Anciennes-Glacières footbridge

You’re now crossing the so-called Passerelle des Anciennes-Glacières, the Old Icehouses footbridge. The name may raise a few questions, so here’s an explanation. The famous “anciennes glacières” are the group of buildings you see behind you, with the tower bearing the inscription “Hôtel”. They were built along the canals of the Ill, where the current is strongest and where the old Strasbourg mills ran for almost 800 years. In 1897, the mills were repurchased for the creation of an artificial cooling plant. The beginning of the 19th century saw the rapid development of the food industry, with artificial refrigeration becoming essential to industrialists. At its peak, the plant supplied around 130 tonnes of ice cream a day! Just imagine, delivery was made by horse-drawn carts. The plant also generated its own electricity, with two turbines powering the alternators. Surplus electricity was then sold to the city. When production ceased in 1990, the plant was not demolished; the 18th-century building was transformed into a luxury hotel. A rather innovative reappropriation of industrial heritage. All the machines are preserved today as historical monuments.