Industrial history, Morez history

 

 

Morez owes its existence to the presence of a river, the Bienne, which from the 16th century onwards would drive wheels, mills, hammers and other machines for processing metal. Workshops on the banks of the Bienne produced nails and clocks, and then in the early 19th century metal spectacle frames.

 

This permanent exhibition devoted to local industrial heritage displays two types of manufacturing structures: hydraulic workshops and farm workshops, together with the technologies used by frame makers in the Morez basin. A special section is dedicated to the people who came from here and elsewhere to work in this labour-intensive industry. The exhibit also examines the issue of vocational training: from the first industrial college in the 19th century to Victor Bérard secondary school and the National Optical College.

 

The visit is interspersed with models, contemporary testimonials and videos showing the main steps involved in manufacturing a metal frame.