The monument to Charles Mathieu is a bronze statue on a stone pedestal located in front of the church in Lourches, France. Born in Anzin in 1798, Charles Mathieu was the director of the Compagnie des mines de Douchy. He founded the mines of Douchy in 1832 and the mines of Courrières in 1849, and he dug the first pit of the Pas-de-Calais basin.
Designed by Corneille-Henri Theunissen and Constant Moyaux, the monument was erected in 1900 and inaugurated on September 22, 1901. It was restored in 2006 and was added to the list of historical monuments on October 9, 2009. It is also part of the UNESCO World Heritage list as part of the mining basin of Nord-Pas-de-Calais, specifically as site number 20.
The monument consists of a stone pedestal featuring two sculptures of miners, topped by the bronze statue of Charles Mathieu. Mining symbolism is prominently displayed on all four faces of the pedestal. The south face bears an inscription detailing his achievements and honoring seventeen miners who worked with him.
Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons
Written by Nicolo Ciampini
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