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Origin and history

Blech House is a historic monument located in Sainte-Marie-aux-Mines, in the Upper Rhine, built in the 2nd half of the 18th century. This U-shaped building, typical of Alsatian industrial architecture, initially served as a textile factory before becoming a home in the 19th century. Its facades and roofs, adorned with carved elements (glyphs, rosaces, rake-of-heart friezes), were included in the Inventory of Historic Monuments in 1988. The entrance door, framed by a monumental decoration, and the vantals carved of oak branches bear witness to its past prestige.

Founded around 1755 by Jean Georges Reber, a Mulhousian industrialist, the factory produced cotton canvases and cottonnades. Reber first associated himself with Steffan and Zetter, then with his son Jean Georges Reber son, his son-in-law Jean Blech (who gave his name to the house), and Sébastien Lehr. The current building, probably built around 1789 by an architect or mason of Colmar named Rungs, housed workshops, offices and housing. After the enlargement of 1818, the factory became Blech Frères, one of the largest textile companies in Alsace until its closure around 1980.

The decline of the textile industry after the Second World War led to the abandonment of the site. Threatened by demolition in the 1980s, the building was saved by registration in 1988 and restored from 1998. The adjacent workshops, destroyed in 1987, were replaced by a commercial area. Today, Blech House, a private property, retains traces of its industrial past: stonestone vaults in the basement, cochère door in wrought iron with mysterious initials (S. J. B. G.), and remains of the regular garden built in the 19th century by Jean Georges Reber Jr.

The architecture combines classicism and functionality: a three-span central forebody frames eleven windows on the street, while the lateral wings, with the harped corner chains, open onto the old garden. The long-paned roof, pierced with crawling skylights, and the first floor sandstone coffer reflect the ingenuity of the builders. Originally, the ground floor housed the workshops, the floors the houses, illustrating the integration of living and working spaces characteristic of pre-industrial factories.

The Blech House embodies the golden age of Alsatian textile, marked by industrial dynasties such as the Reber and Blech. Its rescue testifies to the heritage awareness of the 1980s, preserving a rare example of 18th-century manufacturing architecture in Alsace. The site, although transformed, remains a symbol of the French industrial heritage, linked to the economic and social history of the Sainte-Marie-aux-Mines valley.

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