Barrage des Mazelles (également sur commune de Pouillé)
MonumentHidden Treasure
Barrage des Mazelles (également sur commune de Pouillé), located in Thésée (Loir-et-Cher), is a medieval landmark built in the Middle Ages. The monument is currently closed to visitors.
Key facts
- Type
- autre
- Period
- Medieval (11th-15th century)
- Location
- Thésée, Loir-et-Cher, Centre-Val de Loire
- Visit
- Closed to visitors
- GPS
- 47.3289, 1.2886
- Mérimée Reference
- PA41000013
A jewel of 19th-century hydraulic engineering, the Mazelles needle dam embodies the triumphant industrial age: the European prototype of a technology that crossed the Atlantic to Ohio.
© Wikimedia Commons / Wikipedia
History
On the peaceful waters of the Cher, between Thésée and Pouillé, stands one of the most discreet and influential hydraulic engineering structures in France. The Mazelles dam does not have the majesty of a cathedral or the presence of a castle, but its importance in the history of world civil engineering is unparalleled for a structure of its size. Built in the second quarter of the 19th century as part of the major canalisation of the Cher, it represents a decisive step in the development of river regulation techniques. What fundamentally sets the Mazelles dam apart is its prototype nature. It belongs to a small family of structures that literally invented the modern way of taming navigable rivers. The system of mobile needle closures, devised by the engineer Poirée in 1833, found here one of its first applications on a canalised river - and in an improved version, thanks to the innovations of the engineer d'Haranguier de Quincenot. These improvements, in particular the use of sheet metal decks and a mobile winch, were subsequently adopted on dams on the Belgian Meuse, and then across the oceans. The visit is like plunging into the silence of 19th-century working-class industry. There's no gilding or turrets, just implacably logical mechanisms: trapezoidal trusses that are laid down in the riverbed or straightened to meet the needs of river traffic, a masonry lock and a spillway to regulate flooding. Looking at all this means understanding how engineers tamed a capricious river to turn it into a reliable trade route. The natural setting adds to the contemplation. The Cher meanders between wooded banks typical of deep Touraine, far from the beaten tourist track. Photographers and lovers of industrial archaeology will find plenty to linger over here, in an atmosphere where time seems suspended between water and rusty metal.
Architecture
The Mazelles dam is a mobile truss and needle dam, a type of hydraulic structure that appeared in France in the 1830s. Its principle is based on trapezoidal trusses arranged parallel to the current, hinged on a bottom sill - in this case a sill rather than a traditional masonry slab, which makes it easier to replace this part, which is particularly exposed to wear and tear. These trusses can pivot: lying in the riverbed, they clear the way for boats and during floods; raised, they form a dam with the needles in between, holding back the water to the navigable level. Replacing the original plank bridge with sheet metal decks, an innovation specific to dams on the Cher, gives the whole structure greater robustness and a distinctive silhouette, recognisable from all the structures in the same family. The complex comprises three distinct functional elements. The navigable sluiceway, the heart of the mobile system, can be completely blocked by the interplay of the sluice gates and their needles. The masonry lock, flanking the sluiceway, provides communication between the upstream and downstream reaches; its two metal gates, replaced at an undetermined date, are no longer original but bear witness to the structure's extended operational life. The weir, the third component, fulfils a hydraulic safety role by evacuating excess flow during floods or locks, thus preventing any uncontrolled submergence. The fermettes, no more than 2.50 metres high, are proportionate to the modest width of the Cher in this sector, demonstrating the intelligent adaptation of the general system to the local realities of the river.
Related Figures
Jean-Baptiste Poirée — ingénieur inventeur du système de barrage à aiguilles mobiles (1833)D'Haranguier de Quincenot — ingénieur en chef et directeur de la canalisation du Cher, concepteur des améliorations techniques propres aux barrages du Cher (1838-1843)Louis-Philippe Ier — roi sous le règne duquel les travaux de canalisation du Cher sont engagés
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Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Barrage des Mazelles (également sur commune de Pouillé) located?
Barrage des Mazelles (également sur commune de Pouillé) is located in Thésée, Loir-et-Cher department, Centre-Val de Loire region, France.
When was Barrage des Mazelles (également sur commune de Pouillé) built?
Barrage des Mazelles (également sur commune de Pouillé) dates back to a period built in the Middle Ages (11th-15th century).
Is Barrage des Mazelles (également sur commune de Pouillé) open to visitors?
Barrage des Mazelles (également sur commune de Pouillé) is currently closed to visitors.