''For the ski resort and'' ''manufacturing center of musical instruments in Germany, see
Klingenthal
Klingenthal is a town in the Vogtland region, in Saxony, south-eastern Germany. It is situated directly on the border with the Czech Republic opposite the Czech town of Kraslice, 29 km southeast of Plauen, and 33 km northwest of Karlov ...
Vogtlandkreis''
![Klingenthal 073](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f9/Klingenthal_073.JPG)
Klingenthal is a village in the
Bas-Rhin
Bas-Rhin (; Alsatian: ''Unterelsàss'', ' or '; traditional german: links=no, Niederrhein; en, Lower Rhine) is a department in Alsace which is a part of the Grand Est super-region of France. The name means 'Lower Rhine', referring to its low ...
department of France, in the historic region of
Alsace
Alsace (, ; ; Low Alemannic German/ gsw-FR, Elsàss ; german: Elsass ; la, Alsatia) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in eastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine next to Germany and Switzerland. In 2020, it had ...
, and is situated on the communes of
Boersch and
Ottrott
Ottrott () is a commune in the Bas-Rhin department in Grand Est in north-eastern France. It lies southwest of Strasbourg. The vineyards in and around Ottrott produce the red Rouge d'Ottrott, a geographical denomination within the registered d ...
. Klingenthal, meaning "Blade Valley" or "The Valley of Blades" in Alsatian and German, was host to a large manufacturer of various types of edged weapons and metal armour during the 18th and 19th centuries.
Klingenthal was the first Royal Weapons Manufactory in France, and was largely inspired by methods pioneered in
Solingen
Solingen (; li, Solich) is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located some 25 km east of Düsseldorf along the northern edge of the region called Bergisches Land, south of the Ruhr area, and, with a 2009 population of 161,366 ...
, another major sword-producing town in western Germany.
The Solingen Manufactory was the first to develop an infrastructure for the mass-production of weapons, and at the beginning of 18th century was outfitting many of the European armies including the French Royal Army. Under the reign of
Louis XV
Louis XV (15 February 1710 – 10 May 1774), known as Louis the Beloved (french: le Bien-Aimé), was King of France from 1 September 1715 until his death in 1774. He succeeded his great-grandfather Louis XIV at the age of five. Until he reached ...
, acknowledging the critical dependency on foreign imports to equip the army, French authorities decided to mimic the organization that had succeeded in Solingen by creating their own national blade manufacturing centre. The site at Klingenthal was preferable due to the local presence of iron ore, and sandstone which was used primarily in the grinders for honing and sharpening the blades. The site's proximity to the
Vosges
The Vosges ( , ; german: Vogesen ; Franconian and gsw, Vogese) are a range of low mountains in Eastern France, near its border with Germany. Together with the Palatine Forest to the north on the German side of the border, they form a single ...
mountains allowed for easy access to mountain streams, for the purposes of hydraulic power. Craftsmen were hired from Solingen in order to import the manufacturing process, communication with whom was aided by the
local dialect
Local may refer to:
Geography and transportation
* Local (train), a train serving local traffic demand
* Local, Missouri, a community in the United States
* Local government, a form of public administration, usually the lowest tier of administra ...
, which was close to their native German.
The manufactory, named the 'Manufacture Royale d'Armes Blanches d'Alsace', was opened in 1730, under the direction of Henri Anthès, and the basic pattern of the factory would later be used in at other sites such as
Saint-Etienne. The original site contained a forging hammer, grinding and honing equipment, along with a number of workshops, and accommodation for the workers. Initially the blades produced there were signed: "Manufacture Royale d’Alsace", but were later signed: "Klingenthal." The 'Royal Manufactory' was renamed the 'National Manufactory' (Manufacture Nationale d'Armes Blanches) in 1792, following the French Revolution, and then renamed the 'Imperial Manufactory' (Manufacture Impériale d'Armes Blanches) under
Napoleon I
Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...
in 1804. The manufactory was finally returned to its original title of 'Royal Manufactory' upon the
Bourbon Restoration in 1815. After the Restoration, French officials started considering the fact that the manufactory was too close to the German border for such a strategic asset, and so Weapons production was gradually resettled to
Manufacture d'armes de Châtellerault
The ''Manufacture d'Armes de Châtellerault'' ("Châtellerault Weapons Factory"), often abbreviated to MAC, was a French state-owned weapons manufacturer in the town of Châtellerault, Vienne. It was created by a royal decree of 14 July 1819 ...
, founded in 1819 in the Western Center of France. In 1838 Klingenthal ended weapons manufacturing, lost the Royal Manufactory status, and became a privately owned company producing civilian goods under the "Coulaux" name. The company continued producing agricultural tools, notably
scythe
A scythe ( ) is an agricultural hand tool for mowing grass or harvesting crops. It is historically used to cut down or reap edible grains, before the process of threshing. The scythe has been largely replaced by horse-drawn and then tractor mac ...
s, until production ceased in 1962.
A museum opened in 2007, housed in one of the former factory buildings, displaying tools and a significant collection of swords.
In fiction
A Klingenthal
heavy cavalry sword plays an important role in the plot of
Bernard Cornwell
Bernard Cornwell (born 23 February 1944) is an English-American author of historical novels and a history of the Waterloo Campaign. He is best known for his novels about Napoleonic Wars rifleman Richard Sharpe. He has also written ''The Saxon ...
's historical novel ''
Sharpe's Sword
''Sharpe's Sword'' is a historical novel in the Richard Sharpe series by Bernard Cornwell. It is the fourth in the series, being first published in 1983, though the fourteenth chronologically. Set in the summer of 1812 including the Battle of ...
''.
External links
Association pour la Sauvegarde du Klingenthal, conservationist association
{{authority control
Villages in Grand Est