Méricourt, Pas-de-Calais

Méricourt

The town hall of Méricourt

Coat of arms

Méricourt

Location within Hauts-de-France region

Méricourt

Coordinates: 50°24′11″N 2°52′00″E / 50.4031°N 2.8667°ECoordinates: 50°24′11″N 2°52′00″E / 50.4031°N 2.8667°E

Country

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)

Time zone

CET (UTC+1)

• Summer (DST)

CEST (UTC+2)

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.

²Population without double counting: residents of multiple communes (e.g., students and military personnel) only counted once.

¹ French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

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

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. The commune is part of the canton of Avion.

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.

...
Wikipedia