Fête des Sorcières au Fort du Cognelot

The Witches’ Festival will take place on 24 and 25 October 2026 at Fort du Cognelot.
Crafts, activities, shows, a bread oven, a cinema, stalls brimming with wonders… Step into the spell!
Refreshments and food available on site
Delicacies prepared and served by the Effort du Cognelot association.
Food lovers, rediscover the bread of yesteryear, baked in the Fort du Cognelot’s oven!

In days gone by, the peasants of the Langres region feared the devil, nicknamed the Foulletot. According to local legend, he lived on Cognelot Hill where, dressed in red, he presided over the sabbath of witches and warlocks, who flocked there from the surrounding villages. But in Chalindrey, as indeed throughout the Langres region, a merciless war was waged against so-called witches and wizards. One of its inhabitants, Clément Rabiet, was declared a witch and executed in 1598 for boasting that he had met the Devil. This famous trial featured in a few pages of Chalindrey’s history and earned it the name ‘Land of Witches’.
The Witches’ Festival, a nod to the historical past of Chalindrey and its region, appeals to children’s imaginations and transports them to a fantastical place brimming with all manner of activities: Fort Vercingétorix, known as ‘du Cognelot’. Built in 1877, this military fort comprises more than 15 exhibition rooms and will host numerous exhibitors, as well as activities and decorations that are both magical and monstrous.
Nearly 50 exhibitors are expected over the two days to offer gift ideas, sweets of all kinds, chrysanthemums for All Saints’ Day, meal ideas featuring local produce, accessories to celebrate Halloween in style, and all manner of entertainment. Not to mention the bread oven from which the wizards’ loaves will emerge. Unusual, rare and high-quality exhibits. A host of activities and decorations are planned, including, for example, theatrical sketches involving audience participation (witches and beggars), and the ongoing, interactive presence of mysterious characters in the fort’s entrance niches, who will enchant you with their beautiful words. Or the travelling musicians who will sweep us away with their beautiful musical flourishes.