ARMS FACTORY OF EMIR ABDELKADER
Built in 1889, this arms factory was run by Alquier-Cazes, a French mineralogical engineer who had deserted the army to join the service of Emir Abdelkader. At the time, the factory was supplied with iron ore extracted from the nearby Zaccar mountain. Cannon mounts and bayonets were manufactured here.
In June 1840, Marshal Sylvain Charles Valée (1773-1846), the head of the French army who had arrived in Miliana by force, found the factory abandoned by the workers, who had taken the time to sabotage the equipment. The army was unable to restore the machines to working order, and transformed the factory into a bakery using the ovens and large mill already on site.
The interpretation center has recently undergone major renovation work. The scenographic tour takes in the workshop, where the old Catalan-style forge used to make weapons has been reconstructed, the workers' trades and all their equipment, through to the library and the Moorish-style patio. The exhibition rooms present the history of the factory and a fine collection of weapons.
The tour, guided by museum staff, highlights the Catalan forge, a technology that did not exist in Algeria until Emir Abdelkader succeeded in importing it, and which operates using a hydraulic system, reproduced in the museum.
A very interesting and educational visit.
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