Habay   ▪

Anlier
The pont d'Oye
The ironworks
Maurice Grévisse
The Mageroy Gallo-Roman villa
Rulles, the village of bridges

Rulles, the village of bridges.

There are in fact four footbridges and fourteen bridges in the village, two of which were blown up in 1940 where Pierre Coller, a Belgian serviceman, was killed. The village is bordered by the Rulles forest and the villages of Thibessart and Anlier to the north, Houdemont to the east, Marbehan to the west and Villers-sur-Semois to the south. Several streams and rivers flow through the village. The main one is the river Rulles which joins the Semois and has several tributaries - Mandebras, Mellier and the Wé, Pachi, Fourneau and Landeau streams. The altitude varies between 350 and 424 metres.

History.
During the 17th century, the river Rulles was home to 11 factories including a furnace, ironworks, foundry and sheet metal works. From 1097, the names 'Ruris' and 'Rure' began to appear – notably in 1239, 1309 and 1314. There are three possible origins for this name :

1. 'Rus' signifying 'fields' as opposed to the surrounding woods.
2. 'Rus' from 'Rivus' meaning water in general.
3. 'Ruhr' as in Germany, signifies a river filled with iron (rust).

Inhabitants of the Rulles valley are known as 'Hoguets' or 'Hogais'. During the First World War from 1914-1918, areas close to the forest were set alight and in 1944, 11 homes in the church quarter were destroyed.

The sinkhole.
This roughly circular artificial structure was dug into the ground and protected with a roof of trees covered with clay. It served as a dwelling from the 5th century BC to the Roman conquest. During excavations in 1913, trees were found which had served as a frame. They had been cut to size using large iron axes. The site is located on the hillside between Rulles and Villers, close to the Trèves, Carignan, Reims Roman road.

The Notre-Dame du Mont Carmel chapel (listed).
In 1570, a church was built on the site of the current cemetery. It became the 'Saint-Maximin´ parish church until 1819 when abbot Lanzer had the current church built. In 1850, abbot Kenler erected an oratory on the site of the former church. These two abbots were buried at the entrance to the chapel.

The old cemetery (listed).
The tombs in the old cemetery, which is octagonal shaped, all face the sanctuary in concentric circles, which is rare in this area. Old tombs dating from the 17th century can be found along the southern gables. Visitor can also see old wrought iron crosses from various different eras.

The Roman villa.
In Chaumont, in 1913, excavations were carried out to find traces of the existence of an ancient church, the 'Church of the Gauls'. Instead, bricks and tiles from the Roman period were unearthed, as well as the remains of a Roman hypocaust.

The mills.
The 'Grand Moulin' (Collet) and sawmill functioned on the basis of two turbines and wheels powered by the waters of the Rulles which were channelled up to the mill. People could come to the mill from far and wide to grind corn and wheat.

At the 'Petit Moulin' which is situated below the cemetery, beans and acorns were ground to make oil, as well as barley and oats for animal feed.
These two mills formerly belonged to the abbot of Orval.

The furnace.
The furnace is situated on the Mandebras tributary where there used to be a lake. It was built after the Mellier furnaces and ironworks (1617) by Jean Hacher who obtained permission to construct it on 22nd October 1629. It was active during the 17th and first half of the 18th centuries as an annex of Mellier-Haut. In 1750, it was incorporated into the Mellier-Bas ironworks where it remained until the French Revolution. The wood charcoal used as a fuel and for the irons and furnaces was produced in the forest. The hard coal which produces more heat replaced wood coal in the extraction of iron from the Musson and Lalanzy ore. The Rulles furnace produced refined cast iron, i.e. iron suitable for conversion into iron or steel. The smelted iron was channelled out and the cast iron obtained was divided into blocks (ingots) which were then transported to the Mellier ironworks. Having had its impurities removed, the cast iron was transformed into wrought iron which was dispatched for use in sheet metal works and blacksmiths.

The Bizeu hermitage.
The remains of this hermitage can be found along the Mandebras (3 km NW of Rulles) in the Rulles forests (close to Mellier). Since 1659, an important fair has held known as the 'Bizeu Fair' from the Latin 'Bissus' which signified cloth. People would come here to buy cloths renowned for their durability. Two hermits, Father Jérôme and Father Abraham Gilson, lived in this hermitage and then entered the Orval monastery. Brother Abraham, who liked paintings, studied the great Italian painters in Rome, took painting courses with the painter Fratel in Manheim and attended the Dusseldorf Academy where he was awarded first prize in 1776. His work involved the ornamentation of churches and cloisters and his pupils notably included the Redouté brothers of Saint-Hubert.