Halles du verre - Pic Saint-Loup
Unique in France, the Halle du Verre is a museum that traces the history of glass and its techniques from antiquity to the present day in the Mediterranean, almost 4,000 years of unique know-how.
Rock crystal, transparency, opaque, red, blue, flower inlays, purity and chromatic games, the Halle du Verre de Claret is a showcase of light dedicated to glass. Set up in the former glassworks, this interpretation centre offers, in three areas, the whole world of glass through history.
A permanent collection on the history of glass in the Mediterranean from antiquity to the present day, a workshop where you can watch a glassmaker at work and a temporary exhibition on contemporary creations. All ages are guaranteed to be amazed.
A real link between tradition and modernity, art and craftsmanship, the Halle du Verre celebrates a material that is fascinating for its play of light and transparency, for its dimension that is both ordinary and highly symbolic.
A place of art and history
Created with the help of scientists and archaeologists, its museographic content retraces the history of glass and its development in the Mediterranean basin during the ancient period (from the 5th century BC to the 5th century AD), as well as the more local history of the glassmakers of the Causse de l'Hortus.
Did you know? Stories of glassmakers
The history of the village of Ferrières is linked to that of the glassmakers. On these lands where oak trees abound, the exploitation of wood for the furnaces of the glassmakers' gentlemen provided the essential raw material. It was in reference to this know-how, which appeared in the 15th century, that the village was renamed Ferrières-les-Verreries.
Back from the crusades, Saint-Louis granted the right to practice the science of glass to a few ruined nobles. It was on the Hortus plateau, whose land was partly fallow, that the glassmakers of Languedoc developed their know-how. The glassworks of Couloubrines is the last testimony of this glassmaking activity.
Informations pratiques
To get to the Halle du Verre by bus : line 615, get off at the "Mairie" stop, 100m on foot.
Accessibility : all the exhibition rooms of the Halle du Verre, as well as the shop, are fully accessible to people with reduced mobility.
