commune
A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to:
Administrative-territorial entities
* Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township
** Communes of ...
in the
Pas-de-Calais
Pas-de-Calais (, " strait of Calais"; pcd, Pas-Calés; also nl, Nauw van Kales) is a department in northern France named after the French designation of the Strait of Dover, which it borders. It has the most communes of all the departments ...
department
Department may refer to:
* Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility
Government and military
*Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...
in the
Hauts-de-France
Hauts-de-France (; pcd, Heuts-d'Franche; , also ''Upper France'') is the northernmost Regions of France, region of France, created by the territorial reform of French regions in 2014, from a merger of Nord-Pas-de-Calais and Picardy. Its Prefectu ...
region of
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
.
Geography
Vermelles is situated southeast of
Béthune
Béthune ( ; archaic and ''Bethwyn'' historically in English) is a city in northern France, sub-prefecture of the Pas-de-Calais department.
Geography
Béthune is located in the former province of Artois. It is situated south-east of Calais, ...
and southwest of
Lille
Lille ( , ; nl, Rijsel ; pcd, Lile; vls, Rysel) is a city in the northern part of France, in French Flanders. On the river Deûle, near France's border with Belgium, it is the capital of the Hauts-de-France Regions of France, region, the Pref ...
, at the junction of the D39, D75 and D943 roads and by the banks of the river Surgeon.
Coal mining
Vermelles was the second extraction site used by the
Compagnie des mines de Béthune
The Compagnie des mines de Béthune, sometimes called the sometimes called the Compagnie de Grenay after the name of the concession, was a French coal mining company in the Pas-de-Calais that was established in 1851 and nationalized in 1946.
The co ...
.
Excavation of Mine 3 in Vermelles began in January 1857, reaching a rugged, steeply inclined deposit of coal at .
Extraction started in July 1860.
Air compressors were installed in Mine 3 1877.
This proved the company's most productive mine, with a total of 1,525,000 tons.
Excavation of Mine 4 at Vermelles started in October 1865 and reached coal at . Extraction started in 1867.
Mine 4 was abandoned in 1876 because the very irregular deposit at seemed unusable.
There was a lot of
firedamp
Firedamp is any flammable gas found in coal mines, typically coalbed methane. It is particularly found in areas where the coal is bituminous. The gas accumulates in pockets in the coal and adjacent strata and when they are penetrated the releas ...
compared to other mines.
Mine 4 was reopened and extraction resumed at in 1911. The main shaft reached .
During
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
(1914–18) the Germans were stopped just to the east of Vermelles.
Mine 4 was recovered in December 1914.
Barricades were built as early as 1916 along the main axes of the mine complex so it could be defended while allowing ventilation and the passage of men.
Mines 3 and 4 in Vermelles were isolated from the rest of the mines by watertight doors.
After the war, Shaft 4bis was opened to the north of Shaft 4 in 1925 for ventilation, deep.
Mine 4 was closed in 1965, and Mine 3 was closed in 1977.
Population
Places of interest
* The church of St. Pierre, rebuilt, along with most of the village, after the
First World War
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
.
* The war memorials.
* The modern church of Notre-Dame.
* The
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
The Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) is an intergovernmental organisation of six independent member states whose principal function is to mark, record and maintain the graves and places of commemoration of Commonwealth of Nations mil ...
Glauchau
Glauchau (; hsb, Hłuchow) is a town in the German federal state of Saxony, on the right bank of the Mulde, 7 miles north of Zwickau and 17 miles west of Chemnitz by rail ( its train station is on the Dresden–Werdau line). It is part of the ...
, in
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...