La Fosse de Forges

Maisons troglodytes de Forges

Useful Information

Location:	10 Rte de la Fossé, Lieu dit la Fosse, 49700 Dénezé-sous-Doué. La Fosse, near Doué la Fontaine. Parking lot at the northern end of the hamlet, short walk to the caves 50 m. (47.2299551, -0.2397842)
Open:	05-APR to 05-JUL Mon, Wed-Sun 10-12, 14-18. 06-JUL tp 23-AUG Mon, Wed-Sun 10-18. SEP to OCT Mon, Wed-Sun 10-12, 14-18. [2026]
Fee:	Adults EUR 8, Children (6-15) EUR 6, Children (0-5) free, Families (2+2) EUR 25. [2026]
Classification:	Cave House
Light:	Electric Light
Dimension:
Guided tours:	self guided. D=1 h.
Photography:	allowed
Accessibility:	no
Bibliography:
Address:	Les Maisons Troglodytes de "La Fosse", 10 Rte de la Fossé, Lieu dit la Fosse, 49700 Dénezé-sous-Doué, Tel: +33-241-59-00-32. E-mail:
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

16th century	rock quarried.
18th century	first cave houses built.
1930s	site abandoned.
1979	first cave opened to the public.
2014	Jan Rewerski starts living in one of the cave houses and renovate them.

Description

At the hamlet La Fosse a small museum in a completely furnished cave dwelling is worth visiting. It is named Maisons troglodytes de Forges (Cave Houses in Forges) or Les Maisons Troglodytes de "La Fosse" (Cave Houses of "the Pit"). It shows how the people lived in their cave dwellings during the 18th and 19th century. The peasants were able to build their houses by simply digging them into the soft tufa rock. This was by far cheaper than buying all the materials needed for a house. And at the same time they avoided losing land for crops. Nevertheless, the houses were rather small, the courtyard in front was also living space, at least during the summer.

The name La Fosse (the Pit) is a sort of nickname, as the site actually is a pit with vertical walls, an abandoned quarry. But this is actually the reason why cave houses are actually quite rare in the plain, it’s much easier to dig a cave house horizontally into a vertical wall, than digging downwards. While there are lots of cellars far various purposes, cave houses normally have a horizontal entrance, because transporting everything down and up a staircase is quite impractical. There are actually two such pits, which became courtyards when they were surrounded by cave houses. Seven families lived in the 30 dwellings and outbuildings which spread over 1 ha. The name of the hamlet, Forges, is actually the same word in English, meaning a workshop where iron was worked. These forges belonged to Baron Foullon, the Lord of Doué-la-Fontaine and the Intendant of Finances under Louis XVI.

The site is managed and preserved since 2014 by Jan Rewerski. He actually lives in one of the cave houses, while restoring one after the other and trying to put it into an authentic state with the fitting furniture and tools of the 18th and 19th century. He founded the association TROGLO’THENTIC which is the operator of the site.