La Chatenaise in Chatenois-les-Forges

Park in the Square du Congo car park near 2 Rue de Bermont in Châtenois-les-Forges.
The hike is marked with a yellow rectangle.

(S/E) Go down Rue de Bermont, follow it to the edge of the small wood and go up the path on the left. At the top, continue straight on towards the bridge over the LGV (high-speed rail line).

(1) Before the LGV bridge, go down the path on the left, passing in front of the ruins of a hunting lodge.
You will arrive at the houses in the Févery neighbourhood.

(2) Turn right onto the path and then join a second bridge over the LGV.

(3) After the bridge, turn left and join the Châtenois/Brevilliers road.

(4) Pass under the third LGV bridge on the left and continue to the waste collection centre.

(5) At the waste collection centre, turn right and enter the forest, following the path shared with the^GR®5.

(6) At the^{GR®5/Triangle}rouge crossroads, elevation point 348, turn left onto the strategic path to the highest point. Then turn left onto the path that descends towards the Fontaine de Villars.

(7) At the Villars fountain, take a few moments to admire it, then continue along the path on the left. Continue to the place known as Les Catherinettes.

(8) Turn right to join the land consolidation path, follow it to the junction with the Bornes de la Principauté de Montbéliard trail, continue to the left.

(9) At the crossroads with the old Nommay road, admire the old boundary stone of the "principality" and turn left.

(10) After 200 metres, you can take a short detour to admire the Mola hollow, an old iron mine.
Return to the previous path, enter Châtenois, turn right down Rue de Villars, then Rue du Lieutenant Bidaux, and continue towards Saint-Etienne Church via Rue Pasteur.

(11) Turn right between the church and the presbytery. Pass in front of the fountain and the old town hall. Go up the stairs on the left towards Rue de l'Orme. Turn right onto Rue Pasteur towards Rue des Fours à Chaux. At Fours à Chaux, turn right onto Chemin sur le Cran, follow it to Rue du Fort, cross over, go down Rue du Coteau Fleuri, turn left onto Rue des Frères Bouquet and head for the Congo car park (S/E).

There are around ten very interesting information panels with QR codes that link to detailed information about local attractions, such as places of interest, fountains, churches and lime kilns.

Visorando was informed by Mr Chevalley, a volunteer member of Balisage90, based on brochures published by the Belfort regional council.

The Châtenois forge
To distinguish it from other Châtenois, in 1933 the municipal council obtained permission to change the name to Châtenois-les-Forges. Iron ore has been mined here since the 16th century. Initially transported outside the village, the iron was eventually smelted in a local blast furnace and then processed in a forge, the ancestor of the factory which still produces high-tech springs for the automotive industry today.

The Châtenois wood
It consists mainly of oak, beech and hornbeam trees. There are still hollows of varying sizes and depths, the last scars of the mine shafts from which iron ore was extracted between the 16th and 18th centuries.

The Villars fountain
Under a stone arch flows a spring that eventually disappears into the meadows, on the site of a hamlet that disappeared in the 16th century.

Saint-Étienne Church
The new church, rebuilt in 1743, was owned by the Counts of Montbéliard. It was the result of bitter negotiations that led the Count of Montbéliard to rebuild it at his own expense. Today, it still bears the mark of the Princes of Montbéliard's rights: two aigrette-shaped pinnacles placed on the roof ridge.
Listed as a Historic Monument, the organ was built by the Verschneider brothers in 1859. The pulpit, baptismal font and Virgin and Child are also listed. At the back of the choir, a painting depicts the stoning of Saint Stephen.