A prestigious example of the iron and steel industry in the Age of Enlightenment, this model factory, which employed 300 workers, combines all production operations, workers’ housing and the master’s house on the same site. Built in 1768 by the naturalist Buffon, who used the site for his experiments in smelting, the Forge produced 450 tonnes of iron bars in the 18th century.
A tour of the blast furnace with its grand staircase, the forge with its paddle-wheel-activated bellows, and the foundry shows the various stages in the transformation of cast iron into iron.