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All French heritage classified by regions, departments and cities

  2. Divers
  3. Bourgogne-Franche-Comté
  4. Jura
  5. 39230 Toulouse-le-Château

  6. Industrial set of the forges of Baudin (also on commune of Sellières)

Industrial set of the forges of Baudin (also on commune of Sellières) à Toulouse-le-Château dans le Jura

Jura

Industrial set of the forges of Baudin (also on commune of Sellières)

    311 Rue de la Vaudriere
    39230 Toulouse-le-Château
Photo de Industrial set of the forges of Baudin (also on commune of Sellières)
Crédit photo : Oeil Comtois - Sous licence Creative Commons

Timeline

Temps modernes
Révolution/Empire
XIXe siècle
Époque contemporaine
1800
1900
2000
1794
Forges Foundation
1828
Major extensions
1853–1854
Construction of the chapel
1874
Stopping the blast furnace
1959
Final closure
1993
Historical Monument
Aujourd'hui
Aujourd'hui

Heritage classified

1. Chapelle de Baudin (cad. Toulouse-le-Château AI 278) : classification by decree of 5 July 1993 - 2. Château des forges de Baudin : facades and roofs of all buildings ; accommodation; greenhouse; support wall of the vegetable garden, following the path that forms the avenue of the castle, including the statue of Saint-Lothain; park with canal and two bridges (cad. Toulouse-le-Château AI 275 to 277; Sellars AI 3, 4, 6): registration by order of 22 November 1993 - 3. Forges de Baudin: facades and roofs of all buildings; chimneys on each floor of the large worker housing building; office of the director, fireplace, fireplace and floor of the cooperative on the ground floor of the management building; decorated room on the ground floor and crossing room on the floor of the presbytery; floors of plots AI 324 and 325 on Toulouse-le-Château and ZE 75 on Sellières; cemetery; Oratory of the Virgin at the intersection of the departmental road number 475 and the municipal road number 12 of Toulouse-le-Château; road cross at the intersection of the municipal roads Nos. 2 and 4 of Toulouse-le-Château (cad. Toulouse-le-Château AI 324, 325, 280 and not cadastre-domain public); ZE 73, AI 5): registration by order of 30 November 1993

Key figures

Claude-Étienne Jobez (1745–1830) - Founder and Member of Parliament Created the forges in 1794.
Étienne Monnier (1764–1849) - Modernizer and son-in-law Developed the factory in the 19th century.
Edmond Monnier (1812–1885) - Innovative forge master Social model inspired by fourierism.
André Monnier (1851–1933) - Specialist in enamel Directed the production of enamelled stoves.
Laurent Monnier (1888–1975) - Last forge master Collaborated with F.L. Schmied for artistic enamels.

Origin and history

The Forges de Baudin, located on horseback on Toulouse-le-Château and Sellières in the Jura, were founded in 1794 by the transfer of a blast furnace from Frontenay to the medieval mill of Baudin, on the banks of the Brenne. Although nicknamed "forges", it was in fact a foundry specialized in casting cast iron in moulds, producing household objects, decorative elements (balcony, cross) and public equipment like fountains still adorning Jurassian squares. The site, bought in 1794 by Claude-Joseph Morel and Claude Jobez, became the exclusive property of the Jobez-Monnier family, which managed it until its closure in 1959.

At its peak in the 19th century, the factory employed more than 200 workers and produced 1,500 tons of cast iron annually (1850), ranking among the first three industrial establishments in Jura. Major extensions took place around 1828, including workers' houses, hangar, and a steam machine to overcome water shortages in the Brenne. Under the leadership of Edmond Monnier (master of forges from 1849 to 1885), the site adopted a pioneering social model: free accommodation with gardens, heating, medical care, compulsory school and cooperative worker with local currency.

The neo-Gothic chapel (1853–54), with a Ducroquet organ, and the patronal castle (circa 1865) symbolize this prosperity. However, English competition in the 1860s forced the shutdown of the blast furnace in 1874. The factory then converted into the enamelled cast iron (cookers, toys "Baby Baudin", artistic enamels like the Norman Knight of the ship Normandy). Despite commercial efforts in the 20th century, it closed in 1959, a victim of a lack of modernization.

Some of the buildings (worker housing, castle, chapel classified in 1993) were preserved, while the workshops were razed in the 1970s. Today, the site, bought in 2022 by descendants of the forge masters, benefits from partial rehabilitation (reception room inaugurated in 2024) and the support of the Bern Mission (Laureate 2024 of the Lotto du Patrimoine). An archive of 60 linear metres (1686–1961), given to the Jura Departmental Archives, documents its history.

Masters of notable forges include Claude-Étienne Jobez (founder, Member of Parliament for Jura in 1815), Étienne Monnier (modernizer, lawyer), and Edmond Monnier (inspired by Fourierism), whose social innovations made Baudin a model. André Monnier specialized in the production in the enamel, while Laurent Monnier collaborated with the artist F.L. Schmied for enamelled frescoes, such as that of Normandy, today in New York.

The site, today private and communal property, combines industrial heritage and social memory. Its museum (closed in 2018) could be reborn, while the chapel, the neo-Gothic castle and workers' housing testify to this time when industry was rhyming the lives of hundreds of Jurassian families.

External links

Page Wikipedia
Page Monumentum