The Brimbelles Route in Giromagny

Start: Place Charles de Gaulle in Giromagny. Large car park.

Giromagny is served by Optymo bus routes 20 and 90.

(S/E) From the car park, head south-east along the path that runs along the left bank of the Savoureuse. Cross the river via a lovely footbridge.

(1) Turn right onto the D12 Avenue de Schwabmunchen and then turn left onto the Sentier du Rioz. Cross the Faubourg de Belfort D465 with care (beware of heavy traffic) and continue straight ahead onto Rue des Prés. At the bend, continue straight on along a path that runs alongside the forest.

(2) Turn right when you reach Rue Sous la Côte. Turn left twice.

(3) Immediately afterwards, turn left onto a path that climbs steeply towards Monts Romains. (If you come within sight of the cemetery, you have missed this point. You must turn back.) At the top of the climb, turn right.

(4) 500 m further on, look out for the signpost and turn left. At the next junction, take the^second left. This is the GR®5; follow it as it continues to climb. It goes round and past the entrance to Fort Dorsner (sometimes called Fort de Giromagny)

(5) On leaving the fort, go through the gate, ignore the first path on the right, and continue by turning right onto the wide stony path that descends towards Giromagny. Continue along the wide path and ignore the paths branching off (3 to the right and 1 to the left). You will arrive at the cemetery.

(6) Cross the D12 with care and take the Allée des Moutons opposite. The path climbs steeply. Turn left onto Rue des Carrières, then immediately right onto a path that climbs steeply. You will reach the highest point of this walk at 604 m.

(7) At the crossroads at the summit, head back down opposite and turn right until you reach a road.

(8) Turn right and follow Rue du Phanitor. At the next junction, take Petite Rue du Tilleul straight ahead, pass Place du Tilleul and continue right onto Petite Rue du Tilleul.

(9) Turn left onto Rue des Écoles

(10) Join Grande Rue and turn left onto it for 100 m. Turn right onto Rue de la Savoureuse. After 100 m, follow the path on the right, Allée du Canal, which crosses the Savoureuse. Immediately afterwards, turn right onto Allée Sainte-Barbe. At the end of the path, continue along Rue Saint Pierre. You will arrive at Place Square des Casernes.

(11) Turn right onto Rue des Casernes. After 300 m, turn right onto the path running alongside the Savoureuse. Follow Rue du Paradis des Loups, cross the D12 main road with care and arrive back at the starting point (S/E)

Start: Place Charles de Gaulle in Giromagny. Large car park.

Giromagny is served by Optymo bus routes 20 and 90.

Giromagny is situated at the foot of the Vosges mountains, 15 km north of Belfort.

The mining industry
Giromagny experienced a boom from the 14th century onwards thanks to the mining industry. The exploitation of the region’s mineral resources (silver, copper) fuelled its development. With the former Rosemont mines, Giromagny became a unique industrial hub in the region in the 16th century and had a population of 1,500, whilst Belfort had only a third of that number. This population was partly made up of Germanic miners, who were sometimes poorly received by the local inhabitants.

The Giromagny presbytery even nearly became the French School of Mines during the Revolution. Mining activity gradually and definitively came to an end in the 19th century. Traces of mining activity are still visible today: from miners’ houses to the Maison Mazarin (the former mining court building), and from mine galleries to the wash houses used by miners’ wives for domestic purposes.

The textile industry

The Boigeol family built the valley’s first mechanical spinning mill in 1813, supplemented as early as 1820 by a weaving mill that made it possible to move away from the work of home-based weavers: the Tissage du Brûlé site (opposite the town hall). Power was supplied by the waters of the Savoureuse and a huge water wheel, before the steam engine arrived in 1828. In 1878, the Giromagny factory was destroyed in a massive fire. The second half of the 20th century saw the definitive end of textile production in Giromagny.

Nearby attractions

The Mazarin House, Place des Mineurs in Giromagny (a stone’s throw from the car park).
To find out more about Giromagny’s heritage: http://patrimoine90.fr/Giromagny.html
Fort Dorsner: open to visitors in summer.

Always be careful and prepared when out walking. Visorando and the author of this guide cannot be held responsible for any accidents or incidents that may occur on this route.