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Because it's not just the castle to visit in Fougères, we invite you to take a leap in time to the 19th century when the city was recognized as the French capital of footwear!
Fougères, French shoe capital
All the activity of tannery, draperies, and dyers de Fougères which you can find in the Medieval Quarter on the banks of the Nançon has evolved to face the crisis of the textile industry of 1830. Fougères specializes in the manufacture of braided wool slippers as well as in wooden clogs .
That's 12 to 000 pairs of slippers that are made every year in Fougères!
In the middle of the 19th century, there were 12 inhabitants, 000 of whom worked in footwear. The growth of the sector creates a demographic explosion. So much so that in 5000 Fougères had 1911 inhabitants, half of whom were employees in the 22 shoe factories, among which we remember big names such as JB Martin, Morel and Gâté, Barber...
This is the golden age of the city's industrial era!
Bonabry, a typical new district with its workers' houses
In the middle of the 19e century the demographic explosion of Fougères transforms its town planning. We invite you to discover the signs of its new architecture.
To house the workers, the Bonabry district surfaced. Observe its parallel streets and its schist and brick houses, built identically. One can notice at the ends of the streets the angles of the walls cut at an angle in order to facilitate the maneuvers of the trucks.
At the heart of Bonabry's working-class district stands theChurch of Our Lady of Bonabry, erected at the end of the XNUMXth century. The work of architects Henri Mellet and Charles Coüasnon, the church is Romano-Byzantine in style. We let you find the Elephant carved on a capital adorning one of the pillars of the facade!
In Fougères the factories sparkle through the mosaics of Odorico
In order to show their power and enhance their company, the big bosses in the manufacture of Fougères shoes call on architects and decorators renowned for sublimating their factory buildings.
Once in rue de Récollets, you can raise your eyes to admire the splendid mosaics signed by the famous Odorico on the facade of the company MOREL & GATE whose emblem is the Rooster of course!
The Odorico mosaics then become fashionable throughout the West. If you go through Rennes, take the opportunity to dive into the remarkable Saint-Georges swimming pool, decorated in 1925 by Odorico, whose mosaics bear witness to exceptional skill.
