a result of Cenozoic orogeny and more recent erosion, fault lines, folds, anticlines, high plateaus, deep gorges and combes form the main topography of modern-day Jura. Due to the layers of limestone and marl, permeable rock surfaces have enabled underground water networks to develop, alongside natural features formed by erosion, such as craggy karsts and fissures.
Geologic places of interest along the Jura Crest Trail
Mammoth Museum, Niederweningen (Stage 1) – a museum dedicated to the discoveries of mammoth fossils in Switzerland and in particular the local area. This small but very informative museum slightly north of the trail, but easily accessible by public transport from Dielsdorf, Baden or Brugg, is worth the detour: www.mammutmuseum.ch.
Aargau Jurapark (Stage 2) – a stepped landscape consisting of deep valleys, high mountains and the Jurassic plateau: www.jurapark-aargau.ch.
Thal Nature Park (Stages 3 and 4) – a large nature reserve with stunning views of the expansive rolling hills of the Jura: www.naturparkthal.ch.
Chasseral Regional Park (Stages 6 and 7) – a 400km2 nature park with the Chasseral massif sitting prominently in the centre. Over 500 plant species can be seen, alongside geologic formations along the summit ridge: www.jurabernois.ch.
Creux du Van (Stage 9) – a large, natural limestone amphitheatre above Noiraigue, also known as the Swiss equivalent of the Grand Canyon: www.myswitzerland.com/en-gb/creux-du-van-travers-valley.html.
Grottes de Vallorbe (Stage 11) – over 3km of underground caves consisting of limestone stalagmites and stalactites close to the town of Vallorbe: www.grottesdevallorbe.ch.
Glacière de Saint George (Stage 13) – a 22m-deep cave filled with a glacier that can be accessed and visited from mid-May to mid-November: www.nyon-tourisme.ch.
La Dôle (Stage 14) – a 1677m summit atop of a dramatic geologic amphitheatre overlooking Lake Geneva and the Mont Blanc Massif.
World War II and the Jura mountains
The Jura mountains run parallel to the border with France and offered an escape route from Nazi-occupied territory during World War II. Visible fortifications, defences and remnants can be seen throughout the latter stages of the trail, in particular from Sainte-Croix to Nyon (Stages 10–14), where the Promenthouse Line (also known as the Toblerone Line), a defensive line of nearly 3000 tank traps, was built between 1936 to 1937 in preparation for the rise of armaments and potential invasion from Germany.
Just a few kilometres south-west of Sainte-Croix the number of World War II bunkers increases as the trail passes within 600 metres of the French border. Nearing the end of the stage, on the approach to Vallorbe, Fort de Pre-Giroud (www.pre-giroud.ch) is visible 2km to the south-east on the hillside as you follow the river L’Orbe. Built between 1937 and 1941 to protect the Franco–Swiss border and the Col de Jougne, this underground fortress, its entrance identified by a false chalet with a large Swiss cross, housed 200 men. Today it is open to visitors (English tours by advance appointment).
Stage 11 passes close to the Grand Risoux Forest in the Vallée de Joux. The forest presented the perfect natural border between occupied France and the freedom of Switzerland, offering an advantageous starting point for those wishing to flee from the Nazi occupation. Only a small 3ft-high drystone wall with Fleur-de-Lis decorating it separated the two countries, allowing Jews, allied service personnel and resistance fighters to enter neutral Switzerland.
Swiss ‘toblerones’, a frequent sight along the Jura Crest Trail and a reminder of recent Swiss military history
In 1940 up to 15 locals from the Vallée de Joux joined the Swiss Information Service (SR), part of the Intelligence Services, to set up a small group of passeurs, also known as smugglers, to organise, supervise and guide safe passage through the 200km of forest trails. One member, Frederic Reymond, a watchmaker who worked alongside resistance fighters and spies without hesitation, received the Yad Vashem medal of the Righteous Among the Nations after the war ended. Some passeurs, such as Bernard Bouveret, were not so lucky. A local man from Chapelle-des-Bois, Bouveret worked with Reymond to transport confidential documents regarding Nazi movements and microfilm to the British Embassy in Lausanne, and armaments to resistance fighters over the border in France. He was captured in 1944 and spent the rest of his war years in the German concentration camp, Dachau. Several passeurs were shot on sight.
Locals Anne-Marie Piguet and Victoria Cordier worked together to transport German and Austrian Jewish orphans between Champagnole in France, through the Risoux Forest to the safety of Zurich during the last two years of the war. The journey for the orphans started at the Chateau de la Hille near Toulouse, 700km away.
Numerous routes were formed throughout the forest to prevent the Nazis from tracking the passeurs from the several garrisons near the border. Many of the routes can still be traced today. Locals would purposely make random routes in the snow and in the undergrowth to make it more difficult to monitor and control the passage of escapees. The Nazis patrolled the French side of forest throughout the day and night, firing without warning if anyone was found within the 2km forbidden zone at the border.
Once over the border, the guided group would rest and recover from the long, difficult journey at one of two wooden huts deep in the forest: L’Hôtel d’Italie and Le Rendezvous des Sages. From here, the passeurs would turn back and return to their homes before dawn, leaving the escapees to continue the 10km journey from the border before they could register and remain in internment camps for illegal foreigners, within the safety of Switzerland.
Refuge des Sages was used by the passeurs of the Risoux Forest
More than 100 Swiss wartime activists were accused, fined or imprisoned for charging money and profiteering from smuggling during the war, despite the selfless bravery. Passeurs admitted to carrying contraband such as chocolate and cigarettes during their journeys, to keep the Nazis off the scent, as this only involved a fine, instead of being interned in a concentration camp or, worse still, instant death by shooting. It has only been since 2009 that the passeurs have officially been recognised.
Several memorials to them can be found in the Vallée de Joux. A metal plaque can be seen near the top of the rock-climbing route through the Gy de l’Echelle in the Grand Risoux Forest, commemorating the movement of Jewish orphans. In 2014, an official memorial was unveiled at Le Pont and at Chapelle-des-Bois to pay tribute to the passeurs of the Risoux.
For further information on the passeurs, visit www.lespasseursdememoire.ch or www.randodespasseurs.com.
Flowers of the Jura mountains
The Jura mountains are a haven for wildflowers due to the well-drained soils and other environmental conditions, and are home to over 950 flowering plant species. The Jura is made up of limestone, a sedimentary rock that offers the perfect growing conditions for a wide variety of flowering plants; in particular, the slopes and plateaus of the Jura from between 1000m and 1800m, where the grazing pastures are opened up to cattle in the summer and covered with snow in the winter. These areas suffer from relatively little agricultural chemical change, leaving natural meadows where a variety of species will flourish. Wildflowers appear as early as March and wilt away as late as October, depending on the year.
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