Like the whole of Haute-Alsace, Florival and Guebwiller are also part of the major industrialization processes that have enriched them with an important industrial heritage.
The beginning of the industrial adventure
Before the arrival of industry, the traditional way of life in the valley was that of the winegrower and the craftsman. Agricultural activity was the first source of income for the inhabitants. Weaving is then a craft activity at home often allowing to acquire a second income. However, at the beginning of the XNUMXthe century, things are changing. Indeed, just a few years after the Revolution, the region of Guebwiller embarked on textile industrialization. Among the precursors, we can mention the Ziegler, Greuter et Cie house, which installed in 1806 in the enclosure of the former Dominican convent, sold as national property, a spinning, weaving, bleaching and printing workshop. on Web. In Soultz, a ribbon factory known later under the name of "Baumann & Cie" was created at the same time, in 1812, by an industrialist from Basel, Lucas Preiswerck.
A successful industry
From the second half of the XNUMXthe century, the phenomenon of industrialization became widespread, leading to social changes. At first, fledgling settlements employed artisanal weavers. Recruitment is gradually spreading to isolated hamlets. Thus, in less than a century, the population left the high altitude hamlets, encouraged by the arrival of the railway. Work in industry therefore represents the main activity and agriculture becomes a secondary activity providing only additional income. In the early days, the presence of a watercourse was an important element in the installation of industries, which explains the choice of the banks of the Lauch by the first pioneers. However, the wheel was quickly replaced by the turbine, which offered better performance and, from 1820, the factories were equipped with steam engines. The technical evolution of machines naturally influences factory architecture, hence the continuous modification of industrial buildings between the end of the XNUMXthe century and the XXe century.
