Sacred spring / fountainVosges
Lac de la Maix
Vexaincourt
Dimensions
about 2 ha, glacial basin hollowed out some 12,000 years ago, alt. 681 m
Period
Chapel attested from 1090, destroyed and then rebuilt in pink sandstone in 1865; dugout canoe dated to between 780 and 985 BC found underwater
What stands there
1 natural lake of glacial origin, one of the last of its kind in the sandstone Vosges, chapel on its shores
One of the last natural lakes of glacial origin in the sandstone Vosges, its clear waters fed by springs, it bore a consecrated hermitage as early as 1090. A dugout canoe found submerged in the lake has been dated to the late Bronze Age (780–985 BC), evidence that the site was frequented in ancient times. The present chapel, in pink sandstone, dates from 1865, after the destruction of the original building.
Getting there : Free access, waymarked paths from Vexaincourt, near the Donon massif
Opening times and access details are given as a guide only: check before you set out.
Ambient sound
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Nearby
- Le Donon et son temple des VosgesSacred mountain · Grandfontaine · 7.8 km
- Lac de Pierre-PercéeLegendary lake / pond · Pierre-Percée · 12 km
- Fontaine miraculeuse de Saint-QuirinSacred spring / fountain · Saint-Quirin · 15 km
- Cascade et château du NideckLegendary waterfall · Oberhaslach · 19 km
- Cathédrale Saint-Dié de Saint-Dié-des-VosgesCathedral · Saint-Dié-des-Vosges · 23 km
- Rocher de Dabo et chapelle Saint-LéonRock / boulder field · Dabo · 23 km
This place in the great stories
- The springs that heal: Saint Clair, Saint Odile and the waters of the saintsFrom the council of Arles (c. 451-452) to the chapel of the lac de la Maix (1866): the…
In the same department
All places — Vosges (13).