Lac de Pierre-Percée

Pierre-Percée

On the edge of the Vosges massif, not far from Badonviller, the Lac de Pierre-Percée spreads its 304 hectares in the shape of a maple leaf, which has earned it the affectionate nickname of "Lorraine's little Canada". Yet this stretch of water is no natural setting: born of the reservoir built by EDF between 1982 and 1985 to sustain the flow of the Moselle in times of low water, it swallowed up, when it was filled, a modest hamlet of a dozen houses, whose memory the local people keep very much alive. But long before the concrete of the dam, this place already bore a name laden with stories: the "pierced stone" itself, a rock that local tradition attributes to a furious kick of the hoof from the devil in person. To this day it is said that silhouettes can be made out at dusk on the central islet, that strange voices echo across the water, and that a treasure belonging to a 19th-century abbé still lies sleeping in the mud. Between the legend of the vanished village and fireside tales of the stony devil, this artificial lake has managed, in barely a few decades, to build itself a folklore as dense as its waters are deep — up to 80 metres in places.

Getting there : Free access to the shores (paths, beach, water-sports centre), D182 road from Badonviller, several car parks, circuit of the lake on foot or by bicycle (32 km)

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

Ambient sound