Grotte de Sabinus et source de la Marne

Balesmes-sur-Marne

At Balesmes-sur-Marne, a modest limestone cavity thirty metres long and about twenty metres deep opens a few steps from the source of the Marne, a monumental fountain built in 1877 to mark the birth of the river, which runs for 514 kilometres. Local tradition links this grotto to Julius Sabinus, chief of the Lingones people, who, claiming descent from Julius Caesar, rebelled against Rome in AD 69-70. Defeated, he is said to have faked his suicide by setting fire to his villa and then to have hidden away for nine years in an underground refuge with his wife Eponine, before being discovered and executed by the Romans; according to ancient tradition, Eponine is said to have declared that she had spent happier days with Sabinus underground than she would have on a throne in the light of the sun, before dying with him. Local guides point out, however, that no archaeological evidence supports identifying this particular grotto with the legendary refuge. Excavations carried out nearby have, on the other hand, uncovered Gallo-Roman baths and the remains of a spring cult site, along with coins, pottery and beads attesting to ancient use of the site. The wooded, wild site remains today a popular family walking destination near Langres.

Getting there : Free access all year from a fitted car park at Balesmes-sur-Marne (D290 from Saints-Geosmes, near Langres), path with steps; ongoing forestry work temporarily restricts pedestrian/mountain-bike access and parking until 2026.

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

Ambient sound