Louviers, in the heart of Normandy, is located one hour from Paris and 30 minutes from Rouen.
Built on the banks of a river, the Eure, Louviers has always known how to take advantage of its natural heritage: water. Thanks to it, the textile industry has developed over the centuries. So much so that at the end of the 18th century, it employed more than 5,700 workers. The reputation of Louviers sheets - fine sheets - spread far beyond our borders, until the decline of the textile industry began (accelerating after 1945). The last page was turned in the early 2000s with the closure of the last textile industry in Louviers: the Audresset factory.
The textile industry, a historical heritage, disappeared from the Loviers landscape. And yet, it is still part of everyday life. The City of Louviers has chosen to give a second life to its disused industrial buildings.
Numerous cultural facilities occupy these former factories (Moulin, Médiathèque, Maison du Jeu, Gare aux Musiques).
At the bend in the streets, along the arms of the river Eure, the cloth industry has left a centuries-old mark on Louviers. You only have to look up or linger over the urban landscape to go back a few centuries: old factories, mills, wash houses, picturesque lanes, river branches...
The Mill
Now a place for cultural creation and dissemination, an auditorium and a festival hall, the mill was built in the 19th century. It was first a wheat mill, then a veterinary products factory and a textile industry. The building was renovated by the city in 1998 and again in 2007.
The Media Library
A former industrial building from the end of the 19th century (Breton and then Wonder factory), the Boris Vian Media Library opened its doors in 1992. A modern extension was built to house a video library, a discotheque, a language laboratory and a computer room.
The railway station
Louviers does have a railway station, but it is no longer railway: it is musical. A regional centre for contemporary music, the municipal cultural facility occupies the former premises of the railway station. Inaugurated in 1867, the Gare de Louviers welcomed its last passengers in 1968, and its last goods shortly afterwards. It was renovated in 1999.
The House of Games
Games have a special place in Louviers. The old Mecage factory, near the Moulin, was renovated in 2004 to house the new House of games.