Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

Bourg-de-Sirod, located in the Jura in Burgundy-Franche-Comté, is an iconic historic monument of the 18th and 19th centuries. This site, linked to metallurgical activity attested by 1673, was restored in 1724. At its peak around 1800, the forge produced 900 tons of iron, but this figure fell to 600 tons in the mid-19th century, reflecting the gradual decline of the local industry. The transition to electricity generation took place at the end of the 19th century, marking a technological and economic adaptation.

The architecture of the site includes several remarkable elements: the employer's home, preserved with its restoration style furnishings and decors, as well as communes organized in three buildings, including a day care for the children of the workers. A neo-Gothic chapel, located in the southwest, completes the whole. After the Second World War, many buildings were demolished, but remains of the hydraulic wheels and workers' housing remain, including a rectangular building that served as a coal hall, then as a store and housing.

Classified as a Historical Monument, the property includes the house, the communes, the chapel, as well as the fence wall with its gate, protected by decree of 1 June 2011. These elements illustrate both the industrial heritage and the social organization of the period, where the life of the workers was closely linked to that of the forges masters. The site, although partially altered, remains a valuable testimony of this pivotal period between traditional craftsmanship and industrial revolution.

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