Tour à plomb de Couëron, Industrial monument in Couëron, France.
The Lead Shot Tower of Couëron is an industrial monument standing about 69 meters tall with a diameter of roughly 11 meters on the banks of the Loire River. The structure has a tall, cylindrical shape that stands out distinctly against the flat river landscape.
The tower was built in 1878 and served to produce lead shot using a specialized manufacturing process. It remained in operation until 1988, making it a testament to more than a century of industrial production at this location.
The tower represents the industrial identity of the Loire-Atlantique region and shows how people once worked with metal and created new manufacturing methods. Its presence in the landscape reminds visitors of an era when such structures shaped daily life and work in the area.
The tower stands directly on the riverbank and is visible from the outside, allowing visitors to view and photograph it from various angles. The best time to visit is during daylight hours to see the construction details and surrounding landscape clearly.
What made this tower special was its method: molten lead dropped from the top and solidified into perfect spheres during the fall. This straightforward process required no further shaping and was a remarkable technical solution for its time.
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