Planche des Belles Filles
A curious name !
At 1,148 metres high, Planche des Belles Filles is one of the highest points of Haute-Saône just behind Ballon de Servance (1,216 metres). It is located in the Ballon des Vosges Regional Natural Park.
Planche des Belles Filles takes its name from an old legend which says that during the Thirty Years’ War, young girls from the neighbouring village threw themselves in a lake to escape from cruel Swedish mercenaries (a walk along a signposted footpaths leads to the places mentioned in the legend).
Metallic mineral deposits formed 40 million years ago were exploited during the 15th and 18th centuries in mines dug into the mountainside.
During the Second World War, a thousand ‘maquisards’ took refuge on the mountain before launching an attack in the valley.