The best cycling routes around Merles-Sur-Loison

🏰 **Château de Cons-la-Grandville – A Journey Through the Centuries** The imposing castle of **Cons-la-Grandville**, near the border with Luxembourg, combines Romanesque origins with Renaissance and Baroque architecture. Built on the foundations of a Gallo-Roman villa, it was expanded and remodeled several times from the 11th century onwards. Particularly worth seeing: the Romanesque cloister, the elegant façade, and the magnificent courtyard. 🕰️ The château was the residence of the noble de Cons family, later also a monastery, and has been lovingly restored. Today it is a listed monument and open to visitors. **Tip:** Be sure to visit the cloister – one of the oldest preserved of its kind in Lorraine. Ideal as a stopover on the way between France and Luxembourg.

It is nice to see that the water level of the canal is much higher than the water level of the stream.

Nice gravel along the Maas side. You will find here now and then a bank and now and then a lock. Also striking how much higher the water of the canal is compared to the water of the stream.

Among the thousands of fallen soldiers who rest here is Caporal Louis Micol, a soldier of the 19th Battalion of Chasseurs à Pied. He was not only a soldier, but also the founder of one of the first French front newspapers: Le Son du Cor, a trench newspaper written by and for soldiers. Micol died on 18 September 1915 in Brabant-en-Argonne and is buried in grave no. 390. His story is a reminder that even in the midst of the violence of war, soldiers sought ways to make their voices heard, share experiences and preserve their humanity.

Military cemetery created in 1916 during the Battle of Verdun. It contains the remains of 6,537 French soldiers, including 2,000 in ossuaries. Most of them died in 1916 on the right bank of the Meuse, near strategic points such as Côte 344 and Thiaumont. In 1961, 151 soldiers who died in the Second World War were also buried there. The necropolis covers 3.2 hectares and was set up between 1919 and 1934

The Maas Canal, with its pleasant relaxing gravel strips, is the guideline for enjoying a peaceful landscape.

The national necropolis of Bras-sur-Meuse contains the remains of 6,537 soldiers who died for France. During the First World War, 6,386 French soldiers were gathered here, 2,000 of whom are in two ossuaries. It was created in 1916 during the Battle of Verdun (February-November 1916) and was gradually expanded from 1919 to 1934. It is a cemetery for the regrouping of bodies exhumed from military cemeteries on the right bank of the Meuse, in particular those of soldiers who died in the first aid post or in the ambulances stationed at La Fourche, the crossroads of the roads to Louvemont and Douaumont. The ossuaries contain the remains of unknown and unidentified soldiers who fell on hill 344, Haudromont, Froideterre, Cote du Poivre, Thiaumont, Louvemont, etc. In 1961, the remains of 151 soldiers who died during the fighting in June 1940 and were buried in various villages along the Meuse during the Second World War were collected here. Among the soldiers is Corporal Louis Micol, of the 19th Chasseurs Battalion, founder of one of the first newspapers on the front, Le son du cor , a trench newspaper of the chasseurs, who died in Brabant on 18 September 1915 (grave no. 390). Want to know more? Click on https://www.cheminsdememoire.gouv.fr/fr/bras-sur-meuse

Nice gravel where you can enjoy the water on both sides. Know that it can be quite busy here. Enjoy at your own pace. On one side you look out over the flood plain and the meanders of the Maas and on the other you simply follow the straightness of the Maas Canal.