Vonêche

Vonêche is a place and part of the municipality of Beauraing in Belgium. Vonêche is located in the province of Namur and was an independent municipality until January 1, 1977. For half a century, Vonêche had an important glass and crystal industry. The village, which had nearly disappeared in the 17th century due to war and plague, was revitalized by a patent granted by Empress Maria Theresa in 1778, allowing Pierre-Nicolas Mathys and Gaspard André to establish a glass factory. The location was suitable due to the presence of fine sand and abundant firewood from the Ardennes forests. With the help of French and German workers, the Verrerie Impériale et Royale de Vonêche produced window glass and drinking cups. However, production nearly ceased in 1793 during the revolutionary times. In 1802, the Frenchman Aimé-Gabriel d'Artigues purchased the small factory with the approval of Napoleon Bonaparte. D'Artigues relaunched glass production and also began manufacturing crystal. Thanks in part to the Continental Blockade, Vonêche grew to become the largest crystal factory on the European mainland, employing 650 workers in 1810. The fall of Napoleon threatened to cut off access to the French market in 1815, but d'Artigues obtained from King Louis XVIII the right to continue duty-free imports in exchange for a partial relocation to Baccarat. D'Artigues transformed the abandoned Verrerie Sainte-Anne into the Établissements de Vonêche à Baccarat and entrusted the management of Vonêche to François Kemlin. The latter wanted to take over the business for half a million francs in 1825, which likely caused a rift between the two men. The following year, Kemlin left with about a hundred workers to Seraing to establish Val-Saint-Lambert. Forced by financial difficulties, d'Artigues was compelled to sell his Belgian enterprise to Baccarat in 1830. In the abandoned buildings, a distillery was established in 1835.

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