Musée du fer de Reichshoffen

About

The Historical and Industrial Museum – Iron Museum is located in the French commune of Reichshoffen 50 km northwest of Strasbourg, halfway between Haguenau in Lower Rhine and Bitche in Moselle. The Reichshoffen Museum traces the history of the city and the rise of metallurgy in Reichshoffen and in the surrounding municipalities through the development of the Dietrich factories. From the 17th century onwards, the metallurgical industry in the Northern Vosges developed thanks to the combined presence of iron ore, castine used as a melt, forests for the production of charcoal, and rivers generating hydraulic power activating boots, bellows, martinets.

Industrial development in the northern Vosges began mainly in 1684, with the purchase of the Jaegerthal forges by John II Dietrich. Dietrich and De Dietrich have had a significant impact on the municipalities of Reichshoffen, Niederbronn-les-Bains, Zinswiller, Mertzwiller and Mouterhouse. In the Gallo-Roman era, well before the development of the steel industry, the Reichshoffen region was marked by the presence of a large population with its artisanal district, as well as by the...