Climont, formerly called "Clivemont" in Old French, and "Winberg" in Old Alsatian, is a conical sandstone peak of the Vosges mountains. The mountain, with a cut-off shape, is known from afar by walkers and modern-day travellers.
Situated today in Alsace to the south-west of the Champ du Feu, Clivemont's 965 metre peak is recognizable from a distance by its trapezoidal shape. The solitary tomb-shaped hill has long been a landmark to the south of the straight voie des saulniers (a salt trading route), at the start of the massif running from Ormont.
Geography
Climont offers an exceptional panorama of the various surrounding valleys. The waterways which originate there include the river Fave in the south-west which flows into the Meurthe above Saint-Dié, the Bruche and several streams such as the winding Climontaise, which flow into Bourg-Bruche and Schirmeck to the north and finally the Giessen river to the south-east which flows towards Urbeis. The 360° view reveals Donon and the Val de Bruche to the north, the Val de Villé to the east, the middle Vosges to the south, and the Saint-Dié basin to the west.
The mountains, which beyond 650 or 700 metres up belong to the territory of the Urbeis commune, are highly prized by hill-walkers. The GR532 walking route passes by the south, and two routes marked by the Vosges Club (Club Vosgien) lead to the summit where a tower stands in memory of Julius Euting, commonly referred to as the "Tour Jules".
Climont has given pleasure to travellers from Lorraine on the Saulniers way, announcing the proximity of the Ungersberg massif and its hills overlooking the Alsatian plain. It is also a useful landmark for mountain-dwellers; its wide-ranging views of over the Saint-Dié basin allow humidity testing of air layers, and wind forecasting in case of unusual wind patterns such as the coldest winter breezes or east winds coming down from the mountains. The cone of Climont is easily identifiable from the Roche Saint-Martin and from the heights of Hadremont north or east of the Kemberg massif, byt also at different height to the south of the Fave valley. Today drivers who take the fast route passing around Saint-Dié or entering the Fave valley in the direction of the Lusse tunnel or the Saales col can contemplate the splendid isolation and magnificent evening lighting of Climont's slopes.
Toponymy and legends
The dialect name, whether of German or Roman origin, means a cut-off shape, referring to the abrupt slopes which fall from Climont's ledged summit. "Winberg" probably comes from a corruption of "Winkberg" or "Winkleberg", just as "Climont" comes from the Latin "clivus mons". The oldest written name for Climont is "cilkenberg", dating from 1195.
Legend associates Climont with celibate, lonely or isolated people, or groups at odds with the norm. Monks and sects, notably Anabaptists, lived on the mountain's slopes. Magical beings living on Climont, spirits of grass, shrubs ad trees said to be the sole examples of their kind, are described as much by their shapes and movements as by their appearances to observers. Paradoxically, a large number of these singular creatures presided over meetings and particularly amorous liaisons. The plants gathered by Saint Jain would have powers of love potions for Tristan and Isolde.
Geology
Climont is a mound bearing witness to sandstone of the Triassic, a vestige resulting from effective erosion pushed onto the pedestal of Permian sandstone. This latter formation basically corresponds to the post-Hercynian peneplain characteristic of the Primary era. In the Saales col, whose flat horizons appear as a peneplain to the eye, there is similarity between the mounds of Climont, Voyemont, Houssot or the hills which continue from Ormont, all to a greater or lesser extent released by erosion. Note that the final and most recent erosion has arisen from the enclosing faults, which emerged transverse to the Alsatian rift and stretch out towards the Saint-Dié area. They have also induced the collapse of Ormont and are active today, creating the sharp relief of the sandstone massif.
The countryside of Climont, shaped at the level of deep layers, is effectively an isthmus between the Permian basin of Saint-Dié and lLe Villé.
The sandstone mass of Climont is neither strongly nor deeply fissured, which has made it resistant to erosion. The waters on a conical prominence to the west descend via a waterfall towards Le Hang, forming the source of the Bruche. Beneath Le Hang, a dam has allowed a pond to form. Filled by the copious waters in the spring season, it was partially emptied by a floating of lost logs towards Schirmeck et Strasbourg before 1890.