Tag Archives: Lucien Thomas

The bordermarker-guide of Michel Molia

At the age of 73 in 2013, Michel Molia – a retired dermatologist from Bayonne – started with his own quest for the bordermarkers of the Pyrenées including starting his own website.
And recently the Pyrénées Magazine published a nice article about him:


I met him several times with as a peak experience our trip to find the long lost intermediate bordermarkers bm408 III and IV. That they were found at last was only possible by his persistent search in the archives for a lost map.

I like him with his endurance, friendliness and wit. Now he has written his own bordermarker-guidebook and I was honored to receive a copy of his privately published book. It describes his trips, gives practical advice and is a pleasure to read. In a way, it is a printed version of the ‘guide’-part of his website. You might email him (michel.molia@free.fr) if you are interested in a copy.


He is not the first to make his own account of his bordermarker-quest. I have copies of privately published books by Jean Hirschinger/ Simone Hondelatte and Lucien Thomas. But Michel is the first to cover the entire esfr-border.

Ancient bordermarker decaptivated

In automn last year I got this message from Lucien Thomas: the mediaval bordermarker besides bm036 has disappeared. That is to say: it was simply (and shamelessly) sawn from its base. See this article from the “Journal Sud-Ouest”:

Jacques Koleck sent me a picture of the current situation:

We can see what’s left over: the base. What also strikes: the famous table (see this webpage) has received an upgrade. The wooden logs have been replaced by stone banks which much have been done in 2011/2012.

Almost 80 and still roaming the border

I was very happy to receive a copy of

THOMAS, Lucien
Bornes frontière France/Espagne – Années 2010 – 2011 – 2012
Biarritz, 2013 (a private edition of only 40 copies)

It’s a photo-account of the bordermarkers 1 to 272 with large and clear pictures. I liked it very much. It’s the culmination of a remarkable project by a remarkable couple. Lucien Thomas was 76 years old when he started in 2010 with this adventure, together with his wife Colette.