Pic Du LizieuxPic Du Lizieux
©Pic Du Lizieux|©Office de tourisme du Haut-Lignon

Memorial sites

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There are no exceptional sites to visit in the Haut-Lignon, but the air and light here hint at an unusual history and state of mind.

Chemins de mémoireChemins de mémoire
©Chemins de mémoire|Editions Dolmazon

    30 places of remembrance to (re)discover

    Set off to discover unusual places, 4 itineraries by car are proposed by Les Carnets du Lieu de Mémoire n°3 published by Editions Dolmazon.

    With Les Chemins de Mémoires, visitors are invited to discover places of memory, all linked to events in a collective history. The chosen sites recount specific events and retrace the history of the Plateau during the war. A map lists all the sites, and several itineraries are suggested, with precise indications of their location.

     Available :
    • In bookshops
    • Au Lieu de Mémoire: €9
    • Online at www.editions-dolmazon.com

    Spiritual resistance

    Approx. 95 km, allow 3 hours by car.

    From Le Chambon-sur-Lignon, discover the temples of Le Mazet-Saint-Voy, Montbuzat and Freycenet. The nearby Ardèche reminds us of the commitment of pastors and the local population. Stop for a moment at Mars then Devesset, then Saint-Agrève and Intres, where the Chief Rabbi of France and his family are hiding. Then the Plateau de Fay-sur-Lignon, Les Vastres…

    Temple of Le Chambon-sur-LignonTemple of Le Chambon-sur-Lignon
    ©Temple of Le Chambon-sur-Lignon|Luc Olivier
      A Mi Bois in Autumn at Lambert WoodA Mi Bois Automne Copyright Nancy Epalle 2 Rotated
      ©A Mi Bois in Autumn at Lambert Wood|Nancy Epalle

        Escape routes to Switzerland

        Approx. 60 km, allow 2 hours by car.

        The Plateau becomes a hub for Switzerland. Mireille Philip, Pierre Piton, Dora Rivière and the pastors worked hard to organize this rescue network. From Chambon to Montbuzat, where false papers were produced, Fay-sur-Lignon to Labatie d’Andaure, where refugees passed from one presbytery to another, in transit to Switzerland via Valence-Grenoble or St Etienne-Lyon.

        Armed resistance

        Approx. 90 km, allow 3 hours by car.

        Maquis of the Secret Army, Franc Tireurs Partisans, STO draft dodgers all worked on the Plateau, so follow in their footsteps. Camp Joubert at Chambon-sur-Lignon, Allied aid at Devesset, resistance fighters and maquisards at Les Vastres, St Clément, Boussoulet and the terrible repression at Montbuzat.

        A great project for the years to come: The Memorial of Remembrance at Chièze in Mazet-Saint-Voy.

        Les sucs du meygalLessucsdumeygallucolivier
        ©Les sucs du meygal|Luc Olivier
          Memorial plaqueMemorial plaque
          ©Memorial plaque|Luc Olivier
          Stationery steleStationery stele
          ©Stationery stele |P. BOUSSEAUD

            Plaques and headstones commemorative

            Route approx. 75 km, allow 3 hours by car.

            In Chambon-sur-Lignon, the plaques of the Maison des Roches, of André Philip and Charles Guillon, of Roger le Forestier, martyred doctor of Le Chambon, the commemorative plaque in tribute to the inhabitants of the Plateau, the monuments to victims in Montbuzat, Champ des Cayres, Boussoulet. Tribute to the inhabitants of Villelonge and to Pierre Piton at Les Vastres, stele in memory of Resistance fighters and parachutists at Devesset to Tence, Istor and l’Ecole des Prophètes, plaque des Justes, Arbre de la Mémoire at Chaumargeais, stele at La Papeterie.

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