Méricourt, Pas-de-Calais

Méricourt
Méricourt
Location within Nord-Pas-de-Calais region Méricourt
Coordinates:
Country	France
Region	Nord-Pas-de-Calais-Picardy
Department	Pas-de-Calais
Arrondissement	Lens
Canton	Avion & Rouvroy
Intercommunality	Communaupole de Lens-Liévin
Government
• Mayor (2008–2014)	Bernard Baude
Area1	7.53 km2 (2.91 sq mi)
Population (2006)2	11,938
• Density	1,600/km2 (4,100/sq mi)
INSEE/Postal code	62570 / 62680
Elevation	31–63 m (102–207 ft) (avg. 55 m or 180 ft)
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries. 2 Population without double counting: residents of multiple communes (e.g., students and military personnel) only counted once.

Méricourt is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region of France.

Geography

Méricourt is a former coal mining town, nowadays a farming and light industrial town, 3 miles (4.8 km) southeast of Lens, at the junction of the D33, D40 and the D262 roads. Rare for a small town, the commune is split between the two cantons of Avion & Rouvroy.

History

The history of the region remains marked by the Courrières mine disaster, which left 1,099 dead on 10 March 1906. The communes affected were Méricourt, Billy-Montigny, Noyelles-sous-Lens and Sallaumines.

It was at Méricourt that the memorial to the mining disaster was erected. Since 2006, the memorial has also included an overground pathway retracing the route underground of the survivors who managed to get out of the galleries about three weeks after the collapse and resulting firedamp and dust.

Population

Population history

1962	1968	1975	1982	1990	1999	2006
13,200	13,416	13,806	13,273	12,330	11,723	11,938
Census count starting from 1962: Population without duplicates

Places of interest

• The church of St.Martin, rebuilt along with most of the town, after the First World War.
• The church of St.Barbe, dating from the nineteenth century.
• Vestiges of an old chateau.
• The memorials.

The memorial to the dead miners (le « silo »)

”Survivors Way” « Parcours des rescapés » that links the necropolis of Méricourt to pit no. 2 at Billy-Montigny

See also

• Communes of the Pas-de-Calais department

References

• INSEE commune file

External links

• Official town website (French)
• Méricourt on the Quid website (French)