News Forest

There are many commemorations in 2019 in honour of Jean-Baptiste Colbert: 400th anniversary of his birth, 360th anniversary of the acquisition of the Duchy of Nevers by Cardinal Mazarin and the 350th anniversary of the Water and Forest decree. 360 years ago, Jean-Baptiste Colbert opened negotiations, acting on behalf of Cardinal Mazarin, for the acquisition […]

The forest of Haguenau in the Bas-Rhin extends north of Strasbourg over 13,400 hectares (33,100 acres). This magnificent expanse of forest is famous for the quality of its oak, but also for its Scots pine.

The second largest forest in France, Fontainebleau, covers 20,000 hectares (49,400 acres) south of Paris. In this hunting preserve of the kings of France Bourbons succeeded Capetians and Valois, before Napoleon bid it a fond farewell.

Former ducal forests of Bois Dieu, Bois Devant, Sury, Barnon, Montas and Lacs de Ligny once depended on the Châtellenie of Montenoison, belonging to the Count then to the Dukes of Nevers for centuries. Those forests are now private forests.

The continental type forest of Fénétrange owes its name to Jean de Fénétrange, whose widow founded a collegiate church in the middle of this massif in the Moselle region in the 15th century. It is at once national (8,000 ha; 19,700 acres), with woods belonging to the duchy of Lorraine and to the bishopric of Metz, as well as communal (1,000 ha; 2,470 acres).

The twenty-fourth postcard of the series “The Forest in Nivernais” depicts two women in the forest of Bertranges carrying on their shoulder heavy bags filled with grass.
The collection of grass was part of a series of customs inherited from the past regime.

Once the property of the house of Lorraine, the forest of Darney extends over 22000 hectares (54363 acres) and 36 communes of the Vosges and the Haute-Saône. In the 12th century the forest was peppered with Cistercian abbeys and priories, and later the dukes of Lorraine brought over Czech glassmakers and installed forges and steelworks, all with an insatiable appetite for wood.

Saulois forest once depended on the Châtellenie of Montceaux-le-Comte part of the Duchy of Nevers since the 17th century. This former ducal forest, located on the Marigny-sur-Yonne municipality, is now divided between private and public ownership.

The forest of Compiègne, the third largest national forest in France, forms a circle some 14 kilometers (8½ miles plus) in circumference to the northeast of Paris, and covers 14,300 hectares (35,335 acres). With a perimeter that has hardly altered since the Middle Ages, this ancient hunting preserve owes its fame to the kings of France.

Bellefaye forest once depended on the Chatellenie of Châteauneuf-Val-de-Bargis belonging to the Dukes of Nevers since the 16th century.