Saint-Claude: The Pipe Makers, the Cathedral Stalls and the Saut du Chien
Bourgogne-Franche-Comté, France
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Pipe Maker's Apprentice
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225
XP
+100 France
= 325 total
1 day
Saint-Claude: The Pipe Makers, the Cathedral Stalls and the Saut du Chien
225 + 100 XP
Briar-pipe making took off at Saint-Claude from 1855 and the town calls itself the capital of the pipe. In its cathedral the walnut choir stalls of the 15th century carry an inscription giving them to one Jehan de Vitry in 1465, which the state's inventory calls almost certainly a forgery; the south side burnt on 26 September 1983 and was rebuilt almost identically. Above the town, the Flumen falls more than 20 m in its gorge beside the folded rock they call the Chapeau de Gendarme.
Required Activities
1
of 4
In the Musee de la Pipe et du Diamant, follow the trade backwards from the briar pipes of 1855 to the wood, bone and ivory turnery the town sold to pilgrims, and find the Voltaire busts Jean-Francois Rosset turned out of it, then look at the diamond and lapidary side the museum's other half is about
2
of 4
In the choir, find the Renaissance retable shaped like a triumphal arch that the abbot Pierre de La Baume, bishop of Geneva from 1522 to 1544, had brought in and set up here
3
of 4
Walk the hour in to the foot of the main fall of the Flumen, more than 20 m of water into the gorge, and on the way find the Chapeau de Gendarme, the fold of rock bent into the shape of a Napoleonic gendarme's two-cornered hat
4
of 4
Cross the Grand Pont and the pont de pierre and work out how far above the water the town actually sits, then finish on the Place Louis-XI for the view along the old walls
In the Musee de la Pipe et du Diamant, follow the trade backwards from the briar pipes of 1855 to the wood, bone and ivory turnery the town sold to pilgrims, and find the Voltaire busts Jean-Francois Rosset turned out of it, then look at the diamond and lapidary side the museum's other half is about
In the choir, find the Renaissance retable shaped like a triumphal arch that the abbot Pierre de La Baume, bishop of Geneva from 1522 to 1544, had brought in and set up here
Walk the hour in to the foot of the main fall of the Flumen, more than 20 m of water into the gorge, and on the way find the Chapeau de Gendarme, the fold of rock bent into the shape of a Napoleonic gendarme's two-cornered hat
Cross the Grand Pont and the pont de pierre and work out how far above the water the town actually sits, then finish on the Place Louis-XI for the view along the old walls
Before you go
The walk in to the main fall of the Flumen is about an hour each way on one trail; the gorge is open in all seasons and the falls are strongest after rain or in winter, when the path can be icy. The cathedral and the Musee de la Pipe et du Diamant both keep a weekly closing day, so check before you go.
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Challenge Location
XP Breakdown
Challenge XP
225 XP
France country bonus
+100 XP
Potential total
325 XP
Country bonus earned on completion of your first challenge in France.
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