SITE CLOSED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE DUE TO DANGER RELATED TO FALLING BRANCHES OR TREES (Danger caused by ash blight and bark beetle attacks).
Kilometer zero of the Marne, France's longest river (500 kilometers), is located under the porch of a modest fountain built in 1877. The water from this spring comes from a network of active karstic galleries, partially explored by speleologists. The natural outlet of the underground river is currently masked by scree covering the base of the Bajocian cornice.
A recent development (1956), of the drainage gallery type, captures the flow circulating beneath the scree to supply drinking water to the village of Balesmes below.
The Marne flows into the Seine, after completing a quarter of its course in Haute-Marne and crossing five départements.
This spring is adjacent to another natural site: the Grotte de Sabinus, named after a Gallic chieftain who took refuge in this cave after fighting the Romans.
This legendary site offers a marvellous panorama, and interpreted paths lead through the rocks to the spring.
