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Menetrux
is a tiny, pretty village above
the lower reaches of les Cascades
du Herrison. I had spotted the
cross marked on a map earlier in
the day, and stopped beside the
village fountain for a drink. I
got out the map again, wondering
where I would find the church; I
found the fountain, and to my
surprise the church was
immediately beside it. I looked
over my shoulder, and found I was
standing on the steps of St
Joseph. It was a bright,
clear day, and the freshly
painted church shone like honey.
I later saw a photograph taken in
the 1970s showing it drab and
dreary, but today, with the heat
in the high thirties, it had
almost a mediterranean feel to
it. It is a fairly conventional
single cell chapel, with an image
niche and small window above the
west door, and high flanking
windows towards the east to light
the sanctuary. There is a holy
water stoup beside the door, and
two corbels above that once
supported a porch. There is no
graveyard, and I assume villagers
are buried a few miles north at Doucier.
A group of
children played lazily in the
shadows; but in truth this
village is split by a busy road,
and I do not think I would be
happy about my own children
running around beside it.
St-Joseph,
Menetrux, is on the D39 between
Doucier and la Chaux du Dombief.
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