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Heritage classified

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Origin and history

The Caussanus forges, located at Bruniquel in the Tarn-et-Garonne, were founded in 1821 by Jean-Baptiste Garrigou, taking over the activity of his forges of Courbeval (created in 1807). Quickly sold to his brother-in-law Augustin de Lapeyrière, they experienced a major expansion from 1826 with the construction of a complete industrial complex: two charcoal blast furnaces, three refinery fires, rolling mills, and ancillary buildings (housing, workshops, coal halls). The activity officially started in 1830, marking the climax of the production of cast iron from the local ores of Penne and Puycelsi.

The site, characterized by a neat architecture (pyramidal massif in cut stone, classical pediment casting hall), is later attached to the Compagnie du chemin de fer de Paris à Orléans. Its decline began with the arrest of the forges in 1880, replaced by a phosphate plant (1884), then a chemical plant (Bozel-Malétra) after the Second World War, before its definitive abandonment. Classified as a Historical Monument in 1991, the Caussanus forges are today an exceptional vestige of the regional steel industry, with protected elements such as blast furnaces, entrance pavilions and workers' housing.

Together, we illustrate the technological and economic changes of the 19th century in Occitanie, where metallurgy, initially dependent on charcoal and local resources, gradually gives way to new industries. The conservation of the site, despite its partial reconversion, offers a material testimony of the steel know-how and the social organization of the factories (workers' housing, the house of the director), reflecting the lasting footprint of these activities in the territory of Bruniquel and Tarn-et-Garonne.

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