Grotte Saint-Léon

Useful Information

Location:	57870 Walscheid. In the Saint-Léon part of Walscheid, parking at Saint Léon Chapel, 300 m/5 minutes hike to the cave. (48.6422586, 7.1468412)
Open:	no restrictions. [2026]
Fee:	free. [2026]
Classification:	Erosional Cave Frost Weathering Cave
Light:	bring torch
Dimension:	L=35 m, W=24 m. H=8 m.
Guided tours:	self guided
Photography:	allowed
Accessibility:	no
Bibliography:
Address:	Grotte Saint-Léon, 57870 Walscheid, 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 Saint-Léon (Saint-Léon Cave) as well as nearby Chapelle Saint-Léon and the surrounding suburb of Walscheid are named after Pope Saint Leo IX. In his youth, he is said to have come to pray and meditate in this cave, which he called ‘cathedral of nature’. A commemorative plaque on the left side of the entrance honours his memory.

A long, long time ago, a pagan count lived with his family in the splendid castle of Saint Léon which was named Dürrenberg at that time. This count had turned the cave into a cellar. In those days, the Dürrenberg plateau and the cave were connected by a lake which filled the entire valley. When the wine ran out, the lord would go himself to the cave-cellar by boat. There, he would draw wine in abundance and drink himself thoroughly drunk. This same lord had a son who, having learnt of the Christian God, prayed to Him with great fervour and love. The father, who had been a harsh and violent man, learnt of this and flew into a great rage. He resolved to have his own son put to death, and ordered two of his servants to take him into the forest to execute him. Once their task was complete, they should bring back the tongue of the victim as proof. The servants, however, were kind-hearted and spared the count’s son. They killed a dog in his place, bringing its tongue to young Bruno’s father. Bruno ended up staying with a hermit and converted to Christianity.
Later, he made a pilgrimage to Rome and, many years later, became a pope full of piety, greatness and holiness. His parents, tormented by remorse, eventually went to the Vatican and confessed their abominable sin to the pope, who then revealed his identity to them. The Pope, a man of spiritual worth but also a man of action, had the pagan castle in his native land demolished and a chapel built in its place. Little by little, the water receded, laying bare the land that was just waiting to be cultivated. The Holy Pope brought over devout families from Switzerland, who settled there to work the land. Thus was born the hamlet of Saint Leon.

This is a legend, the story in the biography of Leo IX is a little different. He was born Bruno von Egisheim-Dagsburg in 1002, the youngest son of Count Hugh IV of Nordgau and Hedwig of Dagsburg. The younger sons, who had no chance to inherit, were often sent to monasteries to become monks. Berthold, Bishop of Toul, had a school for the sons of the nobility. At the age of five, Bruno was sent there, and later became a canon at St. Stephen’s in Toul. He returned home when his cousin Conrad succeeded Henry II as emperor. When Conrad set out for Italy to make his authority respected in that portion of his dominions, he accompanied him. While he ws there Bishop Herimann died, and Bruno was at elected to succeed him. He administered the Diocese of Toul for over twenty years, at a time of famine and war. When Pope Damasus II in 1048, Bruno was selected as his successor by an assembly at Worms in December. In the following February he arrived in pilgrim garb in Rome and at his consecration assumed the name Leo IX.

Until today the cave is part of the religious life of the community. Every year, on the third Sunday of Advent, the Walscheid Tourist Office stages a live nativity scene in the cave. This event requires the involvement of around forty volunteers like actors, set-up crew, sound technicians, and others. Setting up and dismantling the structure takes around twenty volunteers a total of 150 hours. All the components of this structure are carried up to the cave on people’s backs.

This huge erosional cave is the largest cave in the Vosques, it is 32 m deep, 24 m wide and 8 m high. It formed in a mix of sandstone and conglomerate, and is more or less the result of a spring. Until today a trickle of clear water emerges from the rock at the back of the cave. At the beginning of the last century, it was a fairly substantial spring. According to local lore, its water had the power to cure infertility, which attracted couples longing for children. From the geological view the spring formed the cave by water eroding the sandstone. This mechanical abrasion was intensified by frost. Due to the water from the spring in the cracks of the rock around the spring, which freezes in winter. So weathering is substantially higher around the spring creating the cavern.

The visit of the cave is rather easy, no light required, but we recommend good walking shoes. From Walscheid take D96 to Saint-Léon. There is a parking lot at Chapelle Saint-Léon, from here it’s a 300 m/5 minute walk uphill to the cave. The cave entrance offers a nice view across the valley and the town.