The french Oil Museum

The French oil Museum presents the history of the first oil exploitation site in Europe until the closure of the refinery in 1970.

Did you know that? Alsace has oil in its subsoil and it was in Merkwiller-Pechelbronn that the first oil exploitation site in Europe and in the world was opened. From the 18th century onwards, oil production took on an industrial dimension until the refinery closed in 1970. The geology of the Rhine Gap explains the unique deposit, which was exploited by wells, drilling and pumping, and even by mining galleries. Technical innovations have made Pechelbronn famous in the oil industry. The museum retraces 500 years of oil history in Northern Alsace: the extent of the mine galleries and the refinery, the birth of the ANTAR company and the Institut Français du Pétrole, and the first electric core drilling are some of the highlights of this unique saga. It also presents a complete overview of the geological formation of this oil and its unexpected uses.