Mountain bike circuit - The wood of Cessieu

The Sauvegarde de la Chapelle Saint-Joseph de Cessieu association owns the chapel. Help us to keep it alive, respect it and maintain it as our ancestors have done for nearly a thousand years, for the generations to come.There have always been buildings on this site, which is a strategic crossing point between France and Italy. Since Christian era, there have been a succession of chapels and several modifications. The foundations remain on the north side, and there is a break in the wall on the south side from a time when the chapel was enlarged. The first known owner to date, Joseph Georges, parish priest of Saint-Sorlin-de-Morestel, specified in his holographic will: ‘The future owners are responsible for all repairs and maintenance of this chapel and for celebrating the annual and perpetual service established by Father Georges. Anyone who fails to fulfil these conditions may be asked to leave by the others.’ Around the 1960s, the chapel gradually fell into abandonment. Successive local councils brought together the various owners to carry out the necessary work, but each time it was necessary to separate the rights holders. As a result, it fell into oblivion, was plundered and completely destroyed. The walls were only waist-high in some places, and trees had grown inside and on the walls. Jean de Torchefelon, who fought in the Battle of Azincourt in 1415, and his second wife, Jeanne de Paladru, are buried in this chapel. Their coats of arms are displayed inside the chapel. In 1660, Pierre de Musy, Lord of La Tour du Pin, advisor to the King of France, and head of the Parliament of Metry, donated 300 livres (equivalent to three years' wages for a carpenter) to renovate or enlarge the Saint-Joseph Chapel in Cessieu. Jean de Torchefelon was his ancestor. Finally, in 2011, after a lot of administrative work, an association was created to renovate the chapel to its original state. The very next day, around fifteen volunteers set to work. Over the course of five years, 80% of the work was carried out by volunteers, craftsmen and artists, who rebuilt the walls, roof structure, floors, frescoes, woodwork, stained glass windows and benches, as well as restoring the statue of Saint Joseph found in the bell tower of the church in Cessieu. You can learn about the history of this chapel from the members of the association: for example, in the absence of a pulpit, the Capuchin friars would climb the lime tree in front of the door to preach. The ladder is inside. The first wedding took place on 30 July 2017.

An open view on the Chartreuse mountain range and the Mont du Chat. You can see the Mont-Blanc in the distance on a clear day!

It is possible to park at the car park "chemin du Bouchet", 1 km from St Joseph chapel and from the orientation table, or alongside the road "Ruy" or "chemin du Bessay", close to the iron cross, then follow the rocky path on 550 m.

In 1864, Canon Noël Crochat, a priest from Cessieu, founded the chapel of Notre-Dame de la Salette on the ruins of the old fortified house of Le Châtelard.A former dwelling remodelled as a chapel between 1860 and 1864, it houses a statue of the Virgin and Child and paintings by Dutch artist Cor Van Geleuken.

Dating from the 12th century and belonging to the Torchefelon family, this tower would have played a protective role in the Middle Ages. It is thought to be a vestige of the ‘Châtelard’, which stood on the hillside.