Le 20/10/2026
Le Moulinage de la Neuve is the only former silk spinning mill to have kept its machines, which function using hydraulic energy. Discover the water wheel and the original architecture of the mill. The machines are activated for visits.
Le Moulinage de la Neuve in Marcols les Eaux is unique in Ardèche!
This old silk spinning mill was built in 1860 by the Giraud, a family of renowned silk spinning millers. The mill used to produce and spin silk for the "Grands Soyeux" in Lyon (silk weavers), for over a century, until it stopped in 1967, because of the change in fashion as well as the global competition.
The mill re-opened in 2002, thanks to the association "Moulins et Moulinages de la Glueyre" and everything is still there! The looms, the spools, the bucket wheel, the spindles, the single-cylinder diesel engine, even the smell, according to one visitor, the grandson of a miller!
The history of the mill is also linked to the life of its last owner, Marie Giraud, the first female mayor of Ardèche, whose support during World War II left a deep impression on the people of Marcols les Eaux and beyond.
A fascinating visit, a journey back to the 19th century, machines in operation...
You will learn everything there is to know about silk!