Carmaux Towns, Villages and Bastides in Carmaux

About ten minutes north of Albi is Cagnac-les-Mines and a little further, Carmaux, the two towns are linked by the exploitation of coal between 1886 and 1983. A few years after the exploitation of the mines, the municipality of Cagnac-les-Mines seizes the site and decides to establish there a place of memory of this exploitation.

In Carmaux, the second prosperous industry is that of glass. These two activities are complementary because the coal, extracted locally, was used to fuel the furnaces of the glassworks. It was in 1754 that the adventure began and for 1 century, around 500,000 per year left the factories. In 1882, with the construction of a new factory, 300 workers were employed to produce 21,000 bottles per day! In 1895, a great period of protests and unrest began between the unions and Eugène Resseguier, boss of the factory. It is Jean Jaurès who resolves the conflict.

Do you want to learn more? Then visit the Glass Art Center in Carmaux.