Ermitage du frère Joseph, Heritage chapel in Ventron, France

The Ermitage du frère Joseph is a stone chapel with living quarters situated at approximately 900 meters elevation above the village of Ventron. The complex consists of simple, functional buildings nestled into the steep mountain landscape of the Vosges.

A man named Pierre-Joseph Formet founded this hermitage in 1751 and soon replaced the initial wooden structures with stone buildings. These stone constructions would endure for the following decades.

The site reflects a form of solitary religious devotion that visitors can sense in the rooms and chapel spaces. The simple architecture speaks to a life of withdrawal and prayer high in the mountains.

The hermitage sits at about 900 metres altitude at a spot called Les Buttes, above the village of Ventron, and is reached on foot; the sources describe no road access or parking at the building itself. The chapel and the hermit's cells stand side by side, with the Frère-Joseph ski area nearby. The site is listed as a monument historique, so visitors should stay on paths and leave the stonework untouched.

The founder spent more than three decades at this remote location and lived there until his death in 1784. His extended presence shaped the spaces and landscape with his personal history.