In the Southern Vosges, Alsace and Franche-Comté meet and invite us to share a little of their rich history. With its cultural, gastronomic and architectural heritage, as well as its military legacy, the Vosges Massif is a generous place to visit in any season.
Belfort, the impregnable citadel
Leaning against the limestone cliff, carved out of the local pink sandstone, the lion of Belfort raises its head at the foot of Vauban's citadel. Lying with its back to Germany, it is an impressive 22 metres long and 11 metres high, and pays tribute to the town's resistance during the Franco-Prussian war of 1870. Its paw is resting on an arrow that it has just stopped in its flight: "Here, we don't pass, he seems to be saying.
As for the Citadelle and its fortifications, reputed to be impregnable, they have undergone many transformations over the centuries and are still a highlight of any visit to the town. The Cour d'Honneur is reached by climbing the paved tunnel and crossing the drawbridge. The panoramic terrace offers a 360° view of the fortress, the town and the surrounding countryside. A large underground passage, a medieval moat covered by Vauban in 1749, protected the Alsace Gate. Thanks to Colonel Denfert-Rochereau, the town withstood 103 days of siege, but was surrendered to the Prussians in February 1871.
A replica of the lion (in copper), a third of its size, takes pride of place on Place Denfert-Rochereau in Paris. The lion, the work of Alsatian sculptor Auguste Bartholdi, the father of the Statue of Liberty in New York, and the Citadelle were voted France's favourite monuments in 2020.
A must: the Fréry market
The lion has a number of dishes bearing his likeness in the Fréry covered market: bread moulded in the shape of his paw, his tongue in smoked sausage or a terrine of veal tongue and vegetables.
The Eiffel-style covered market was inaugurated in 1905. It is topped by a bell tower with a bell. A large clock is located in the glass section of the façade. This glass, brick and steel edifice was designed by the Parisian firm Schwartz et Meurer, who built the railings for the Grand Palais and the Serres Monumentales de Paris in 1904.
You have to look up to admire the wooden ceiling beneath a metal structure with glass walls. The walls have been listed as historic monuments since 1983. From Thursday to Sunday, from 7am to 12pm, forty or so shopkeepers sell specialities from the Franche-Comté and Alsace regions. Luxeuil ham, Fougerolles cherries, AOC kirsch, organic produce. There's even a children's play area. The Fréry market has been recognised as the best market in Franche-Comté 2 consecutive years.
www.belfort-tourisme.com
Fougerolles: kirsch for everyone
In 1900, around forty industrial distilleries were operating in Fougerolles, Haute-Saône. The region owes its fame to its cherry orchards and the distillation of kirsch. This brandy is made from "guignes" black or red. Harvesting was done by hand using a ladder. "goat's foot and the basket slung over the shoulder. Today, the trees are shaken by a machine.
Situated in the heart of a conservatory orchard,, the Ecomuseum Pays de la Cerise traces the history of a family of distillers. It was the home of Monsieur Desle-Joseph Aubry. The date on the door lintel is 1829. We distilled here for 150 years.
Distillerie Devoille
The Paul Devoille distillery, traditional and family-run business, produces a wide range of eaux de vie, liqueurs, absinthes, aperitifs, gins, fruit liqueurs and more. It has been awarded the Entreprise du Patrimoine Vivant (Living Heritage Company) label. Free visit of the cellar and the chalot (1) in which the absinthe dries after harvesting.
Three words sum up the company's philosophy: tradition, authenticity and innovation. Its products regularly win awards in national and international competitions. Free visit of the cellar with whisky tasting, showing of a film on the stages of production and visit of the chalot in which the absinthe dries after harvesting.
Family fun: the The Green Fairy's Secret Garden presenting the plants used to make absinthe and its chalot. Sheltered tables and benches for picnics. Admission free. Certified Living Heritage Company.
The Devoille distillery has been awarded the EPV (Entreprise du Patrimoine Vivant) label.
9 Rue des Moines Haut, 70220 Fougerolles-Saint-Valbert.
1 - The chalot is a small wooden building typical of the southern Vosges. In days gone by, farmers used it to store their harvests and their wealth, away from the farm, safe from fire and rodents.
Ronchamp: from Le Corbusier to Renzo Piano
In the south of the Ballons des Vosges Regional Nature Park, the Colline Notre-Dame du Haut in Ronchamp (Franche-Comté) is a site of great historical, artistic and spiritual value. Climb the hill to reach this icon of contemporary sacred art, which has revolutionised religious architecture, via a sort of Way of the Cross. Whether you are a believer or an agnostic, it is hard not to be moved by the beauty of Notre-Dame-du-Haut, designed by Le Corbusier in 1955, which breaks with the symbolic shape of the cross. "In building this chapel, I wanted to create a place of silence, prayer, peace and inner joy", said the architect. Jean Prouvé, his disciple, designed the Campanile in the 1970s and in 2011, Renzo Piano designed a sober, luminous monastery on the hill with the help of a renowned landscape architect, Michel Corajoud.
The chapel has been on UNESCO's World Heritage List since 2016. It is said to be a reference to the Parthenon in Athens. The roof is made of rough concrete, the walls are whitewashed, the altars and stoup are made of stone, and the cross, benches and confessionals are made of iroko (a Brazilian wood). We passed a group of admiring Japanese, looking up at the sky and the light that carves out the spaces.
Pilgrims and tourists also come to see the Monastery of St Clare by Renzo Piano below Le Corbusier's chapel. Buried beneath the skyline delicately hemmed in by Renzo Piano's square, it is invisible from the chapel. This horizontal, ecological structure is carved into the hillside, embedded in the greenery, and fully respectful of the landscape. It is a place where the Poor Clare sisters, whose origins lie in the Franche-Comté region (Besançon), have lived for 8 centuries. A place of silence, prayer and inner peace, where the light of the forest plays an important role. An architectural language of "It is the same language: to express the invisible through beauty" , says the Abbess, Sister Brigitte de Singly. You can decide to go on a retreat for a few days in one of the 9 rooms of this unique place in the world.
https://www.massif-des-vosges.fr/culture-et-patrimoine/la-chapelle-de-ronchamp/
Luxeuil-les-Bains
Situated at an altitude of 300 metres, Luxeuil has a secret: its precious water and mineral resources. The town grew out of springs that had already been exploited by the Gauls and then the Romans, who attributed purifying, longevity and fertility virtues to these waters. It was on the site of the Gallo-Roman Luxovium baths that the current thermal baths were built in the 18th century. Set in a vast park, it is a pink sandstone building, restored in Art Deco style. The waters here emerge from the earth at a temperature of 34°C. The water is chlorinated, sodic, siliceous and sulphated. Open from mid-March to the end of November, the spa offers treatments based on innovations from the Chaîne Thermale du Soleil.
The pink Vosges sandstone is also used to build Gothic and Renaissance ensembles, staircases, arcades, the cloister and the former abbey, which became a basilica in 1924. The abbey boasts a monumental organ case dating from 1617, Renaissance choir stalls and even the former preaching pulpit of Notre-Dame de Paris!
Visit the Ecclesia
In the remarkable architectural setting of the Ecclesia, Cité Patrimoine, exceptional archaeological remains are housed and showcased.
In 2005, when the town centre car park on Place de la République was being renovated, 150 Merovingian sarcophagi and 380 tombs were discovered. The burial site was listed as a historic monument in 2010. The ampersand, a letter found in Merovingian writing, is its symbol.
www.ecclesia-luxeuil.fr
Lace conservatory
Luxeuil-les-Bains has also been famous for its lace since the Second Empire. Created in 1978, the Conservatoire de la Dentelle (Lace Conservatory) has kept up the expertise: around a hundred lace-makers share their passion with enthusiasts, offering their talents to embroider wedding dresses, blouses, jewellery and household linen.
www.dentelledeluxeuil.com
www.luxeuil-vosges-sud.fr
Accommodation
The Grand Hôtel du Tonneau d'Or: a Belle Epoque palace in the heart of the Lion City. Built in 1907 (renovated in 2021), this charming hotel offers rooms with a view of the lion or the citadel. The large domes are adorned with stained glass windows by Gruber.
www.tonneaudor.fr
www.massif-des-vosges.fr
Text : Michèle Lasseur
Photos : see copyright
