Dufourschloss (Dufour Castle)
The family castle Dufour is the seat of the former silk organza factory in Thal, today’s Sefar Holding. Once the producer of fashionable fabrics, the company is now an innovative, globally relevant producer of technical fabrics.
Silk organza was once used as a filter for sieving fine flour types. Before the invention of artificial fibre, silk was the fabric of choise because of its fine, long fibres. Pierre Antoine Dufour, an industry pioneer from Lyon, recognised this early and founded the silk organza pressing cloth mill „Dufour & Co.“.
In 1903, his grandson Anton Dufour renovated the old Freibach Manor in Thal into a sophisticated new palace in a neobaroque style. The main building comprises four stories with a markedly steep hipped roof and a large tower attached. The floor, made of multicoloured white marble mosaics, is decorated with black, red and golden ornaments.
Sefar Holding, which emerged from the silk organza mill, now employs 1600 employees worldwide – and is still run from the Dufour Castle.
In 1903, his grandson Anton Dufour renovated the old Freibach Manor in Thal into a sophisticated new palace in a neobaroque style. The main building comprises four stories with a markedly steep hipped roof and a large tower attached. The floor, made of multicoloured white marble mosaics, is decorated with black, red and golden ornaments.
Sefar Holding, which emerged from the silk organza mill, now employs 1600 employees worldwide – and is still run from the Dufour Castle.