Vallée des Usines

In 2021 the municipality of Thiers announced that major projects for the conversion of abandoned factories were being studied in the valley, notably in conjunction with the Fondation du Patrimoine and the Stéphane Bern Mission.

[a 1] The Vallée des Usines is located on the eastern slope of the Durolle river in the Puy-de-Dôme département (administrative region of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes).

[2] The valley has been carved out over the centuries by the Durolle[3] river in the Forez mountains, north of the Massif Central[Note 1] and it extends from where it meets the Vallée des Rouets, downstream, to the Limagne plain.

[4] Further inland, towards the Creux de l'Enfer contemporary art center and the May factory, the Durolle canyon are deeper and more tortuous.

[1] Many traces of this culture are still present; in 2012, in memory of this past, vines were planted by the municipality of Thiers in the gardens of the old hospital, in the central part of the valley.

[a 1] Further upstream, the Durolle flows through the communes of La Monnerie-le-Montel, Celles-sur-Durolle, Les Salles, Cervières, Noirétable and Chabreloche.

The main thoroughfare is Route Départementale 45, known as Avenue Joseph-Claussat as it passes through Thiers, which runs along the left bank of the river, following its curvature from north to southwest.

[8][Note 2] From 1850 onwards, the knife making industry was the only one to survive, with the introduction of machines heralding the advent of large-scale manufacturing.

The manpower needed to make a knife was scattered throughout the city; there was an extreme division of labor, with workers specializing in a trade, handed down from father to son, in which they acquired great dexterity.

The steel bars received by the companies were first passed on to the "hammermakers", who thinned them (so that they could be sharpened) using hammers powered by the river's hydraulic force.

The manufacturer himself then tempered the blades, and after the sealer[14] had delivered the handles, all the parts were finally handed over to the assemblers, who lived in the faubourgs of Thiers.

During this period, the Thiers area was France's biggest producer of knives and tools with blades, far ahead of Châtellerault, Nogent and Paris, and equal with Sheffield in the UK.

[8] From 1912 onwards, production was subject to numerous fluctuations: At the end of World War II, during the post-war reconstruction period, the valley saw a proliferation of small businesses.

[1] From the second half of the 20th century onwards, knife making factories were once again modernized, and the Durolle was no longer used as a source of energy, having been replaced by electricity.

[19] In 2021, a knife making company announced that it would be moving from its current premises outside Thiers town center to the Vallée des Usines.

These include the May factory, the Forges Mondière , the Seychalles bridge plant, the Saint-Jean de Thiers church and the Moutier abbey.

[a 7] The Creux de l'Enfer contemporary art center is a venue for artistic productions, with exhibition programs including sculptures, installations, paintings, photographs, videos and performances,[27] playing an active role in the cultural life of the town, the Puy-de-Dôme department and the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, and working to raise artistic awareness with over two thousand school visitors every year.

[28][29] The newly elected municipality of Thiers in 2020, aware of the great potential of the Vallée des Usines on many levels (particularly economic and cultural), decided to imagine a sound and light festival that would take place in the industrial setting of the site.

In 2021, a knife making company announced it would be moving from its current premises outside downtown Thiers to the Vallée des Usines.

These included combating the proliferation of ragweed, and helping to maintain, mark out and ensure the safety of the valley's hiking trails.

Map showing the course of the Durolle River around the east and south of Thiers, and locating the main factories on the river's banks.
Map of the vallée des Usines.
Low-angle shot of the Durolle waterfall as it crosses Thiers at the Creux de l'enfer.
The Durolle near Creux de l'Enfer .
Working conditions for grinders at a cutlery factory in Thiers
The Thiers grinders in the early 20th century.
Colorized old postcard showing a low-angle view of the northern part of the valley during low-water periods. In the center, a Roman bridge with 2 arches crosses the river.
The northern part of the Vallée des Usines in the early 20th century.
Night shot showing the Durolle in flood, with a very large flow of brownish water at a small waterfall in the middle of town, with a factory on the bank to the left of the shot.
The Durolle River in flood in January 2018.
Photo of a very old waxed wood barber's kit with a dozen recessed compartments, in which some of the original tools are still to be found, including a razor, an awl and a needle. The scissors, knife and second razor are missing, thanks to the shapes in the wood. The blades are made of steel and the handles of horn or ivory.
Barber 's kit on display at the Cutlery Museum .
Recent shot of the former Creux de l'enfer factory taken from the opposite bank. On the right is the avenue, in the center the Durolle with its waterfall under a modern bridge, on the left the 3-storey factory facade. Part of the factory is built on vaults above the water, the plaster on the walls is crumbling, revealing the shale stones in places, and the name, painted in red, is still visible
The former Creux de l'Enfer factory, transformed into a contemporary art center.
Night shot of the façade of the Moutier abbey dwelling. The square building, flanked by corner towers, has 3 storeys and a slate roof. The facade opens on the ground floor with a stone ogival door in the center, while the 2 upper floors feature a single window and wooden balconies running from one tower to the next, whose lighting creates a warm yellow hue that contrasts with the white hue of the first floor. To the right of the main building, a smaller, recessed building links the abbot's lodgings to the convent buildings, whose bell tower can also be seen in the light.
The Moutier abbey dwelling at night in 2012.
One of the signs at the entrance to the town of Thiers, referring to the Vallée des Usines.
Antique postcard in bistre and white showing the center of the valley with the Durolle just in front of the waterfall and, on the left, the Entraygues factory buildings rising in a 4-story parallelepiped with 7 rectangular windows per level. The masonry belts between the floors read clearly, from top to bottom: Manufacture de Coutellerie Fine, Sauzede Père et Fils, Usine d'Entraygues.
The center of the valley in 1930.
Autumn photo of a former cutlery factory building downstream from the Creux de l'enfer factory. The 2-storey brown shale stone building has just been partly restored, and the tiled roof is new, but there are no window frames yet.
A former knife making factory put "out of water" in 2018.