Saint-Louis-lès-Bitche crystal manufacture

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The manufacture in 1836
Chandelier from Saint-Louis-lès-Bitche

The crystal manufactory Saint-Louis-lès-Bitche ( Cristalleries de Saint-Louis ) is an important French crystal glass manufacturer in the municipality of Saint-Louis-lès-Bitche (German Münzthal ) in the Moselle department .

history

In 1586 the glassworks was relocated from Holbach to Münzthal. In the course of the Thirty Years War , however, the company went down. In 1767, King Louis XV. René-Francois Jolly and Pierre-Étienne Ollivier were given permission to build a new production facility at this point, which was allowed to carry the title "Royal Glazier". In memory of Louis IX. the company was given the name "Saint-Louis". Little by little, craftsmen and tradesmen settled around the plant, and workers' apartments were built. In 1781, the Münzthal-Saint-Louis manufactory was the first company on mainland Europe to produce lead crystal , for which England had previously had a monopoly. In 1788, the manufacture passed into the ownership of Baron Coëtlosquet, whose family ran it into the 20th century. The manufacture has been owned by the Hermès Group since 1989 .

Products

The unique crystal glass items from Saint Louis are predominantly in the luxury segment . Its characteristic is the turn to elaborate manual production techniques and a classic, traditional design language. This is where they differ from other famous Lorraine crystal glass manufacturers such as Baccarat , where the design is largely characterized by modified, modern forms reduction. The crystal glass from Saint Louis is particularly elaborately, richly and artistically decorated. The finest engravings and gold decorations, executed in fine gold (24 carat), are characteristic. Since 1991, in addition to the classic crystal glass series, crystal in contemporary design has also been produced, for example the Bubbles series from 1992, designed by the English artist Teleri Ann Jones. A filigree product like the Bartholdi Gold series from 1986 employs 24 people (9 for the glass, 15 for engraving and decoration) until a set is completed after 20 days. The late Biedermeier series Caton has been produced in the Louis Philippe style with great success since 1877 . The most famous crystal glass series still produced today is, alongside the Art Nouveau series Thistle (since 1913), the Empire series Trianon (since 1834).

environment

The entire place with its manufacturing and administration buildings, mostly from the 19th century, is of extraordinary architectural and structural historical interest.

In May 2007, the “La Grand Place” crystal museum was integrated into the historic manufactory building as post-modern architecture . The permanent exhibition shows Saint-Louis crystal from three centuries.

Every year for the Corpus Christi procession , the altar made entirely of crystal glass by Saint Louis, donated by factory director Coëtlosquet in 1910, is erected. The church, built in 1897 and also equipped with plenty of glass, is largely due to the financial support from the family who owned the factory. The church replaces a chapel that has become too small, which was built for the workers and their families in 1776 and expanded in 1856.

literature

  • Monika Flemming, Peter Pommerencke: Paperweights. Glass paperweight. Battenberg Verlag, Augsburg 1993, ISBN 3-89441-080-9 .
  • Gérard Ingold: Paperweights from Saint Louis. Paperweights - works of art made of crystal and glass. Hirmer, Munich 1986, ISBN 3-7774-4340-9 .
  • Gustav E. Pazaurek: Glasses from the Empire and Biedermeier periods (= monographs of the arts and crafts. Vol. 13/15, ZDB -ID 501163-2 ). Klinkhardt & Biermann, Leipzig 1923.
  • Walter Spiegel: Glass. Battenberg, Munich 1979, ISBN 3-87045-155-6 .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e Alexander Jürgs: Crystal of the Kings. In: Süddeutsche Zeitung , June 30, 2007, (weekend supplement) p. IV.
  2. ↑ Monika Flemming, Peter Pommerencke: Paperweights. Glass paperweight. Augsburg 1993, p. 31.
  3. ↑ a b c d e f Till Ehrlich : Guardian of the Grail. In: Wine Gourmet. Issue 2, 2008, pp. 119–125.
  4. ↑ Dany Sautot: Baccarat. Une manufacture française. Massin, Paris 2003, ISBN 2-7072-0472-2 , pp. 167f., 184ff.

Web links