The site of Notre-Dame des Otages, which overlooks Colombey-les-Deux-Eglises, is still very popular with walkers looking for a panoramic view of the village. From the "Montagne de Colombey", you can discover a statue of the Virgin who watches over and protects the inhabitants.
Following the murder of 2 German soldiers on 19 August 1944, 21 men and 1 woman from Colombey were taken hostage and transferred to Chaumont to stand trial. Another person arrested earlier joined the group. During their four days of interrogation, the prisoners vowed that if they survived, they would erect a statue in homage to the Virgin Mary. Released shortly before the end of the war, the hostages kept their promise and ordered a statue from the Vaucouleurs foundry. Erected on a pedestal, inside which is a bottle containing the name and story of each hostage, the cast-iron statue, weighing 2.20 m and weighing 620 kg, stands 5.20 m high. It was unveiled on 24 August 1946 in front of 3,000 people, including Mme De Gaulle. Known ever since as "Notre-Dame des Otages", the monument is now a place of pilgrimage (penultimate Sunday in August). The last surviving hostage died in October 2007.
On site: orientation table.
Notre-Dame des otages
