Fortresses and Forests

In 1670 Louis XIV of France ordered the complete destruction of the fortress at Chatel-sur-Moselle near Epinal. The chateau, which stood on a limestone outcrop overlooking the river Moselle, was begun in the 11th century and by the time of its demise had grown to cover 5 hectares and was reputedly impregnable. For the next 300 years it remained an overgrown pile of rubble and then, in 1972, in protest at a project development on the site, a group was set up to try to save and restore the chateau. 40 years later we were privileged to be shown around the chateau by the man instumental in saving the chateau and who has devoted his life to the enormous task. I'm sorry to say that I don't know his name.
Chatel-sur-Moselle doesn't get a mention in any of the guide books we have and we happened upon it more or less by accident. We had had the obligatory stop at Charmes which has been obliterated several times over the centuries and most recently during the WW2 and seems not to have a great deal to offer other than a good boulangerie and a supermarket. It is however, a Mecca for camping cars so must be a good touring centre.
We moved on the few kilometres to Nomexy which has a pleasant, free mooring alongside a picnic area. Nomexy is one side of the canal and river and Chatel is the other. Nomexy had nothing much of obvious interest and so we headed over the bridges.
The signs for guided tours of the 'forteresse' are faded and the old fashioned pointing finger painted on the walls of the houses directed us to an office in a building next to what appeared to be the upper level of the chateau remains. The young woman inside seemed oddly surprised to see us and when she asked what language we spoke she said she'd go and see what could be done. What could be done was a dapper, elderly gentleman in a pin striped suit, blindingly white shirt and tie who apologised for his very good English and who carried a French/English dictionary which he never once consulted.

Chatel-sur-Moselle

That was at 3.30. By 6.30 we were two thirds of the way round. We'd spent an hour listeining to our guide's exploits as a boy carrying messages for the Resistance, looking at intricate working scale models of the castle he'd made showing each stage of its construction and listening to its history; another hour walking the ramparts, the outside and the arsenal and then another following our guide through subterranean tunnels,up and down spiral staircases, along blind alleys, through locked doors and all the while watching this 80 plus man re-enact scenarios of intruders fighting their way up winding steps and along narrow walls whilst being shot through the cunningly angled arrow slits. 'Stay there!' he'd say. 'It's too dangerous,' before stepping out onto a wall with a sheer drop into a well 25m below. We stayed and held our breath. What has been excavated is nothing short of amazing. Most of the structure is within the limestone rock and had been completely filled with rubble which seems to have been removed by teams of young volunteers from eastern europe. We (he) could have gone on all night but when the town clock struck 6.30 we made our excuses, shook hands (oddly soft considering) and returned to our simple life on the boat, grateful for those people who have obsessions and relieved that we have been spared them.

The major town on the canal des Vosges is Epinal. It is situated down a short arm off the main canal but at the moment they're working on the arm and it's closed off so we couldn't visit. After the flight of locks from Epinal we were in thick forest. The main occupation at this time of year seems to be cutting down the wood and stacking it in every available space for the winter. The weather has been beautiful over the past couple of weeks but as one scantily clad resident of a canalside house told us by December they will have a metre of snow.

Fontenoy le Chateau

And so to Fontenoy le Chateau. Nearly everyone we've spoken to has been quite disparaging about Fontenoy. We liked it a lot. There's not a lot there as regards shops but there's a baker, a small supermarket, the ubiquitous pharmacy and an 'original style' cafe/bar. What else do you need? We stayed a couple of days one of which was market day. This has to be the most understated market ever - 2 stalls. One butcher the other fruit and veg. The village itself has lots of character and seems happily frozen in the past.