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Origin and history

The foundry of La Voulte-sur-Rhône, located in the department of Ardèche, was founded in the early 19th century to exploit local mineral resources. In 1812, the iron and steel companies Frerejean acquired the La Boissine iron mine, originally operated under the Ancien Régime, to supply a blast furnace in Vienna. This acquisition marked the beginning of a major industrial expansion in the region.

In 1823, Louis Frerejean joined forces with the Blumensteins, other ironworkers from Lyon, to create the Compagnie des forges Loire et Isère. This company became the largest in the region in the 1860s. Under their impulse, a battery of four coke furnaces was built in La Voulte according to the plans of engineer Frédéric Jacques Culmann, a artillery captain on leave. The factory, operational in 1828, became a technical model for the French foundries of the time.

In 1839 the company was renamed Compagnie des foundries et des forges de la Loire et de l'Ardèche, reflecting its geographical and industrial expansion. The construction of two blast furnaces in 1846 brought its production capacity to 16,000 tons of iron per year, placing the factory among the first in France. These furnaces, about ten metres high and covered with refractory bricks, symbolized the technical innovation of the time.

The peak of the foundry was reached around 1870, before a gradual decline led to its closure in 1889, followed by that of the mines in 1892. The site, organized on four levels, included ore and coke warehouses, grilling furnaces, blowers, and a 300-metre canal connecting the factory to the Rhône. After decades of abandonment, it was restored and is now accessible to the public.

The foundry has been protected as historical monuments since 1996. Warehouses, ovens, wagon ramps, casting hall, and the four blast furnaces of 1827 and 1845 are classified or listed. These remains testify to the historic importance of this site in the 19th century French industrialisation.

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