Le pays des sorciers

The Cognelot mountain, overlooking Chalindrey, has long been the subject of superstition. Sabbaths held by the Red Devil were the talk of the town. It is said that ancestral traditions, often steeped in paganism and opposed by the Church, were passed on at these meetings. On the barren wasteland of the Cognelot, it is also said that the "witches' circles", in reality mushroom circles, were the traces of the infernal sarabands held there. Anyone suspected of witchcraft was subjected to the rigorous justice of the time.
A little further on, the Château du Pailly welcomes you. It's one of the most prestigious masterpieces left to Champagne-Ardenne by the Renaissance. Built between 1563 and 1573 by Gaspard de Saulx Tavanne, a comrade-in-arms of François 1st, you can admire its main courtyard and its keep.
Heading south of the département via Heuilley-le-Grand and Saint-Broingt-le-Bois, you will come to Grandchamp, where an ancient listed bridge still stands, and then Maatz, where a picnic area has been set up by the river. From the Vallon de la Resaigne, you will then reach Coublanc in the Salon valley, which runs through the villages of Grenant and Saulles. Here, the cultivation of willow and wicker indicates that you are entering the land of basketry, a skill that continues today thanks to the only French school of wickerwork and basketry located in Fayl Billot. A stopover in Bussières-lès-Belmont is a must to discover this craft.
A long drive through the woods of Champsevraine will then take you to Corgirnon, where its castle dominates a 7-hectare park. The return journey to the Chalindrey railway junction will take you through the village of Torcenay.