Old Pumping Station

The former lifting station

The Saint-Nazaire audio-guided tour presents you with the former lifting station, a proud survivor of the bombings in a city rebuilt after the war, recognisable from afar by its high brick chimney.

A technical feat in the service of the port

Saint-Nazaire was very largely destroyed during the Second World War, and its old buildings can today be counted on the fingers of one hand, especially on the port side. The station, built at the beginning of the twentieth century and put into service in 1911, in fact housed two functions. On one side, an electric plant supplied the needs of the port, from the locks to the lighting of the quays. On the other, the lifting station had the mission of raising the level of the water in the basins, lowered by evaporation and the movement of the locks, in order to allow the floating of ever more voluminous ships. This feat rested on a set of pumps running on steam, later replaced by electric and diesel motors. In service for more than eighty years, until the beginning of the 1990s, the building bears witness to the industrial genius that made the greatness of the port.

What there is to see

The former lifting station is distinguished by its industrial façade and its high brick chimney, visible from afar on the port. A rare witness of pre-war architecture in a rebuilt city, it tells the technical history of the basins and the locks. It is a stage for those curious about the industrial and port heritage of Saint-Nazaire.

Practical information

The former lifting station is in the port area of Saint-Nazaire. Its façade and its chimney can be contemplated from the outside, along the walk on the port.

What was the lifting station used for?

To raise the level of the water in the basins of the port, in order to allow the floating of increasingly large ships.

Why is this building remarkable?

Because it survived the bombings of the Second World War, in a rebuilt city where old buildings are rare.