Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The enclosures and coordes of Échenoz-la-Méline are remains of the wine-growing past of this commune of Haute-Saône, located south of Vesoul. These two dry stone huts, called "cavales", and their enclosures, testify to a wine-growing activity that disappeared after the invasion of the phylloxera, a parasite that devastated the vineyards at the end of the 19th century. The capes served both as a shelter for winemakers during harvests, as storage for their tools, and sometimes as a refuge for shepherds, foresters, and even, according to some writings, for lepers.

Located in the middle of the forest of Échenoz-la-Méline, between the Combes Favirolles and the Janiton, these buildings are 600 meters from the national road 57, along a road in the woods of Maurogneux. Their isolated location, at the place called Entre Deux Bois, reflects their practical use and integration into the rural and forest landscape of the time. One of the two cobbles is particularly well preserved, providing a tangible overview of past agricultural and social practices.

Ranked as a historic monument since January 19, 1993, the coordes and their enclosures (including walls, murgers and the road) are protected for their heritage value. Their inscription covers the entire site, stressing the importance of preserving these physical traces of winemaking know-how and of a community organisation that is now gone. The Insee code of the commune (7020) and its attachment to the Burgundy-Franche-Comté region anchor this heritage in a territory marked by rural and forestry history.

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