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Origin and history

Ampilly-le-Sec forges are an industrial site of the 2nd quarter of the 19th century, located on the banks of the Seine, in the department of the Côte d'Or. They succeeded an old 16th century forge, bought in 1829 to build a coal-fired blast furnace from the Châtillon-sur-Seine forest. This furnace, producing about 1,000 tons of iron per year from local ore (Etrochey, Poinçon-lès-Larrey), was replaced in 1834 by an English forge, equipped with six puddlers and two rolling mills, bringing production to 4,300 tons of iron per year. A tramway then took over and operated until the Entre-deux-guerres, operated by a hydraulic wheel operated by a bay derived from the Seine.

The site includes a 15.50 metre blast furnace, reinforced by bow-buttons, as well as a coal hall and workers' housing located in the immediate vicinity. These elements, including the diversion bay, are listed in the Historical Monuments by order of 20 August 1986. The site illustrates the evolution of steelmaking techniques in the 19th century, while reflecting the social organization of the workers, housed on site to ensure the continuity of production.

The building is part of an industrial landscape marked by the exploitation of local resources (wood, iron ore, hydraulic energy). Its isolated situation, between Ampilly-le-Sec and Buncey, underscores its central role in the regional economy, before its gradual decline in the 20th century. Today, the site retains emblematic remains of this period, such as the blast furnace tower and the infrastructure related to metallurgical production.

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