Frettes and its Stations of the Cross

Parking is available in the central square at the top of the village, where the^first wayside cross was erected in 1883 in memory of the 1854 cholera epidemic, which claimed 66 lives in Frettes (9,928 deaths in Haute-Saône).

(S/E) Set off to the right of the farm shed (signpost: Argillières). Walk down Rue de Bouchenille to the Fontaine de Bouchenille, which once served as a washhouse and drinking trough. The clear, cool spring water flowing there comes from the Source de Sauce, which can be seen in the meadow near this fountain.

(1) Retrace your steps and turn left onto the first street (Rue de Pierrecourt). Go round another shed and you’ll reach a junction with a second wayside cross. Turn right, then immediately left onto a grassy path which then becomes a mixed-surface track, leading back to the village and a^third wayside cross near a house with yellow render.

(2) Turn left to reach the RD460. Turn left and walk carefully along this road until you reach a silo (a fenced-off metal building).

(3) Take the small road on the right and continue to the Voisine farm, where the^fourth wayside cross is located.

(4) Turn right and follow the RD5 with care. You’ll reach the^fifth wayside cross just before the Courvarennes farm. Do not leave the departmental road at this point; continue for about 200 metres.

(5) Take the stony path on the right and walk up the path towards the woods. When you reach the edge of the woods, continue to the left, keeping the woods on your right.

(6) When you reach the end of the field, enter the woodland and follow the well-maintained woodland path for a good distance.

(7) As you emerge from the woods, you’ll see the Loucheroy farm and a^sixth wayside cross ahead of you. Head back down to the right along the stone path to make your way back towards the village.

When you reach a junction (elevation 310), turn right onto a path shaded by fir trees and you’ll come to a shed again; climb the short, steep slope and turn right to reach the Notre-Dame de Roche spring. Here, set in the rock, a small statue of the Virgin Mary – where processions were once held – watches over the locals.

(8) Retrace your steps back to the shed, then head back down to the village along the stone path. At the D460, turn right towards Frettes.

(9) At the entrance to the village, turn left and head for the oratory of Saint-Didier, the village’s patron saint (restored in 2018).
Then head up Rue Cornot on the right, passing close to the church, the foundation stone of which was laid on 9 April 1829. Continue up this same street to return to the starting point (S/E).

There is a designated picnic area near the Notre-Dame de Roche spring.

A church dating from the early 19th century, built in the Neoclassical style. It was consecrated on 12 November 1833. It has seating for around 500 people, as the population was very large: 652 inhabitants at that time.

The various wayside crosses.