The Wadgassen "Cristallerie" bears witness simultaneously to the industrial and cultural history of the region. Firstly it reminds visitors of the importance and the tradition of glassmaking in the Saar region. And second, the glassmaking factory was built from the bricks originally used in the construction of the Premonstratensian abbey in Wadgassen. No less than 500 workers were employed here in 1893: the "Cristallerie" was closed down in 1986.

The abbey was set up in 1135 and soon grew to become a centre of the Western Renaissance. For a time it was the provincial headquarters of the Premonstratensian order, having authority over a huge area of land stretching from the upper Lorraine, to south Germany to the Harz mountains. It was destroyed during the Thirty Years War and rebuilt in the 18th century with outbuildings and baroque gardens. In 1792 it was invaded by French revolutionary troops who drove out the monks, secularised the abbey and sold off the buildings and their contents. In 1798 the site was purchased by Nicolas Villeroy, the founder of the nearby "Fayencerie" in Wallerfangen.

In 1843 three businessmen – Nicolas Villeroy, Jean Francois Boch and Eduard Karcher – set up a glass factory based on similar works in Lorraine. The first employees also came from Lorraine, a region that was renowned for its glassmaking skills. The raw materials were delivered by timber from the nearby forests, and mottled sandstone from the Hostenbach pit. Light Bohemian and heavy French crystal items were made here, and the glass factory soon began to outstrip both local competitors and those in Lorraine. This continued until the start of the Second World War. The "Cristallerie” survived the war by producing simple goods; and after that it began to reconquer both the German and the French markets. In 1986 Villeroy & Boch ceased producing serial products in Wadgassen.

In the demonstration room, visitors can watch glassmakers at work smelting, blowing, polishing and decorating items made of glass. In 1986/87 a special route for visitors was opened through the works that had grown out of the ruins of the abbey. Here they can view a 2 x 1 metre glass replica of the abbey site. Behind the tall round bow windows on the cross-shaped outline of the "old factory" they can find the remains of the old smelting kilns. The adjacent pond and the old cloister wall lead visitors deep into the past when the site was once a monastery.