Les Dames de Meuse

Laifour

Between Laifour and Revin, the Meuse slips past the foot of a dark wall: three rocky crests draped in forest, carved from the oldest rocks of the Ardennes massif, that plunge sheer into the river. The bargemen of old called the highest summit "Notre-Dame de Meuse" and crossed themselves as they passed. For tradition tells that these three rocks were once three women: Hodierne, Berthe and Iges, daughters of Count Hugues de Rethel, married to the three sons of the lord of Hierges. When their husbands left for the First Crusade, they let themselves be seduced by three knights who had stayed at home — and at the very hour when the crusaders were storming Jerusalem, in 1099, heaven is said to have punished the faithless wives by turning them into three enormous rocks, frozen for eternity above the river. This legend, popularised by the folklorists of the Ardennes at the end of the 19th century, gave a soul to a site that George Sand and Théophile Gautier already admired for its grandiose wildness. Listed as a natural site in 1997, the place can be discovered from the towpath, from which the rock face seems overwhelming, or by the paths that climb to the ridge for one of the finest viewpoints in the Ardennes, over a meander readily compared to a fjord. At sunset, as shadow fills the valley, one understands how the river came to give birth here to tales of stone and sin.

Getting there : Natural site freely accessible all year round, opposite the village of Laifour, between Deville and Anchamps (Meuse valley, D1). Walking paths to the ridge and viewpoints; the GR long-distance path runs along the heights. Coordinates: site on the Laifour side.

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

Ambient sound