction, from around the world, bo ...

, their design and materials were increasingly upgraded over time and some were even constructed as parts of purpose-built model villages. They can be considered a counterpart of the

back-to-back housing Back-to-backs are a form of terraced houses in the United Kingdom, built from the late 18th century through to the early 20th century in various guises. Many thousands of these dwellings were built during the Industrial Revolution for the rapidly ...

found in industrial parts of the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. Over a hundred coron sites are listed as

World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...

s in Northern France selected by the

United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

(

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

Origins and etymology

The term originates from the

Walloon language Walloon (; natively ; french: wallon) is a Romance language that is spoken in much of Wallonia and (to a very small extent) in Brussels, Belgium; some villages near Givet, northern France; and a clutch of communities in northeastern Wisconsin, ...

'coron' (itself from

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

'cornus' meaning 'corner') denoting the edge or corner of a street and, by extrapolation, a working-class district. The emergence of the corons was instigated in the nineteenth century in

metropolitan France Metropolitan France (french: France métropolitaine or ''la Métropole''), also known as European France (french: Territoire européen de la France) is the area of France which is geographically in Europe. This collective name for the European ...

’s Northern Departments now constituting the Hauts-de-France region (French pronunciation: d(ə) fʁɑ̃s translating to "Upper France" in English; Picard: ''Heuts-d'Franche''), following the territorial reform of

French Regions France is divided into eighteen administrative regions (french: régions, singular ), of which thirteen are located in metropolitan France (in Europe), while the other five are overseas regions (not to be confused with the overseas collect ...

(2014) from a merger of

and Picardy. The activity was ubiquitous in the towns of the former Nord-Pas de Calais Mining Basin including

Lewarde Lewarde ( pcd, Lwarte) is a commune in the Nord department in northern France. Heraldry See also *Communes of the Nord department The following is a list of the 648 communes of the Nord department of the French Republic. The communes c ...

and the sites.

Description

Different types of corons coexisted. Some represented real advances for the time in terms of protecting inhabitants from cholera outbreaks. Today, successive renovations make corons sought after. File:Les corons - Steve.© - (6824798766).jpg File:Billy-Montigny - Les corons Tourtois.jpg File:Somain - Corons De Sessevalle.jpg File:Auchel - Vue de Corons.jpg File:Estrée-blanche corons.jpg File:Noyelle-sous-Lens - Mines de Courrières, Fosse n° 3, Corons de Méricourt.jpg File:Somain - Corons De Sessevalle sur la Route de Rieulay.jpg

Popular culture

Les Corons "Les Corons" is a famous French song by Pierre Bachelet and was written by Jean-Pierre Lang and music composed by Bachelet himself. "Les corons" is a regional hymn for the Northern miners of France. The iconic song describes the pride of France' ...

" is a famous French song by

Pierre Bachelet Pierre Bachelet (25 May 1944 – 15 February 2005) was a French singer-songwriter and film score composer. He was also known as Andrew Bascon. He died of lung cancer in 2005. Personal life Pierre Bachelet was born on 25 May 1944 in the 12th ...

written by Jean-Pierre Lang and composed by Bachelet himself. It became the regional hymn for the Northern miners of France by describing their pride and struggles while integrating folklore. The supporters of the football club

RC Lens Racing Club de Lens (, commonly referred to as RC Lens or simply Lens) is a French professional football club based in the northern city of Lens in the Pas-de-Calais department. Its nickname, ''les sang et or'' (''the blood and gold''), co ...

chant it before a match. *

Émile Zola Émile Édouard Charles Antoine Zola (, also , ; 2 April 184029 September 1902) was a French novelist, journalist, playwright, the best-known practitioner of the literary school of naturalism, and an important contributor to the development of ...

's 1885 novel '' Germinal'' is set against the detailed description of the living and working conditions of a poor mining community in northern France.

References

{{reflist Architecture in France Architecture in Belgium House types