Special envoy to Sarreguemines (Moselle)
Sarreguemines, which was one of the most important earthenware production sites in France, has not produced a plate since 2007, the date of the closure of its earthenware factory founded two centuries previously.
The entire merit of the exhibition “Art Deco invites itself to the table”, labeled of national interest by the Ministry of Culture, is to show the contribution of this production to the table arts, between 1910 and the end of the 1930s. The influence of artists at the service of the factory, whether famous or anonymous, found its peak in two exhibitions, the International Exhibition of Decorative Arts of 1925 and the Universal Exhibition of 1937.
To discover
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Earthenware Museum.
Earthenware Museum - Winter Garden
Two major events which constitute a sort of common thread in an intoxicating abundance of creations and influences.
In 1910, Sarreguemines was still annexed by Germany, which inspired its earthenware creations where aesthetics and practicality coexist.
A series of everyday objects appear in the display cases,
“which have become beautiful as works of art, without ever ceasing to be useful,”
explains Judith Kieffer, director of the museum.
Tureens, teapots, coffee pots, ramiers or fruit bowls, under the pencils of Jean Luce, Ludwig Hohlwein or Suzanne Lalique-Haviland, take the forms of their time.
The iconic Fox Trott service, blue and white, the Arcade décor tête-à-tête where the Normandie table service for the second class passengers of the famous liner, presented here, appear as world references.
In total, nearly 150 pieces, from prestigious collections from major French museums and individuals, rekindle the flame of creativity, giving Sarreguemines and its earthenware their place in the long history of tableware.
Exciting from start to finish.
Until December 24. Entrance: €6. 15-17, rue Poincaré, tel. : 03
87
98
93
50.
sarreguemines-museum.fr
Your weekend in Sarreguemines.
Le Figaro
What to visit in Sarreguemines?
1. Earthenware Museum
The museum's permanent collection.
Earthenware Museum
The room is immense, frozen in its dark woodwork, as we loved it at the end of the 19th century.
In front of us rises a tall fountain, in the style of the Italian Renaissance, a sort of earthenware pastry, loaded with allegories, in a festival of bright colors.
Huge majolica vases and frescoes add to the astonishing decor of this winter garden which we enter, dazzled by so much audacity.
This room of the Earthenware Museum occupies the center of the former director's house, who used it as a showroom.
The spectacular know-how of the company was thus exposed to visitors.
Today it is one of the main treasures of this French museum which tells, through plates, dishes and tureens, in particular, a saga which gave the table arts some masterpieces.
The decorative dish (with jays) created around 1880 is one of them.
The Art Nouveau stove in the 1900 catalog is another... A surprising animation opens the tour: the projection on a table set with Sarreguemines style motifs, of which the plates and tablecloth serve as a screen.
Also read: Iris Ceramica, the best of Italian ceramics
There is so much to see that one would stay for hours in this museum where the visitor almost becomes a bargain hunter, discovering everyday objects that one would see at home... The window devoted to plates, whose funds tell both the daily life of the French and the history of illustrious men, is among the most fun to explore.
Especially since some of the Sarreguemines earthenware plates were political manifestos, to the glory of Lorraine, when it was twice annexed by Germany, de facto transforming the earthenware factory into a German company.
Entrance: €6 (including access to the Museum of Earthenware Techniques). 15-17, rue Poincaré. Such. : 03
87
98
93
50.
mosl.fr
2. Museum of earthenware techniques
The Blies mill is a former industrial site which houses the Museum of Earthenware Techniques, whose contents speak for themselves.
Above all, it has a very beautiful park, romantic as can be, developed around the ruins of old workshops abandoned in the 1970s. You can walk there over three hectares, on the banks of the Blies river.
A soothing journey.
123, avenue de la Blies.
Such.
: 03 87 98 28 87. mosl.fr
3. The trip aboard the
Schiff-Nickel
Walk on the Saar.
Robert Mallick
The gentle waters of the Saar irrigate the heart of the city.
The river, a tributary of the Rhine, serves on part of its border with Germany.
The Schiff-Nickel
is the name of a flat-bottomed Moselle boat and that of a trip on the left bank of the Saar, offered by the tourist office.
We go there on foot and return by boat.
This
Schiff-Nickel
was once designed to cross the Saar, using a rope stretched between the two banks.
The boat which moves using oars can carry around ten people.
The guided walk lasts about an hour, over 1.7 km.
And begins opposite the Casino brasserie.
A true urban hike, it follows a towpath.
At each stop, our guide recounts the tormented destiny of this city which, through the movements of history, was twice German before becoming French again.
We pass under the Allied Bridge, destroyed many times and rebuilt as many times, the latest version of which dates from 1950, inaugurated by Maurice Schumann.
The Europe Bridge, a little further on, pays tribute with an improbable monument to the beginnings of the European Community.
Read alsoIn Saarland, the rite of spring
As for the railway bridge, where the tramway passes (between Sarreguemines and Sarrebruck, across the Rhine), you can cross it on foot, to go from one country to another.
Then comes the confluence with the Blies, which imposes a new, wilder environment on the landscape.
A biodiversity reserve, we discover a countryside populated by mallards, herons, kingfishers and cormorants.
We reach the pier located in Welferding, a district of Sarreguemines, which is summarized by a few houses, an old mill and a small church with old-fashioned charm.
The return along the water, on the Saar, is gentle and calm, with this strange feeling of being in the middle of nowhere.
And to slip between the shores of two great nations...
Guided walk every Sunday, from 9:30 a.m. to 12 p.m.
€20.
sarreguemines-tourisme.com
The excursion:
Saarland Therme, Germany
Saarland Thermal Bath.
Saarland Thermal Bath
The temptation to wander into Germany is all the greater as Sarreguemines is, in a way, a border post between the two countries.
A few kilometers away, around ten minutes by taxi (€15), aim for the Saarland thermal baths, a gigantic thermal-leisure complex that Germans love, a mix of heated indoor and outdoor swimming pools, hammams, jacuzzis, saunas and other hot baths, like this pool with salinity comparable to that of the Dead Sea.
The contemporary Hispano-Moorish architecture provides a complete change of scenery in this atypical place visited by 300,000 people each year.
A restaurant provides brasserie catering and a private spa cabin (with individual sauna and massage) allows a couple to spend a few hours in complete privacy.
Hot water springs springing from the ground supply this rather well-made ensemble, for an essential moment of relaxation.
A discreet naturist zone - the Germans are fond of it - completes this installation which, in the evening, thanks to very sophisticated lighting, takes on a magical appearance.
Entrance from €27.50.
Saarland Therme Zum Bergwald 1, Kleinblittersdorf, Germany.
saarland-therme.de
Where to sleep in Sarreguemines?
4. Hôtel de l’Auberge Saint-Walfrid
Hôtel de l'Auberge Saint-Walfrid.
Luc Boegly
We fell in love with this establishment located at the entrance to the city.
A small destination in itself, especially since a wellness area of rare beauty has just opened this year.
To the charming old building, an 18th century farmhouse, a contemporary glass and steel building has been added, perfectly integrated and opening onto a garden of absolute calm.
In all, 22 rooms, including those particularly bright in the most recent part, offer a neat design, with light wooden furniture, comfortable seats, XXL bed and bathrooms equipped with a large bathtub and a shower.
Crystal decanters, branded glasses, paintings and earthenware decorate each room.
The spa is partly located upstairs with sauna, hammam and relaxation lounge, while the ground floor opens onto a sumptuous space opening onto an outdoor swimming pool (heated).
When you bathe, an opening in the surrounding wall allows you to communicate with the garden.
The pool is accessed from the inside, through a sort of atrium lounge whose walls are lined with high mirrors.
A starred restaurant
(read below)
adds to the pleasure of this 4-star establishment (it could easily get a fifth), which turns out to be a gem full of charm.
The service remains family-friendly and very caring.
Ideal for a weekend of relaxation and rest.
Loan of electric bicycles.
From €160 per night.
58, rue de Grosbliederstroff.
Such.
: 03 87 98 43 75. stwalfrid.fr
Where to sit?
5. Casino Brasserie
Installed in the historicist architecture of the inter-centuries (19th-20th century), on the banks of the Saar, this table offers the facade of a large chalet, in the style of the Second French Empire, decorated with a superb fresco colored, earthenware.
The place was a relaxation area for earthenware workers, as its name does not suggest (it was never a gambling casino).
Tastefully restored, the interior has become a restaurant whose owners, passionate bargain hunters, present their collections of Sarreguemines earthenware.
It serves cuisine that highlights some local specialties, such as Lorraine stew, the quiche of the same name or traditionalflamekueche.
But not only.
As evidenced by an excellent fish menu.
From €50.
4, rue du Colonel-Édouard-Cazal.
Such.
: 03 87 09 59 78. brasserie-du-casino.com
6. The Golden Plow
Restaurant meat dish.
The Golden Plow
This downtown table is a great classic.
The round tables are far enough away from each other to make the place very pleasant.
The table service is pure Sarreguemines, which is not the case for the cuisine, which draws its inspiration from other regions.
On the menu, the chicken fillet stuffed with homemade foie gras has become one of the signature dishes of this generous restaurant, as evidenced by a gargantuan gourmet coffee!
Dishes around €25, gourmet menu at €60.
21, rue Poincaré.
Such.
: 03 87 98 14 55. lacharruedor.fr
7. Auberge Saint-Walfrid Restaurant
A Michelin macaron for this hotel table whose room is also a museum, where the owners exhibit their own collection of Sarreguemines earthenware.
The monumental pieces occupy tall white shelves-bins, which bring out their beauty.
On the plate, great classics (wild perch fillet and plectranthus from the Gondrexange ponds, baronet of Racan pigeon in a green "Lucullus" style coat, giblet croutons, etc.), brought to excellence by the very charismatic chef, Stefan Schneider, who creates a beautiful fish and meat menu.
Dish around €50.
58, rue de Grosbliederstroff.
Such.
: 03 87 98 43 75. stwalfrid.fr
What to bring back?
8. The pearl of Lorraine
Franck Kestener, best worker in France chocolatier and confectioner.
Kestener Chocolate Factory
It's a chocolate treat designed by Franck Kestener, best worker in France, following his father's recipe.
Its name: the pearl of Lorraine.
A small bite where caramel with mirabelle brandy, fruit paste and a crispy hazelnut praline are layered (€8.20 for 70 g).
It’s a shame that the workshop-boutique, where this little marvel of taste heritage is sold, is located in an uninviting industrial zone.
6, rue Gutenberg.
Such.
: 03 87 28 14 62. franck-kestener.com