The potash basin of the Bois de Nonnenbruch

There is a car park at the end of Rue de la Forêt, at the starting point. Please note that access to this area is prohibited after 10.00 pm and when sporting events are being held there. In this case, you can park a little further back on the same street and then walk to the starting point.

The entire route follows the Green Ring signposting.

(S/E) With your back to the Richwiller football club car park, go straight ahead and walk along the right-hand side of the football pitch. At the end of this road, just after passing a tennis court, turn right and then immediately left onto a dirt track until you reach the T-junction at the end of the track.

(1) Turn left towards Wittenheim. After ignoring a path on your right, enter the forest. Carefully cross the main road and continue straight on towards the Seeboden ponds. Ignore two private paths on your right in succession and reach the hamlet of Seeboden, at a crossroads.

(2) Continue straight on towards Staffelfelden, along a path signposted “Sauf ayant-droits”. At the next junction, continue straight on towards Wittenheim until you reach the next junction.

(3) Keep going straight on. The path curves slightly to the right. Ignore the unmarked paths on either side of the track. You will then come to a crossroads with a low stone wall.

(4) Turn left. Continue until you reach La Dynamitière (community centre) and cross the disused railway line on the right. Immediately after this and a small ditch, turn left to finally reach the four-way junction.

(5) Ignore the Red Ring markings, which continue straight ahead, and turn left towards Richwiller. Continue straight ahead when you cross another railway line. At a crossroads where there is a sealed stone well, continue straight ahead (slightly veering to the left). At the next crossroads, continue straight ahead. The path is then narrow and leads to a T-junction.

(6) Ignore the Blue Ring-marked path which turns left and continue straight on towards Richwiller. At the next T-junction, turn left. When you reach a Y-junction, continue diagonally to the right, towards Étang Gerteis. The path turns right. Immediately after this bend, at another Y-junction, continue diagonally to the right. Take the next path on the left towards the pond. Walk along the left side of the pond for 100 m.

(7) Then turn left to enter the forest. Cross the main road carefully and continue straight ahead. Further on, as you leave the forest, go through a gate and walk alongside the football pitch. After another gate, you will reach Rue de la Forêt and the club car park on your right. (S/E)

As you walk along the route, feel free to veer slightly off the path to visit the banks of some of the ponds! Please note, however, that access is not always possible and some areas are private.

Between points (4) and (5) lies "La Dynamitière", so named because it was formerly a storage site for explosives from the potash mines. Today, the site is occupied by an organisation dedicated to social integration.