Cuttura: Lakes, Crafts and Industrial History

Discover Cuttura through several distinct themes: a walking trail featuring works by local craftspeople, Lac de Cuttura, and stories of crafts and industry. When planning your trip, it helps to consider these themes separately: the route, potential visits, and historical connections each offer a different perspective.

A lake and two different trails

Lac de Cuttura is one of two lakes created by dams on the Lizon. The “Le Tour du Plateau du Lizon” route passes by the lake, which lies between two villages. This route therefore focuses on the lake and its place in the landscape along the Lizon.

The Sentier des Savoir-Faire is a three-kilometre walking trail between Ravilloles and Cuttura. Along the trail are playful works created by local craftspeople. The difference in focus can help you choose: for the Sentier, the length, endpoints, and artworks are specified, while the Tour du Plateau is defined by its route alongside Lac de Cuttura.

A free guidebook is available for the Sentier des Savoir-Faire. You can get it at the Atelier des Savoir Faire and at the tourist information offices in Saint-Claude, Lajoux, and La Pesse. If you would like to use the guidebook, check its availability with one of the locations listed before setting off.

Crafts and visits by appointment

Art Bois Terre is a craft workshop based in Cuttura, specialising in woodturning. It creates wooden sculptures and Raku ceramics. The two materials give its craft offering different forms of expression: woodwork sits alongside ceramics, so a visit is not limited to a single technique.

Visits to the Art Bois Terre workshop are available by appointment. Arrange your visit in advance and confirm the details before setting off.

The Auberge du Vieux Moulin also offers visits by appointment. These include a renovated waterwheel and an innovative power station with an output of 10 kW. If you are planning this visit, arrange an appointment in advance.

Woodturning, mills, and eyewear production

The Auberge du Vieux Moulin in Cuttura is housed in a former woodturning workshop dating from 1880, which was converted into a restaurant in 1990. This example highlights two distinct historical stages: its former use as a woodturning workshop and its later conversion into a restaurant.

Another industrial story concerns the former “La Lunette” factory. It was established from 1881 on the site of an 18th-century mill and set up for eyewear production and woodturning. The Tournier brothers later built a power station below the factory. Les Fils d’Emile Tournier was the first company to make glasses from moulded plastic and closed in 1930.

The dates mark different milestones: 1880 refers to the former woodturning workshop at the Auberge, 1881 to the start of the development of “La Lunette,” 1930 to the company’s closure, and 1990 to the conversion into a restaurant. This makes it possible to understand the technical and craft changes as several distinct stages, rather than combining them into a single story.

Discover more destinations: Saint-Claude, Courlans, Lajoux, Rochefort-Sur-Nenon, Les Piards, Le Vernois, Cuvier (Jura), Lons-Le-Saunier

For the wider travel overview: Jura.