World War I structures in the Bois du Grand Mont at Amance

The walk starts on Rue Saint Jean, in the small car park next to Amance Church.
Before setting off on the walk, visit the church, which is a listed historic monument; it is open, and you can admire the view with Greater Nancy in the distance, as well as its remarkable tree, a Lebanese cedar.

(S/E) Facing the side of the church, turn left to continue up Rue Saint Jean. At the second junction, turn left onto Rue du Grand Mont, which turns into a track, and walk past the two towers.

(1) At the bend in the track, take a small path on the right and walk into the woods for about thirty metres.

(2) You can go down a little way into the woods to see that the embankment has been dug out; this is certainly the site of the batteries. Return to the path and continue along the edge of the woods.

(3) A little further on, go back down into the woods to find the start of a stone-lined trench and follow this trench as it climbs back up towards the path. Reach the path and continue by taking the second path on the right into another trench.

(4) From the path, you can see a small ruined building; this is a well. Be careful, as the well is open – do not enter the building.

(5) Enter the woods to visit a concrete shelter with two entrances; you can go down into the shelter as it is safe to do so, then return to the path.

(6) At the junction with a small stone marker, turn left. As you continue, you can see two descending trenches on the right. At the second junction, turn right.

(7) Site of the former Amance iron mine.

(8) At the junction, turn left; at the next one, continue along the path to the right and pass the three boundary markers

(9) At the next T-junction, at elevation 335, take the path on the right; at the next junction, turn left and continue downhill to reach the start of the Alain Larcan field path.

(10) Turn right and join a small road. Continue straight on to reach the village and, at the end of the road, turn left to reach the car park (S/E).
For the more adventurous, you can turn left at the first street, Chemin de la Fontaine, to see the wash house and return to the D37a.

This walk is best undertaken with a GPS or the PDF (description and map), plus a good sense of direction and observation skills to find your way back to the paths.
Best undertaken in dry weather and before the leaves have grown.

In this part of the forest, there are certainly structures that I haven’t found. If you’re more observant than I am and you spot any, please let me know so I can add them to this walk.

Start by visitingthe Church of Saint-Jean-Baptiste in Amance, a listed building, with its remarkable tree (a Lebanese cedar) and the distant view of northern Greater Nancy.
A pleasant walk through the woods of Côte Jadelot and the Grand Mont woods.
At the point (2), the possible locations, in the excavated sections of the embankment, of the gun emplacements that protected the soldiers stationed in the Amance State Forest below.
At the point (3), a stone-lined trench leading back up towards the path.
At point (4), a small ruined building with what appears to be a well.
At point (5), a concrete shelter with two entrances, an access trench and possible battery emplacements.
At point (7), the site of the former Amance iron mine; the entrance gate, built of exposed stone, has been completely dismantled. See the photo on François Munier’s website: amance.over-blog.com: ‘Les Mineurs d’Amance’, which also explains that the ore was transported by a small railway line towards Le Piroué.