P2P editions › Haute-Marne in autumn
Haute-Marne in autumn
Haute-Marne isn't just a blue dot on a weather map; it's an open-air history book. To capture its soul, driving through isn't enough: you have to stop, ask the way, talk to people. That's exactly what our explorers — Barbara and Santiago — came to do for this first edition of Portraits 2 Passages. Armed only with their curiosity and a paper map, they criss-crossed the department and brought back unique stories.
Welcome to the very first edition of Portraits 2 Passages: an intense adventure full of discoveries and challenges! For this first episode, we chose to spotlight two captivating personalities: Barbara and Santiago, thirty-somethings who are as passionate as they are fascinating. Together they set out to conquer a little-known region full of surprises: Haute-Marne.
This department, unfairly nicknamed “empty”, hides unsuspected treasures. Birthplace of the Marne, the Seine and the Aube, a land of craft traditions, it offers a striking contrast between its vast state forests and its exceptional built heritage.
It was this blend of authenticity and mystery that led us to choose this destination to launch our adventure. Our pairs’ mission was to rediscover these places not as tourists but as travellers of old, relying entirely on the welcome and advice of local people to move forward.
With picturesque villages, vast forests and unexpected encounters, their journey promised to be memorable.
For this edition:
- Duration: one weekend.
- Transport: hitchhiking only (no personal vehicles or organised public transport).
- Technology: none. No mobile phone, no GPS.
- Extra constraints: the rain, and the All Saints’ Day weekend.
How do you find your way to Chaumont without satellites? How do you track down Voltaire without Google? Find out in the video.
The video
The video is hosted on YouTube and only loads when you click.
The route map
Words and pictures tell the emotion, but geography tells the effort. To see the full scale of the journey and its detours, explore the exact route they took and where each challenge was located.
Good to know: you can interact with the map to show or hide the challenges and routes. Hide the list of challenges if you want to try them yourself!
Portraits 2 Passages — Haute-Marne in autumn
The challenges
Can you take on these cultural challenges like they did? Test your knowledge of the region with the riddles below.
The Caribou — Find the traces of this pioneer, co-founder of Quebec's largest city!
Erected in Langres in 1968, the statue of Jeanne Mance (by Jean Cardot) pays tribute to her. The 400th anniversary of her birth was celebrated in Langres in 2006. She is now considered the co-founder of Montreal, together with Paul Chomedey de Maisonneuve.
The Tower — Find the town of the “Bragards”. Track down one of them: the creator of those refreshing summer treats, and go to the factory's very first site.
The Ortiz family's craft business, set up in Saint-Dizier in 1921, became the MIKO ice-cream factory in 1951.
The Asterix — Maybe it was Obelix who put it there. Go and see this curiosity for yourself.
Several notable megalithic sites can be seen in Haute-Marne. Here are a few: the Arc-en-Barrois dolmens in Arc-en-Barrois, the Bois de Charmot dolmens in Coupray, the Haute-Borne menhir in Fontaines-sur-Marne, the Bois de Lardigny dolmens in Vitry-lès-Nogent, and the Alot menhir in Vitry-lès-Nogent.
The Commune — Go and stand before the memorial stone of this famous Communard and anarchist activist.
Louise Michel, the famous Communard, was born on 29 May 1830 in Vroncourt-la-Côte, Haute-Marne. A memorial stone stands in her honour on a village square.
The Round One — Go and stand in front of a stone gastropod.
The Cohons snail is a dry-stone construction used to decorate a garden. Such constructions flourished in the south of Haute-Marne during the 19th century. Around twenty have been recorded, mainly around Langres, by Alain Catherinet.
The Blade — An essential tool for any good adventurer, and making it by hand is an art! Go to the museum dedicated to this tool, once crafted by hand.
The Nogent Cutlery Museum.
The Joke — Go to the craft house devoted to shopping baskets, hampers, baskets and hats.
The Maison de la Vannerie (basketry house). Discover the craft, culture and history of basketry in Fayl-Billot through a collection of 200 items and innovative creations from the National Basketry School.
The Historic One — 18 June marked the rise of this great man. Go and stand before his memorial.
The Charles de Gaulle Memorial in Colombey-les-Deux-Églises. It is the centrepiece of a memorial trail that includes La Boisserie, the house where de Gaulle settled in 1934, the cemetery where the General is buried, and the great Cross of Lorraine erected in his honour in 1972.
The Light — We owe him “Jacques the Fatalist” and the famous Encyclopédie — go and pay tribute to his statue.
The statue of Denis Diderot is a work by Auguste Bartholdi, installed on Place Diderot in Langres in 1884.
The Guardians — Go to this rather special school, which trains officers of “the White”, “the Yellow” and “the Guard”.
Founded in 1945, the Chaumont gendarmerie school (Haute-Marne) is the oldest initial-training school for gendarmerie NCOs and the only one whose flag bears the Military Medal. “The White” refers to the departmental gendarmerie, “the Yellow” to the mobile gendarmerie and “the Guard” to the Republican Guard.
The Arouet — Famous for his philosophical tales, it was his Philosophical Letters that forced this scholar to flee to his château in Champagne. Go and stand at its gates.
Voltaire, whose real name was François-Marie Arouet, took refuge in his château at Cirey, in the commune of Cirey-sur-Blaise. The château owes its fame to Voltaire, who, fleeing Paris after his Philosophical Letters were published without his consent, found refuge there from 1734 to 1749 as the guest of his mistress Émilie du Châtelet, Marquise du Châtelet, another brilliant mind of the 18th century.