Silk industry CJ Bonnet
Côte Levet - 01640 JUJURIEUX
From a factory with worker accommodation... to an evolving museum
A page of history is turned on the "Bonnet Soieries" site. Though industrial production ended in late 2001 with the closure of the "Société d'Exploitation des Textiles Bonnet", the site has now taken on a new life and has become a key emblem of the industrial heritage of the 19th and 20th Centuries.
The collections ilustrate the long proceess of designing and manufacturing a fabric, from sketches to the finished product. They bear the imprint of an expertise that combined technical know-how and artistic excellence, set against the background of the social and economic history of one the 19th and 20th Centuries' largest silk works.
The Ain Departemental Council has purchased all the collections to ensure that they are properly maintained, restored and shown to the general public. They are being kept on site, in the original buildings belonging to the Bugey - Vallée de l'Ain Community of Communes.
An heritage protected as an Historic Monument.
The buildings are at the heart of a complex of structures that go to make up a genuine industrial citadel, a "town within a town" with, apart from the manufacturing buildings : worker accomodation, an infirmary, a store, a crèche, a chapel, a large family house and various other dwellings.
Events in 2012
- The Museum night Saturday 19th May from 07:00pm to 10:30pm.
You could visit the cellars with flashlight and you could discover the exhibition "silk me back, une navette pour le Japon" with a guided visit by Isabelle Moulin.
Free entrance.
- The area heritage day Sunday 17th June from 02:00pm to 06:00pm.
Theme : « Du grain à moudre », about heritage, gastronomy, know-how. Presentation and activities about recipes made by the silk industry bakery. Event about the silk industry old oven by the "Comité des fêtes".
Coffee "CJ Bonnet" in sale during the day. Free entrance.
- The heritage day Saturday 15th September from 2.00 pm to 6.30 pm and Sunday 16th September from 10.00 am to 6.30 pm
Discover the sevral animations in the silk industry Bonnet for the Heritage Days. You will take part in guided tours around the theme of weaving with demonstration of weaving (departure all the 15 or 30 minutes), you could visit the temporary exhibitions dealing with the history of fabrics in one of the greatest silk industry.
"Kimono's fabric" : kimonos' exhibition in the chapel of the silk industry Bonnet in the Centre Culturel de Rencontre C.J Bonnet.
Free entrance
Opening days
Individual : from June to September, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday from 10:00 to 12:00 am and from 2:00 to 6:00 pm. Saturday, Sunday and public holidays : from 2:30 to 6:30 pm.
Information : Tourist Office 0033 4 74 37 23 14
Prices for the guided visite and exposition : adults : 4,50 € - children (13 to 18 years' old) : 3,50 €, free less than 13 years'old.
Expositions : adult : 2€ - children (13 to 18 years' old) : 1 €, free less than 13 years'old.
Shop (soieries lyonnaises, books etc), car park - shop : 0033 4 74 36 97 60
Information about the projetc : Conservation Départementale des Musées de l'Ain Soieries CJ Bonnet - Côte Levet - 01640 JUJURIEUX - phone : 0033 4 74 36 86 65 - www.ain.fr/collectionsbonnetjujurieux
Photos by : Fonds départemental des Soieries CJ Bonnet. Collection Musées de l'Ain / G. Fessy - J. Alves
