Timeline

Key figures

Origin and history

Vittel's thermal infrastructure, classified as a Historic Monument, spans a period of construction from 1859 to 1936. It consists of emblematic elements such as the schoolhouse for the Source des Demoiselles (1859), the first work to mark the thermal development of the station. The thermal establishment, designed by architect Charles Garnier in 1884, includes a gallery-promenor characteristic of the seaside architecture of the period. These achievements reflect the rise of spas in France in the 19th century, linked to the enthusiasm for cures and health tourism.

The large gallery, built between 1897 and 1938, includes the lobby of the thermal establishment erected in 1905 and the pavilion of the Grande-Source, work of Auguste Bluysen (1930). The palmarium, built from 1911, was completed in 1936 by an indoor swimming pool signed Fernand César. These extensions illustrate the evolution of thermal practices from strict medical use to a recreational and social dimension. The whole, protected by decree in 1990, bears witness to the alliance between eclectic architecture and exploitation of natural resources.

The architects involved — Garnier, famous for the Paris Opera, Bluysen and Caesar — marked the site with various styles, from neoclassical to modernism. Private ownership of infrastructure underlines its sustainable economic role, rooted in the local history of the Vosges. The protected elements (griffon, edicle, galleries) highlight the heritage value of a site where health, architecture and tourism have crossed for more than a century.

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