An ancient culture of fungus on stacks in the underground quarry of Herblay Conflans Sainte Honorine.

An old fan, to ventilate the quarry, when there was the mushrooms culture in the quarry.

The beginning of the first mushroom area. The bags are also damaged the door.

Although converted to the cultivation of mushrooms in the 80s, humidity was not too damaged facilities. Note the conservation of paintings. Everything is spot on!

Old mushroom cultivation with flat stacks.

The limestone quarry of Chanaz is a smaller operating on three levels. The ceiling height is between 5 and 10m. Sometimes, holes in the floor let you see underground levels.

The network size is almost 4km developed. It was exploited from 1860 to the end of the Second World War to make cement. Portions was reused as mushroom farm thereafter (row crops and cultures in bags).

In this photo taken at the highest level, we see the intermediate level, row crop bottom right and even two holes overlooking the lower level. This is the most impressive part of the network with large volumes!

The underground limestone quarry of Bazemont, located in the Yvelines, was exploited for its rough limestone. There are still several excavations along the quarry road. People said in the village that the steeple of the cathedral of Chartres was built with stone from this quarry.

The quarry is also witnessed the wars of the 19th century. There are many drawings of ancient time. Drawings of soldiers, praise God, graffiti. Second quarries are reused in mushroom places. You can see the remains of the culture of the mushroom into stacks.

People of Bazemont also operated quarries in manufacturing lime from limestone. A furnace that access was by way of Grignens are still at the bottom of the valley Rogère.

source: Website of the City of Bazemont

Quarries of Herblay are over 14km wide and some hundreds of meters deep, on hillsides along the Seine.

In 1776, the exploitation of new underground quarries in Paris was forbidden. People had to take the stone elsewhere. It is for this reason that the quarry was known as "Imperial quarry" or "Quarry of the city of Paris". They built many monuments in Paris with this stone because it was high quality (the famous Royal stone).

Among the monuments built, there was The Pantheon of Paris, Department of Marine Place de la Concorde, the Gare de l'Est, the mint as well as many statues at Versailles.

The network's quarries has been excessively exploited in Herblay. The ceiling is fragile and the walls separating the tunnels are very thin. To reinforce the quarry, they have added many pillars and reinforcement structures.

Later, like many underground quarries, they served to mushroom plantation in the 1980s. The workers have dug additional corridors between small quarries networks.

A few years later and they were gradually abandoned. The latest mushroom plantation closed in 1995.

Since 2003, the association "Herblay heritage" has undertaken to make public visits to the part of the "English entry" with the famous double-arched vault and pretty ponds.

Old mushroom cultivation with flat stacks.

Old mushroom cultivation with flat stacks.