Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The old ice-mills of Strasbourg, installed on the canals of Ill in the emblematic district of Petite France, were originally built in the 1st quarter of the 19th century, with major extensions at the end of the same century and at the beginning of the 20th century. The site, exploiting the hydraulic force of the Ill, once housed medieval mills (attested as early as the 12th century), before being transformed in 1897 into an artificial cold factory by the company Quiri (now Axima Refrigeration). These plants produced ice bread for the Strasbourg agri-food industry, using compressors and turbines powered by hydraulic energy, a pioneering technology at the time.

The factory finally ceased production on 31 May 1990, after almost a century of activity. As early as 1991, some of the buildings and technical equipment (turbines, compressors, alternators) were included in the additional inventory of the Historical Monuments, then classified in 1993 for their exceptional heritage value. These machines, some of which date back to 1897, illustrate the transition from traditional mills to the industrial era. The site was converted into a five-star hotel (Le Régent Petite France), incorporating a "small technical museum" accessible to guests, thanks to the joint action of local associations (AMUSS, Friends of Old Strasbourg) and heritage authorities.

Ice conservation is a rare example of successful rehabilitation of an industrial heritage, combining technical preservation and economic reuse. The equipment classified includes 3 Francis turbines (one from 1897), 4 SO2 compressors, and 2 alternators (1897 and 1925), witnesses of 19th-century refrigeration engineering. Although access to the public is now limited to hotel guests or during Heritage Days, the site remains a symbol of Alsatian industrial memory, where traditional hydraulic strength and technical innovation have crossed.

The history of the site also reflects the stakes of the museum of industrial heritage. As emphasized by Marc Laenen during the Interviews du Patrimoine, the choice between in situ conservation and transfer to museum poses ethical and practical challenges. Here, the hybrid solution — integration into a hotel with partial preservation — saved a unique technical set, while adapting to a new function. The old coolers thus recall the importance of the Strasburg mills, active since the Middle Ages, and their transformation in the course of industrial revolutions.

Finally, the project has benefited from a long-standing associative commitment: since the 1970s, groups such as the Association des Anciennes Glacières de Strasbourg (Association des Anciennes Glacières de Strasbourg) have campaigned to safeguard the site, resulting in its protection in 1991-1993. Their action has enabled us to document and preserve an unknown part of the Alsatian heritage, where we combine hydraulic history, technological innovation and working memory (up to 74 employees between 1925 and 1945).

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