Musée de l'Ardoise et de la Géologie

About the museum

The museum tells the story of five centuries of slate quarrying in Renazé, a major centre of the slate industry in the Mayenne. The first quarries appeared at the end of the Middle Ages, and activity grew greatly from the 19th century. The Longchamp mound, where the museum is located, opened in 1890. In 1920 the commune had nearly 1,500 slate workers, and the last winding shaft closed in 1975.

The Longchamp shaft was dug in 1936. Its 22-metre iron headframe, built in 1926 and moved here in 1941, is the visible part and one of the last headframes in the area. Together with the winding-engine building in iron framing and brick, it is the site’s main feature.

The four hectares of the mound, the headframe, the buildings of the former operation, the tue-vents (windbreak walls) and the rebuilt huts recall the slate work. The museum shows the extraction of the slate and the cutting of the blocks, and allows visitors to see the shaft and the engine room.

Highlights

• 22-metre headframe of the Longchamp shaft
• Winding-engine hall in iron framing and brick
• Slate extraction and block cutting
• Four-hectare mound with tue-vents and rebuilt huts

Permanent exhibition

• Site de la mine de Longchamp – A route around the shaft and the engine room, covering slate extraction and block cutting, and the splitters’ mound with its rebuilt tue-vents.

Operated by

Association des Perreyeurs Mayennais

Admission & discounts

2026 prices as stated by the Mayenne tourist office; the commune’s website does not publish prices.

Accessibility

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Kids & families

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Getting there & parking

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Amenities & dining

Picnic area and screening room, according to the Mayenne tourist office.

Events & venue rental

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Plan your visit