The Lange Jan

The Lange Jan was one of the most prominent landmarks of Heerlen. This 135 meter tall chimney of the Oranje Nassau #1 was, along with sister chimney Lange Lies, for years the image of the city.
Lange Lies was blown up on August 16, 1976.,after the mine was closed in 1974.
A few days afterwards, on August 21, 1976 the Lange Jan inflated.
This job did not go entirely according to plan. Tens of thousands of spectators witnessed the fact that nearly 5 million weighing chimney is not on the mine site but fell across the top of a large villa at the Kloosterweg, which last headquarters of the Oranje Nassau Mines was established.

Now stands on the site of the villa a monument in honor of the fall of the Lange Jan.

The Lange Jan also took a number of high-voltage cables along so much of the city without electricity came to sit. In his fall The ability of the police and fire difficulties encountered. That was one of the causes of the chaos that reigned in the first half hour after the fall.