Grotte de l’Ermite

Useful Information

Location:	88600 Beauménil. From the village 3 km south (48.166638, 6.720653)
Open:	no restrictions. [2026]
Fee:	free. [2026]
Classification:	Karst Cave
Light:	bring torch
Dimension:	L=3 m, H=2 m, W=1 m, A=650 m asl.
Guided tours:	self guided
Photography:	allowed
Accessibility:	no
Bibliography:
Address:	Grotte de l’Ermite, 88600 Beauménil, Tel: +33-.
As far as we know this information was accurate when it was published (see years in brackets), but may have changed since then. Please check rates and details directly with the companies in question if you need more recent info.

History

Description

Grotte de l’Ermite (Hermits Cave) is located in the Roches de l’Ermite (Hermits Rocks). In the forest south of Beauménil is a rock formation, which contains a small cave. Despite being quite small, it is actually a quite impressive geotope. It is a tectonic cave which was created by the movement of the huge rocks. Standing on a hillside the lower rock slided downhill a little bit, and so a vertical crack in the rock opened, creating a crack which is less than a meter wide, but several meters high. It seems the rocks on top moved also and covered the crack, which now has a ceiling, and it’s a real cave now. Actually these are three smaller rocks, and there is the theory that they were placed there by hand. Some people also interpret the holes in the walls as mounting points for a wooden front door.

Hermits Cave is a quite common name, during the Middle Ages numerous caves were used by hermits, natural as well as artificial. Its unclear if this was the case here, because the cave is actually too small, even for a hermit. But according to legend a hermit lived in this cave around 1775. Every Sunday, he walked barefoot to church in Champ-le-Duc, in summer and winter alike.