Waterwheel at forge, Fontenay Abbey, Cote d'Or, France

Waterwheel at the forge, Fontenay Abbey, Marmagne, Cote d'Or, France. This Cistercian abbey was founded by Saint Bernard of Clairvaux in 1119, built in the Romanesque style. The abbey itself housed 300 monks from 1200, but was sacked during the French Revolution. The 53m water-powered forge is the oldest metallurgical factory in Europe, dating from 1220. It was recently reconstructed. The monks extracted iron ore from a nearby hill and forged iron tools to sell. The Cistercians were masters of metallurgy and invented the hydraulic hammer on this site, which was driven by this waterwheel. Picture by Manuel Cohen

Picture No

13426690

Media ID

45091434

Size

5616px x 3744px (8.3MB)

Credit

Manuel Cohen / Mary Evans

Source

Photograph by Manuel Cohen