Grotte Sainte-Reine

Useful Information

Location:	54200 Pierre-la-Treiche. (48.6451680, 5.9422403)
Open:	no restrictions. [2026]
Fee:	free. [2026]
Classification:	Karst Cave
Light:	bring torch
Dimension:	L=1,260 m, A=220 m asl.
Guided tours:	self guided
Photography:	allowed
Accessibility:	no
Bibliography:
Address:	Grotte Sainte-Reine, 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

24-FEB-1910	cave classified as a historical monument.
1960s	surveyed by Speleological Association of Haute-Marne and the Speleological Union of the Nancy metropolitan area.
2008	new passage discovered by David Parrot and USAN.

Description

Grotte Sainte-Reine (Holy Queen’s Cave) is also known as Trou de Sainte-Reine (Holy Queen’s Hole). The "Sainte-Reine" is a reference to a legend of a female chieftain from the Celtic, Gallo-Roman or Frankish period who, having died, was supposedly hidden there to protect her from the enemy. But it is not only legend, actually there are a lot of archaeological remains from this cave which are quite exceptional, the cave is a Historical Monument since 1910. The cave is located on the right or northern bank of the Moselle, opposite the village Pierre-la-Treiche. There is also a plural version of the name, which is actually a result of the fact that this second-longest natural cave in the departement has numerous entrances. Due to its importance it is also a tourist site, there are educational signs at the entrance, as far as we know only in French.

The cave was obviously known since prehistoric times, it was used by cave bears and by humans. Obviously the numerous entrances looking south were not only shelters against rain but also sunny spots protecting from cold winds. It was never inhabited, as naive theories sometimes state, but they were visited rather frequently. Forgotten or ignored for centuries they were used as a hermitage and then by a skate maker during the 18th century.

The cave was scientifically discovered in the mid 19th century. Moreau found numerous bones, including cave bear bones. Nicolas Husson and his son Camille Husson explored the cave systematically and drafted a first plan in 1863, which they updated one year later. They found animal bones like jaws, femurs, humeri, ulnae, and ribs of cave bears, cave hyenas, and many other animals. They also discovered human bones and artifacts like flint tools, amulets made of deer or reindeer antler, and a blue enameled glass vase from the Roman period. Gaiffe and Benoît explored the eastern galleries and also found bones. Ernest Brésillon and Charles Deschamps explored the cave around 1891 and published a new survey. It was reproduced by Édouard-Alfred Martel in 1894 in Les Abîmes on page 413. Such a long history has drawbacks, the excavation techniques were quite simple in those early days, the exact location, the orientation, the layers were completely ignored, and so a lot of information is now lost. On the other hand those discoveries were quite important for the development of modern archaeology.

In the first half of the 20th century there were more excavations by Restiaux, Jean Bourgogne, Christian Chambosse, Robert Chevallereau and Jean Colin. in the 1960s the local speleologists made a new survey, which was later updated in minor details, for example when David Parrot and USAN discovered a new passage inm 2008.

To visit the cave cross the Moselle from the village and then turn right before the limestone cliff. Be careful, there is no parking, so you have to park along the single lane road. It’s a short hike to the cave, and if you hike a little further you may visit two more small cave which are named Grotte des Puits and Grotte des Sept Salles.