A unique location
A place of technical discoveries, of flowing poetry and artistic events, the EDF Bazacle Complex is among the cultural locations not to be missed in Toulouse.
Situated in the centre of the city along the Garonne, the EDF Bazacle Complex offers the public diverse experiences: a museum itinerary, a large terrace overhanding the Garonne, temporary exhibitions – some with the support of the EDF Foundation, a photo gallery, a fish pass, guided tours of the active hydroelectric plant. The Bazacle has been open to the public since 1989 and almost 1.6 million visitors have since discovered this exceptional location.
Every year, nearly 120 000 visitors, old and young, come to admire this unusual location, free of charge and open all year round (closed Mondays).
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1888The Bazacle Société des Moulins was transformed into a hydroelectric plant
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7turbinesStill in use
History
The EDF Bazacle Complex is situated on an exceptional site on the Garonne River, near the old ford, that was the city’s founding passage and used long before Roman times.
The site is strategic. Floating mills were installed in the 12th Century and then replaced by mills built on the riverbank. In the 14th Century, the owners, pioneers of capitalism, created the world’s first known joint-stock company.
The industrial adventure continued in the 19th century.
In 1888, the Bazacle Grand Moulin was converted into a hydroelectric plant by the Société Toulousaine d’Electricité, that lights downtown Toulouse, and EDF acquired the site in 1946. Thanks to the miracle of electricity, a new era started and accompanied the development and modernisation of the city with renewable energy.
The hydroelectric power station, equipped with a fish pass, has now been in operation for a century.
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3000KWof installed power capacity
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10 000habitantssupplied with electricity
Photos of EDF Bazacle Complex
EDF Bazacle Complex partners
5 major partners have associated with EDF to create this site devoted to raising public awareness of the local biodiversity: Agence de l'eau Adour-Garonne, Syndicat Mixte d'Etudes et d'Aménagement de la Garonne (SMEAG), Migrateurs Garonne Dordogne (MIGADO) et Nature Midi-Pyrénées.
Created by the water law of 1964, the Adour-Garonne water supply agency is a government organisation. Its mission is to fight against pollution, protect water and aquatic systems as well as preserve and better manage the resources in the water basins of the Adour, Garonne, Dordogne and Charente.
Under the authority of the Ministry of Sustainable Development, the Adour-Garonne water supply agency implements the water political guidelines, in agreement with the basin committee.
For 40 years, the Departmental Water Laboratory managed by the General Council of the Haute-Garonne has become a reference tool in terms of expertise, prevention, control and water quality management consultancy.
Find out more (French version)
Created in 1989, its objective is to restore and manage the migratory fish in the Garonne Dordogne basin. It initiates and carries out most of the actions devoted to these species: Atlantic salmon, sea trout, allis and twaite shad, sea and freshwater lamprey and eels.
The aim of this association is to initiate, promote and support the research, protect and underline the value of biodiversity (fauna, flora and natural environments) in the Midi-Pyrénées region.
Its objective is to promote the coordinated management of the Garonne. It intervenes for resource preservation and safeguarding ecosystems. Its goal is to assure the quality of life for those around the river.