Vosges Brewery Museum

The Grande Brasseries et Malterie Vosgienne, is a Bavarian type brewery of 1887, built for Jacques Lobstein (1847-1931), son of cooper in Alsace, who moved to Ville-sur-Illon after Alsace was annexed to the German Empire in 1871. He became owner of the Brasserie de l’Hôte at Ville-sur-Illon, in 1877, and constructed his new premises a decade later. The village had been celebrated for its beer since the seventeenth century and has a water supply that is particularly suitable for brewing. The Grande Brasseries et Malterie Vosgienne was completed when the malt house was finished in 1900, although Lobstein’s mansion, the Chateau Lobstein, was added by the architect François Clasquin (1849-1917) in 1904. Some modernisation, including the construction of an Art Deco Brewhouse designed by René Lobstein (1904-64) took place in the early 1930s. Brewing on the site ceased in 1956, but malt production continued for another ten years, and mineral waters were bottled there until 1975. Visitors are now able to explore one of the best-preserved breweries in France, a building which is full of architectural as well as technological interest.