The EDF Bazacle Centre is situated in the heart of Toulouse on an exceptional site on the bank of the Garonne River, near the old ford, the founding passage of the city used long before Roman times.
The site is strategic and the floating mills were installed from the 12th Century before being 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. At the end of the 19th Century, the Bazacle mill was reconverted into a hydroelectric power station to develop and modernise the city. EDF acquired the site in 1946.
The hydroelectric power station, equipped with a fish pass, has now been in operation for a century with an installed power capacity of around 3000 kilowatts. It can supply electricity to a district of 3000 inhabitants. It is also, since 1989, a venue for temporary exhibitions welcoming over 100,000 visitors each year. .
A focus on all the species of migrating fish, a 400 square metre terrace overlooking the river, observation posts to discover the bird life on the Garonne and, most importantly, pedagogical aids to raise awareness of the fragility of this environment.
4 major partners have associated themselves with EDF to create the site’s information supports to raise public awareness of the local biodiversity: the Adour-Garonne Water Agency, the Joint Union for study and development of the Garonne River (SMEAG), the Migrateurs Garonne Dordogne (MIGADO) Association and Nature Midi-Pyrénées.
Espace EDF Bazacle
11, quai Saint-Pierre
31000 Toulouse
Open from Tuesday to Sunday
Free Entrance.
The EDF Bazacle Centre can be reached by disabled people.
