A loop between Rosheim and Bischenberg

Whether coming from Strasbourg or Colmar, you will enter the town on the RD35. You will go under a tower. Continue onwards and then just before a second tower, take the Rue du Lion on the right. Climb up this road up to a small place where you will find a free car park, this is the departure point for the walk.

(S/E) Go down Rue du Lion, cross over Rue du Général De Gaulle which is the main road. Then continue on opposite via Rue de la Marne (follow the 'blue circle' signs of the Club Vosgien). Continue on the left via Rue de l'Abattoir and then onto Rue des Prunelle on the right and then left onto Rue du Bischenberg. Continue on straight ahead towards the countryside and then after a left-and-then-right-hand bend follow the path which crosses over a perpendicular path. Continue straight ahead onto route D216, going along the left hand-side up to a sandstone altar bench called "Banc de l'Impératrice" ('the Empress's bench').

(1) Cross the road and take the path which climbs up to the right between the reservoir and the GSM tower. Cross over a path, but continue to climb. At the next crossroads of paths, take the right and then immediately turn left and go past a meadow. On the right, follow Rue du Couvent where you will find the church and the 'Couvent des pères Rédemptoristes' ('Convent of Redemptorist Fathers') (2).

Coming out of the church, take the path which goes alongside the Chemin de Croix and continue on until you end up at Place des Alouettes. Take the left and then at the end of the road, take Rue de Kilbs on the right and continue along it. Take note of the "Yellow triangle" signage which you need to follow from now on. To the left of the road, you will notice a stone post called a "Bildstock" (Wayside shrine) (3) .

Continue along this tarmacked road for a good kilometre until you each Kilbs. At the crossroads, take the road on the right heading downhill. You will cross over several paths. At the T-junction, turn right and follow the "Red triangle" signage.

(4) Cross the D216 and continue along the path which is perpendicular to the road, and then continue on to the right on the path which becomes parallel with the road and the town of Rosheim which you can see to the north-north-east. Don't take the 1st path with the "Green circle" sign on the left, but instead take the 2nd path towards the town which has the same signage. After a bend to the right, turn left at the crossroads onto Rue des Sorbiers.

Cross straight over Rue des Prunelles and at the following Y-shaped crossroads, turn left onto Rue Saint- Benoît. Pass by the front of Couvent des Bénédictines (5), and then go past the front of the hospital. Before the cemetery, turn right onto the main road in the direction of the town centre.

Go past the front of the Maison Romane (Roman House) (6) or Maison Païenne (Pagan House) which you can visit (entrance charge). Continue on and go past the front of Saint-Etienne Church (7).

After the church, take the first right straight away onto Place Saint-Etienne and follow down it. Turn left onto Rue des Tisserands and then left again onto Rue du Général de Brauer, on the corner of which you can see the Synagogue (8).

Continue on until you reach the main road, Rue du Général de Gaulle, which you turn right on to. Go under the porchway of the Town Hall tower and admire the 6-bucket well in the passageway. Go past the front of the Tourist Office and you will arrive in front of the Roman Saints-Pierre-et-Paul Church (which you can visit) (9).

Coming out of the church, take the main road to the left and go under the porchway of the Lion Tower.
Head to the left to return to the car park (S/E).

Easy walk without any specific equipment required, although good walking shoes are recommended. There are several benches where you can rest, but no shelters except at the monuments.

The Roman Saints-Pierre et Paul Church is one of Alsace's most beautiful Roman cultural buildings, even though its bell is Gothic. In particular to be admired is the beauty of the southern and western gates, the Lombard arches on the façade and their carved sections, as well as the four evangelists at the top. Inside, you will notice the division of the nave into two double bays preceded by a single oblong bay. Between the wide cruciform pillars, a barrel monolithic column rises up to support the semi-circular arches. You can also admire the harmoniously carved capitals. The branches of the ribbed vault covering the transept crossing are received by sculpted groups forming a cul-de-lampe.

There are many architectural treasures in Rosheim, such as the Maison Romane or the Maison Païenne, the neo-classic Saint-Etienne Church, the synagogue, the ramparts, the tower porchways and many beautiful winemakers' houses.

An altar bench called "Banc de l'Impératrice" ('The Empress's Bench') (Eugénie de Montijo, wife of Napoleon III) intended to allow peasant women carrying heavy baskets on their heads on market days to lay down their loads on the upper bay while they sat on the lower bay.

In Bischoffsheim, be sure to visit the Bischenberg Convent and its church with beautiful stained-glass windows, and the monumental Chemin de Croix.

Along the route, you can see a "Bildstock" (a stone base, with a small alcove on top for a painted or carved holy image - a wayside shrine).