Annonay, city of inventors

The Montgolfier brothers, genius inventors…

Who hasn't dreamed of a hot air balloon flight ? Soaring over rolling landscapes in a basket and trying to spot houses or church steeples from the sky. Annonay is precisely the town where it all began…

In the 1770s, Joseph and Etienne de Montgolfier took over the family paper mill in Annonay – now the Canson factory. The business prospered, and during a business trip, one of the brothers had the somewhat audacious idea of ​​designing a flying balloon. Thus, after several trials, on June 4, 1783, the first aerostat made of canvas and paper took to the skies from the Place des Cordeliers in Annonay.

The birthplace of the hot air balloon

… and papermakers 

Since the Montgolfier family moved to Annonay in 1692, generations of papermakers have succeeded one another on the banks of the Deûme, the river that crosses the town. This is no coincidence because the Deûme is very low in limestone: pure water, perfect for paper!

The Montgolfier brothers were responsible for numerous innovations in their paper industry and in France: vellum paper for a smoother finish, and the Hollander beater technique for producing paper of immaculate whiteness. Their heirs later renamed the factory after themselves: Canson. They were notably responsible for the invention of tracing paper in 1809.

The history of papermaking , from the 17th century to the present day, can be explored at the dedicated museum, housed in the birthplace of the Montgolfier brothers. Ten rooms follow one another, addressing the themes of the forest, water, and inventions in an educational way. In the heart of a 500m² workshop, visitors can discover the papermaking process through working machines and demonstrations .

the papermakers' house

Joseph Besset, pioneer of the modern French coach

In 1890, the village of Vanosc was the birthplace of Joseph Besset , the future father of the modern coach. He, too, brought prestige to the town of Annonay, because thanks to him, it is today the capital of the coach industry.

Against his family's wishes, he became a wheelwright and later developed his bus factory near Annonay . Through a series of innovations, he expanded his business, becoming the leading French manufacturer in the 1930s. In 1937, he traveled to the United States and brought back to France a revolutionary advancement: the Gar Wood license. This license allowed for the construction of buses with a self-supporting structure and the engine at the rear . This innovation ensured the factory's prosperity until 1949. Today, buses are still built on this same self-supporting structure principle. Joseph Besset's company is now called Iveco Bus and remains one of the major bus manufacturers in Europe.

the bus museum

André Dumas, modern tanner and parchment maker

In 1926, Marcel Dumas, then a parchment maker, founded his own parchment tannery and workshop in the center of Annonay. Orthopedics and lighting were the two main uses of parchment production at the time. In 1954, Marcel Dumas handed the business over to his son, André.

The struggling leather industry led André to find new uses for his hides. In 1955, he invented what would later be called "decorative leather," made from tanned hides with well-preserved hair. The company prospered while maintaining its primary activity: parchment production.

Today, the family business is listed in the inventory of Rare Trades and is one of the last three parchment workshops in France . The Parchment Museum recounts the history of this Living Heritage Company and the craft of parchment making. Visitors can also admire the parchment production process from a gallery overlooking the workshop.

the parchment museum