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Origin and history

The Sainte-Anne de Martimpré chapel was built in 1606 on the initiative of Nicolas-Henri de Martimprey, local lord, on the eponymous pass at Gerbépal (Vosges). It was blessed on February 28, 1609 by Bishop Porcelet, marking his anchor in devotion to Saint Anne. Martimprey's family, including Jean de Martimprey (curé de Lapotroie in 1674), played a key role in its beautification, financing a bell as early as 1671 and leguating income at his death in 1723 for his maintenance. The chapel, of simple plan, combines a vaulted choir of the seventeenth century, a square nave and a narrow porch, all illuminated by windows in full hanger.

The interior houses an altar surmounted by a baroque altar, decorated with four twisted columns framed by a painting of Saint Anne and a crucifix. A niche in height hosts a statuette of the saint. The annual pilgrimage, set at the last Sunday in July, continues a tradition that has continued since its foundation. Classified with the additional inventory of historical monuments in 1990, the chapel illustrates the Lorrain religious architecture of the Counter-Reform, mixing external sobriety and interior decorative richness.

The chapel also reflects the social history of the Vosges: local lords, like the Martimprey, affirmed their piety and power, while pilgrimages structured community life. Its maintenance by private bequests (such as that of Jean de Martimprey) underlines the importance of family and religious networks in preserving rural heritage. Today private property, it remains a living testimony of Marian devotion in Lorraine, between medieval heritage and Baroque renewal.

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