Guise and its Familistère Godin

The Familistère Godin, a truly unique ‘social palace

The town of Guise in the Thiérache area boasts an exceptional, unique architectural ensemble from the early days of the French industrial era. This Familistère, a town within a town, was designed by Jean-Baptiste Godin, himself from the local county of Aisne. Serving his craftsman’s apprenticeship, he encountered working-class poverty. From that time on, social concerns became a top priority. Once his craft Tour de France completed, he came up with his first invention – a cast-iron stove, the poêle Godin, that rapidly became a success across Europe.

From 1859 to 1882, he oversaw the building of the Familistère, a veritable ‘‘social palace’’. A utopian enterprise, it contained 500 flats rented out to workers, a crèche, mixed, secular school, theatre, swimming pool and shops. The workers were involved in the running of the place, took a share of company profits and benefited from a mutual insurance scheme. Godin’s work was exceptional in terms of workers’ involvement in its management. Just 100m from the Scandibérique, the Familistère is easy to visit!