Croix Pattées

Located in the heart of the Serre primary massif, or in the surrounding villages, 43 crosses have been listed. Their name is due to their very particular shape, the top and the two arms flaring out when they have not been re-cut. They all consist, in their original state, of a cross with a rather long, monolithic shaft, set in a round wheel of about one metre in diameter. The whole can reach a height of 2.50m. The whole is almost always carved in arkose (or Vosges sandstone), a granite common in the Serre massif. Many of the crosses are probably no longer in their original location.
Many stories circulate about their origin and meaning, but unfortunately these are only hypotheses. They are often found at the exit of a village or on an old path leading to the neighbouring village, so do they signify places marked by hard times, crossroads, or simply the testimony of the faith of our ancestors? All this only adds to their mystery and does not detract from the pleasure of the eyes of those who are not put off by a walk along the paths and in the villages of the Nord-Jura.