Grotte Sainte-Barbe

Useful Information

Location:	57550 Falck (49.2138210, 6.6356889)
Open:	no restrictions. [2026]
Fee:	free. [2026]
Classification:	Erosional Cave Frost Weathering Cave
Light:	bring torch
Dimension:
Guided tours:	self guided
Photography:	allowed
Accessibility:	no
Bibliography:
Address:	Grotte Sainte-Barbe, 57550 Falck, 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

The Grotte Sainte-Barbe (Saint Barbara Cave) is also written Grotte de la Ste. Barbe and is named after the statue of Saint Barbara, La Saint Barbe de Falk, which is standing in the portal of the small erosional cave. The name is somewhat generic as there are numerous places including caves where Saint Barabara is venerated. As a result it is often combined with the name of the nearby village Falck. The reference is mining, as Saint Barabara is the patron saint of miners, and the area is full of mines, the next show mines at Velsen and Wendel are only 15 km east. Actually we have listed nine show mines in the Lorraine, but this is the only cave. The statue was erected by the miners of the several lead and copper mines in the Falck area during the 19th century.

The small cave is a sandstone cave, which was created by the erosion of a weaker part of the rock. Most likely cracks in the rock and thus frost weathering are the reason for its formation. Sometime such caves are formed by a spring which increases the weathering around the spring. In this case this might have once been the case, but the spring is now gone. The cave is only a single chamber with a height of about 2 m and a depth of some 4 m. A statue of Saint Barabara is placed on a rock pilar in the middle of the portal. But the story is a little more complicated. The Lorraine was always important for its mines, and both France and Germany thought it belonged to them. After a French German War in the later 19th century the area became German, and the cave was dedicated to Bismarck in the year 1871. He was the Chancellor of the German Empire, and a bronze plate with his head was placed at the wall above the cave protal. But with the end of World War I the area became French again, and the German plates were removed and replace by Saint Barbara.

The small cave is located in a sandstone cliff on the eastern side of the la Petite Saule hill. A parking lot with a statue of Saint-Christophe at the Route de Creutzwald is the trailhead, from here it’s a 600 m walk uphill. From the cave a stone staircase, which is unfortunately in a pretty bad condition, leads uphill to the top of the hill. Here a trail leads around three sides of the plateau along the rim and offers nice views. The whole hill is full of trails and a popular hiking area. Nearby is a spring with a sort of pool and a small Lourdes grotto which is also worth a visit.

If you are interested in more subterranean sites, the city Falck has a series of at least two dozen cellars which were cut into the sandstone at the foot of a cliff. Those cellars are obviously owned by someone and many are still in use or at least gated. But some are not in use any more and the gate is gone so you are free to have look. The cellars are located along the Rue de’l Église between the namesake church Église Saint-Brice de Falck and the cemetery. One is located opposite the mine train which is exhibited at the road, and is used for events and Christmas exhibitions. The cellars created at the end of the 19th century and were used to store food over generation. During Wolrd War II they were also used as air raid shelters.