Rocher de Dabo et chapelle Saint-Léon

Dabo

Set like a ship of pink sandstone above an ocean of firs, the Rocher de Dabo is one of the most striking viewpoints in Lorraine: from its 664 metres, the eye takes in the blue line of the Vosges and the whole Lorraine plateau. In the Middle Ages its summit bore the fortress of the powerful counts of Dabo — Dagsbourg in its Germanic form — whose territory was attached to France before Louis XIV ordered the destruction of the castle, razed in 1690. It is from this comital line that tradition has a child named Bruno born here, around 1002, son of Count Hugh of Nordgau and of Heilwige of Dagsbourg. Bishop of Toul at 24, a tireless reformer of the Church against simony, he was elected pope in 1048 under the name of Leo IX and died in 1054, shortly after the disaster of Civitate. Historians debate the exact place of his birth, but Dabo has made this Lorraine pope its native son: the neo-Romanesque chapel of Saint-Léon, standing on the very site of the vanished castle, is dedicated to him, and a statue commemorates the millennium of his birth. Today one climbs to the platform for the chapel, its lookout tower and a panorama which, in clear weather, seems limitless — a summit where the history of a village crossed that of Christendom as a whole.

Getting there : Signposted access road from the village of Dabo (RD 45, Carrefour du Rocher), car park at the foot of the rock, then climb to the platform. Free visit from November to March; admission charge from 1 April to 31 October (approx. €2), open daily 10am–6pm in summer. Coordinates: platform of the rock.

Opening times and access details are given as a guide only: check before you set out.

Ambient sound