The Talrain Forest via Emlingen and Wittersdorf

The starting point is at the Emlingen village hall, at 26 Rue Principale. A few parking spaces are available in front of the building.

(S/E) As you leave the car park, with your back to the town hall, turn left. Follow the Yellow Ring markings. Go round the chapel on the right and then continue straight on. Then turn left onto Rue Des Carrières towards the Botanical Trail. Ignore the Chemin du Steinweg which turns right, then, at the next Y-junction, leave the Botanical Trail on your left and turn diagonally right. Leave the village by continuing along this path. Ignore the Sentier Botanique, which climbs to the left between plots 11 and 12, and continue straight ahead. At an information panel about “Stéphane Ferry”, continue straight ahead, ignoring the paths leading up to the right into the woods and to the left into the fields.

(1) Ignore a path with a “No Entry” sign leading to a quarry (see the section: During the walk or nearby) on the right and, 150 metres further on, after the information board about Louis-Victor Plessier and just before leaving the forest, head up to the left onto a path running alongside plot number 7. At the top of the path, at a T-junction, turn right onto the Green Ring marked path. At the next T-junction, at plot number 9, leave the Green Ring markings on your right and turn left.

(2) Continue straight ahead on this path, ignoring the unmarked tracks on either side, until you emerge from the forest at the top of the hill. Follow the path as it bends to the left (with a fence on your right), then, when you are back at the edge of the forest, turn right onto a path that runs between two fields. Just before you reach the forest, ignore the path that turns right and head straight down into the forest. Walk past a memorial (see the section: During the walk or nearby).

(3) After the memorial, at a Y-junction, leave the Yellow Ring markings on your left and head up the path on the right. At the top of this path, just before leaving the forest, at a T-junction, turn left. Then, about 50 metres further on, take the first path on the right, which runs alongside a fence and is marked with a Red Ring.

(4) At a large crossroads, where there is a playground and a wayside shrine, head down to the left, following the Yellow Ring route. When you reach a T-junction with a bench and a view of the villages below, turn right towards Aspach. About 200 metres further on, ignore a path leading uphill to the right, pass an information board and a reservoir, then head down the steps to the left, following the path marked with a Red Ring towards Wittersdorf.

(5) At the bottom of the path, at a junction, turn left, still heading towards Wittersdorf. Ignore the first path leading down to the right and walk past L'Abri du Vigneron. Immediately afterwards, ignore the Red Ring-marked path leading down to the right and continue straight on towards the village bell tower. You’ll reach the village of Wittersdorf via house number 3 and continue on to the church.

(6) At the bottom of the path is a sign marking the Circuit de Mémoire. Ignore a path marked with a Red Ring, which climbs into the forest on the left, and continue straight on along a dirt track, skirting the church and its cemetery on the left and the vineyards on the right. At the end of this path, just past the church, take the hairpin bend to the right and walk past the church again on the other side. Walk past a picnic area, then ignore a car park with steps leading down to the left and continue to a T-junction with a Stop sign. Turn left onto Rue Du Mont. Walk past the town hall. At the next T-junction, turn right into Rue De l’Eglise. Finally, at the next junction, use the pedestrian crossing to cross the road and turn left into Rue De Walheim. Continue along this street until it ends.

(7) At a T-junction, turn left towards Basel via the D419, Rue Jean-Jacques Henner. Pass a small green space with two benches and a house with a watchtower. Continue to a set of traffic lights and turn left into Rue Du Moulin, which has a 30 km/h speed limit and is marked with a Red Ring. Cross a bridge over the Thalbach stream and walk past a school. At the end of this street, at the T-junction with a bench on the corner, turn right. Continue straight ahead, ignoring Rue Des Prés on the left, and leave the village via a road with a 10 km/h speed limit. Walk past a heritage orchard. Returning to the village of Emlingen via house number 12, walk past a tennis court, a small football pitch and a playground. At the stop sign at the end of the street, turn right. Cross carefully at the first pedestrian crossing to return to the car park at the starting point. (S/E)

Several spots offer tables and a picnic area.
At point (4) at the "La Colline" playground.
After point (6) along the church.
Just before the finish, along the Tahlbach path at the entrance to the Wittersdorf heritage orchard.

At point (1), the path turning right is a dead end but is worth a look. There you will find lime kilns, ruins of buildings (used as workshops and accommodation) and, at the very back, an old stone quarry. The quarry was in operation from the 19th century until 1953. The lime kilns were used to transform limestone into lime through calcination. This lime was then used to improve agricultural soil, in construction, or as plaster or mortar. Click on this link to find out more

Throughout the route, information panels recount the history and the roles played by soldiers from both sides during the battle of 19 August 1914, which was particularly brutal. At point (3), on the left-hand side of the path, there is a memorial stone commemorating this event and a blockhouse a few steps further on. Finally, between points (4) and (5) there is another blockhouse, marked by an information panel. Click on this link to find out more.