La clairière du Hang

The Bruche River rises at an altitude of 690 metres, at the foot of a mountain with an unexpected shape: the Climont (966 m). It first crosses a large sun-drenched "basin", the "glade du Hang", where, taking advantage of the combined presence of wood and water, families of glassmakers settled as early as 1723. A few burnt stones, fragments of glass, still keep the memory of the presence of the glassmakers, who moved to the Baccarat sector around 1770 and 1790. Le Hang continued to prosper, however, thanks to the arrival of many Mennonite farmers of Swiss origin. They found here a place favourable to their pastoral and mystical life. Throughout the 18th and the first half of the 19th century, these Mennonites were remarkable breeders, at the forefront of agricultural progress. Today, several Mennonite families still live in the valley.