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.

The sand quarry of Puiselet operated from 1924 to 1944. Here, the remains of a wagon that was used to transport the sand outside. The sand in the region of Fontainebleau (Nemours) is a very pure sand and very fine. As one of the highest quality sand (rich in silica at 95%), it is used for optical camera or glazing prestige (The Louvre pyramid for example).

source: Argonaute(FR) et lemoniteur.fr(FR)

The Church of St. Augustine (Paris) has been built under the direction of Victor Baltard between 1860 and 1871. The land for the building is small, so they used a metal structure for the building. The advantage of this kind of construction is the absence of flying buttresses. That was the first time a great building was built with a metal structure. The land also not having a rectangular shape, wich is why the church is trapezoidal, with a narrow face and a much larger chorus. It measures about 100m long and rises to 80m high.

The viaduct Garabit is made entirely of metal. It was built by Gustave Eiffel & Cie in 1884 under the direction of the architect Leon Boyer. It is 564m long. Since the construction of the dam Grandval, a lake was formed under the viaduct, 95m below. Trademark Construction of Eiffel, it is no less than 678,768 rivets were used for construction.

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

The quarry Montesson was used (as often) for the cultivation of mushrooms. Long abandoned, the quarry of building stone has been cut in half during the construction of the highway A14. In 2010, further work has finally destroyed this beautiful part of the quarry.

The structure of the dome of the Hôtel-Dieu de Lyon was made of wood. But during the Second World War, a fire destroyed it Sept. 4, 1944. It was only that funds be provided by the state for its reconstruction, hospices have not enough money. The repair was carried out by the Chief Architect of Historic Monuments Jean-Gabriel Mortamet according to architectural plans of Soufflot.

source: Lyon patrimoine (FR)

K-TA Tractos 18. Our life is a loan that the nature made for us; enjoy it, mortals, make it without a murmur. Born, live and die is the fate of humans and every day life is a step towards death. Balland on 03/08/2001

Built in 1522, the castle of the bull is a defensive fortification. It was upgraded by Vauban in 1700. The work took about 45 years. The castle of the bull has never been a major military role. It has been used as a prison for a long time. In 1914 he was classified a historical monument. This does not prevent the Germans using it as DCA during the Second World War. After the war, the sailing school Morlaix settles for 20 years. Then in 1980, it is abandoned. Fishermen love to come and make a fire to eat but they ransacked the wood fittings. Today it is finally restored and visited by the public.

In the quarry of Meudon Montalets. The five quarry levels.

We used to come to rest in this beautiful round room during our visits to the quarry. The hole in the center of the room no longer exists. At left, behind the door, there's a view of the corridor from the heights.

On the ceiling there is a site for a large beam. There was probably a winch.