Timeline

Key figures

Origin and history

The Musée du textile et du combe en horn de Lavelanet was created in 1986 to preserve the machines and know-how of the two major industries of the Pays d'Olmes: the manufacture of carded wool and horn combs. Initiated by a volunteer association, Friends of the Museum of Textiles and Horn Combs (AMTPC), founded in 1983, the project began with the collection and restoration of machines from local closed factories in the 1980s. These equipments, stored in a depot, justified the opening of a museum space in the former textile factory Dumans Frères, with the support of the municipality and then the general council of Ariège.

In 2000, the museum obtained the label Musée de France, recognizing the value of its technical collections, composed of 19th and 20th century machines, some still functional. Since 2006, its management has been carried out by the community of communes of the Pays d'Olmes. The collections, enriched by donations (90% of the fund), are divided into three categories: the Musée de France collection (invented since 2002), an uninvented study collection, and documentary archives, all related to ethnology, history and local industrial techniques.

The museum occupies the premises of a former wool linen factory built in 1803, including a late 19th century brick fireplace and a historic feeding canal. Since 2018, a reflection is underway to modernize its museum and develop activities outside the walls. Demonstrations of working machines, such as mechanical weaving machines or manual tools, remain a major asset in illustrating the manufacturing processes, from spinning to dyeing, covering nearly two centuries of technical evolution.

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