Chapel of Our Lady
of good fountain

Pierre-Philippe Arnould

The Chapel of Our Lady of the Good Fountain has been a renowned pilgrimage site in Lorraine for centuries and is highly frequented. It is located in a clearing conducive to calm and contemplation. People come for the supposed virtues of its spring. Pilgrimage on Whit Monday accessible to people with reduced mobility. Permanent place of prayer and contemplation. The structure of the chapel is not partitioned. Coach parking is available opposite the wooden cross. Free site, except for devotional candles at €1 each. People came to pray at the Good Fountain long before the French Revolution. The government of 1793 made futile efforts to suppress the popular enthusiasm around this blessed place. The rumor of apparitions of the Holy Virgin during the revolutionary period attracted such large crowds that the district authorities were alarmed and placed a garrison of twenty-five horsemen around the fountain. After 1848, the influx of pilgrims became more considerable and a chapel was built near the fountain; it was blessed on October 28, 1851. The chapel was spared by the First World War, even though the front line was very close. It even served as a kitchen at that time. But during the fighting in November 1944, the chapel was badly damaged and the nave destroyed. The current Chapel is the work of the architect Philippe Legrand. In 1951, he rebuilt it according to new plans, including the choir, the stained-glass windows and the statue, which remained intact. The inauguration of the new renovated chapel took place on September 8, 1952 and was the occasion for a major event. Garlands were made and formed an uninterrupted decoration from Domjevin to the Chapel.