The Forest of Halatte (Forêt d'Halatte, ) in Picardy is one of the largest remaining blocks of natural old-growth forest in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

. Situated in the département of Oise near

Senlis Senlis () is a commune in the northern French department of Oise, Hautes de France. The monarchs of the early French dynasties lived in Senlis, attracted by the proximity of the Chantilly forest. It is known for its Gothic cathedral and other ...

and

Pont-Sainte-Maxence Pont-Sainte-Maxence () is a commune in the Oise department in northern France, in the region of Hauts-de-France. It is named after Saint Maxentia of Beauvais, whose relics were taken here. Pont-Sainte-Maxence station has rail connections to Sa ...

, it currently embraces 43 square kilometers. Together with the Forest of Chantilly and the Forest of Ermenonville it forms the ''Massif des Trois Forêts''. On the north it borders the

Forest of Compiègne The Forest of Compiègne (french: Forêt de Compiègne, ) is a large forest in the region of Picardy, France, near the city of Compiègne and approximately north of Paris. The forest is notable as the site of the Armistice of 11 November 1918 b ...

. The Forest of Halatte is still a source of

oak An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' (; Latin "oak tree") of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 500 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably ''L ...

and beech timber. The forest, a fragment separated from the ancient ''Silva Cotia'' (forêt de Cuise) cited in the 6th century CE, which became the

, bears numerous traces of its prehistoric habitation, in the form of

menhir A menhir (from Brittonic languages: ''maen'' or ''men'', "stone" and ''hir'' or ''hîr'', "long"), standing stone, orthostat, or lith is a large human-made upright stone, typically dating from the European middle Bronze Age. They can be found ...

s and dolmens and late Iron Age burials. In the commune of Ognon are the remains of a

Gallo-Roman Gallo-Roman culture was a consequence of the Romanization of Gauls under the rule of the Roman Empire. It was characterized by the Gaulish adoption or adaptation of Roman culture, language, morals and way of life in a uniquely Gaulish context ...

temple dedicated to a curative deity, built in the mid-1st century CE and abandoned during the 4th century. The temple's stones were then quarried for reuse, and the site became overgrown by the forest. the temple was discovered and excavated in 1873-74 and more professionally examined in 1996–99. The objects discovered over the course of the excavation, including coins,

votive offering A votive offering or votive deposit is one or more objects displayed or deposited, without the intention of recovery or use, in a sacred place for religious purposes. Such items are a feature of modern and ancient societies and are generally ...

fibula The fibula or calf bone is a leg bone on the lateral side of the tibia, to which it is connected above and below. It is the smaller of the two bones and, in proportion to its length, the most slender of all the long bones. Its upper extremity i ...

e and other jewellery, are exhibited at the Art and Archeology museum of Senlis. The inexplicable name ''Halatte'' first appears in a document of 1165, as ''Locus Halachius''. A hunting accident in the Forest of Halatte claimed the life of King Philip IV of France, in November 1314. At a meeting at St-Christophe-en-Halatte,

Edward III of England Edward III (13 November 1312 – 21 June 1377), also known as Edward of Windsor before his accession, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from January 1327 until his death in 1377. He is noted for his military success and for restoring ...

made his last act of homage for Gascony, to Philip VI, in April 1331. The forest was in part a royal domaine and otherwise divided among clerics and nobles. To this day, boundary markers carved with

coats-of-arms A coat of arms is a heraldic visual design on an escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the full heraldic achievement, which in its ...

mark the old divisions. At the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in coup of 18 Brumaire, November 1799. Many of its ...

, the whole forest was declared ''domaniale'', a national property. An

obelisk An obelisk (; from grc, ὀβελίσκος ; diminutive of ''obelos'', " spit, nail, pointed pillar") is a tall, four-sided, narrow tapering monument which ends in a pyramid-like shape or pyramidion at the top. Originally constructed by An ...

raised to commemorate the King of Rome,

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

's heir, stands in the forest, south of Pont-Sainte-Maxence. The Forest of Halatte is traversed by a network of walking and bicycling trails maintained by the State.The trails are covered in the guidebook ''Promenons-nous dans les forêts de Picardie: Chantilly, Halatte, et Ermenonville'' (Office National des Forêts).

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Halatte, Forest Of Forests of France Geography of Oise Tourist attractions in Oise