Chemins de la Liberté – The Path to Freedom: Vassieux

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On this walk you will discover the village of Vassieux, which paid a heavy price during the Vercors fighting. You can then climb higher along the path that once linked the village to Resistance camp No. 6 during World War II. This route, which is quite difficult, goes up through the box trees to the Memorial to the Resistance in the Vercors. It’s an effort that is rewarded with breathtaking views of the surrounding peaks.

Explore an iconic site in the history of the Vercors beginning in the village before climbing up high. From up above there are panoramic views of the Vercors mountain range and plain, the scene of violent clashes in 1944.

3 points of interest

Eglise Vassieux - E. Georges
Vassieux church
The church of Vassieux-en-Vercors was not spared during the bombing raids of World War II, and the bell tower is all that remains of the old building. The new church adjoining the bell tower (the only preserved edifice) was designed by the architect Pierre Myassard. The choir was reoriented to the west during the rebuilding work, and the decorative style was executed by the painters Aujame, Humblot and Borgès, the Grenoble glassmaker Montfallet and the sculptor Emile Gilioli. The painting of the choir was replaced by an altarpiece by the artist Carmelo Zagari; two stained-glass windows and the altar were designed by Jean-Marc-Cérino. The altar, which is made from Tavel stone, houses the relics of Edith Stein, a German Jew who became a Carmelite and died while being deported to Auschwitz in 1942.
MRV - Département de la Drôme
Departmental Museum of the Resistance
The museum, which was founded by an old member of the Resistance, was renovated in its entirety in 2010. The museum tour is dotted with rich collections, connecting the revived history of the maquis and the rebuilding with the first-hand accounts of its founder. The tour is interspersed with a lavish collection of objects from the period and tactile terminals, and is structured around three themes: The Vercors before the Vercors, which presents the local and international context from 1918 to 1942; The Vercors Maquis, which contextualises the history of the Maquis from late 1942 to August 1944; and The Vercors after the Vercors, which details the post-war period, the reconstruction of the Vercors, commemorations and memorial buildings.
M. Rocheblave
Memorial architecture walk
From the car park at Col de la Chau, various information points explain the aims and ideas of the architects who designed the building that houses the Mémorial de la Résistance.

Information point 1: The geography of Vassieux; why choose to build the Memorial here?

Information point 2: The look-outs: chimney stacks on the roof of the Memorial

Information point 3: The different phases of the project

Information point 4: The potency of the architecture

Information point 5: The link with Camp 6

Description

Starting from Vassieux-en-Vercors, head towards the Departmental Museum of the Resistance behind the church in the direction of Les Cheneaux. The bell tower is all that remains of the old building following the bombing raids of 1944.
Take the signposted route (GR 95), walk behind Le Piroulet holiday village, then follow the road that crosses the entrance to the hamlet of Moulin Allard on the left.
Now walk along the signposted path that climbs up on the left, indicated by an information panel, in the direction of Col de la Chau. The path rises after the old quarry along a steep slope to the Memorial of Resistance in the Vercors. From here you can take the steps that go to Col de la Chau to follow the architecture trail, an outdoor exhibition about the Memorial’s contemporary architecture. You can get even more out of the walk with a visit to the Memorial (put aside two or so hours).
The return journey follows the same route towards Vassieux-en-Vercors.

Departure : Vassieux-en-Vercors
Arrival : Vassieux-en-Vercors
Towns crossed : Vassieux-en-Vercors and Bouvante

Forecast

Altimetric profile

Recommandations

Use the purpose-built throughways to cross fences; shut gates and barriers behind you.

Keeping to the signposted paths means you'll respect private property.

Be careful: the steep path that goes up to the Resistance Memorial can be tricky in rainy weather and in late winter.

Information desks

Place Pietri, 26 420 La Chapelle-en-Vercors

http://www.vercors-drome.com/info@vercors-drome.com 04 75 48 22 54

Transport

By train :
Grenoble, Valence or Die train stations
OùRA multimodal route planner : https://www.oura.com/

By bus :
From Valence :
From train and bus stations : Line D05 to Vassieux-en-Vercors

From Grenoble :
With regional coaches, line T64 by Engins or T65 by Saint-Nizier-du-Moucherotte and go to Villard)
- Then take the "on demand coaches" (except sunday and public holidays)
Booking mandatory, call to +334 8000 7000, at least 24h before you come.

By hitch hiking : You can get there / get back by hitching a lift with the Rezo Pouce network from Autrans-Méaudre, Lans-en-Vercors, Grenoble and Royans-Vercors (you can find all the stops in the Vercors on www.rezopouce.fr).

Carpooling :
Offer your services or book your carpooling on the regional Mov'Ici platform.

Access and parking

From Villard-de-Lans or Pont-en-Royans, take the direction of La Chapelle-en-Vercors, then follow Vassieux-en-Vercors on the road D178.
From Col de Rousset, follow the road D518 then the D76 going to Vassieux-en-Vercors.

You will find a car park in the village center.

Parking :

Car park in the village centre of Vassieux

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