BARBARA CAN SEE YOU
December 4th is the feast day of Saint Barbara, the patroness of mineworkers and others doing dangerous jobs. In the mining region, her name day is still widely celebrated. Saint Barbara looked out over this room from the balcony on the floor above. On December 4th miners would bring her statue down and place it on top of a large heap of coal in the middle of the room. The Barbara Room was the place where mineworkers assembled. The latest safety innovations hung in the display case under the stairs. Medical examinations were carried out at the back of the Barbara Room where the brasserie is now located.