VILLAGE DE SOULOSSE-SOUS-SAINT-ELOPHE

Situated in the Vair valley, north of Neufchâteau, the village of Soulosse-sous-Saint-Élophe is the starting point for the discovery of a Gallo-Roman and legendary heritage, with the figure of Saint-Élophe. In the heart of this village, which bears the ancient name of Solimariaca and is located on an ancient Roman road, the legend of this Christian martyr, who was beheaded by the Romans in 362, can be discovered through a variety of natural and heritage sites.

On the supposed site of Saint-Elophe?s martyrdom, on the banks of the Vair river, the Sainte-Épéothe chapel was built in the 15th century. It houses a remarkable bas-relief, dated 1614, the altarpiece of Saint-Élophe, listed as a historic monument. Restored in 2018, this chapel has been awarded the Heritage ribbon.

From this place of martyrdom, legend has it that the beheaded saint then climbed the hill, carrying his head under his arm, washing himself along the way in a fountain that sprang from the ground and which he struck with his staff, and that on reaching the summit he delivered a final sermon. A walk in his footsteps through the forest and up the hill leads halfway to the fountain, and then to the village of Saint-Élophe.

Here, overlooking the Vair valley, a gigantic statue of Saint-Elophe stands beside the church. Built in the 12th century and rebuilt in the 15th century, this Gothic-Romanesque church houses the relics of Saint-Elophe, as well as a recumbent statue on which the sun is only reflected during the summer solstice.

At the heart of this village, marked by the legend of this cephalophorous saint, is an archaeological museum featuring a rich collection of Celtic and Gallo-Roman remains found in the commune.

DATAtourisme France