Located in La Motte d'Aveillans, 40 km south of Grenoble, near the "Route Napoléon" RN 85, tourist route linking Grenoble to the Southern Alps and the Mediterranean.
The Motte of Aveillans
La Motte d'Aveillans is the cradle of the anthracite mines of La Mure, recently closed in 1997.
La Motte d'Aveillans has indeed experienced mining linked to the general context of the Matheysin plateau, which has its roots at the beginning of the Middle Ages and then in the 16th century, but does not really develop until the beginning of the 19th century.
The project "La Mine Image"
The Museum was initiated by people attached to the memory of their industry, among them former miners. In February 1986, the association Sauvegarde et mise en valeur du patrimoins mottois was created and the museum project became its main objective.
Over the years, volunteers have cleared the galleries, done important work on the site, organized guided tours by former miners, sought funding for the sustainability of the project and saw the construction in 1995 of the first building using the mining architecture of the time and in 2011 the second building to offer visitors a very rich museography.
Today, it is young guides trained by former miners who make you discover "the bottom".