Luemschwiller walks

Here, you can easily travel through the centuries, from the Britzgyberg oppidum to the German military cemetery in Illfurth. However, as you cross the vast Altenberg massif and the unspoilt village of Luemschwiller, you might think for a moment that you have managed to suspend time.

The fighting of the First World War raged in the Sundgau region from August 1914 onwards. The French blew up the Dannemarie viaduct and the front stabilised and extended from the Vosges to the Swiss border. The front line ran a few kilometres from Illfurth, near Heidwiller. During this tour, you will discover several bunkers that served a variety of purposes, including ammunition depots, observation posts and artillery emplacements, as well as several casemates.

A short hike in the foothills of the Jura to discover the renovated Grand Canyon in Zillisheim, passing by the German cemetery from World War I and the Saint-Brice Chapel in Illfurth.

A wooded hill separates the Ill and Thalbach valleys. As you walk along it, you will discover an old vineyard, a quarry marked by tragedy, a botanical trail and the story of an unfortunate general. When you reach the Emlingen lime kilns, the 19th century suddenly springs to life, frozen in stone and iron.

It is in late February and early March that you should go to meet spring in the forest of Saint-Bernard. This is where the snowdrops appear, signalling the end of winter.

Hirtzbach is well worth a visit. The castle, English park and opulent residences of Unterdorf are neatly lined up on either side of the stream, whose banks are beautifully flowered in summer. Along the way, a rural and wooded detour leads to the site of the vanished village of Sankt-Glückern and the Landfürstenweyer, the Princes' Pond, with its still waters.

This route invites you to discover the village of Bernwiller and its surroundings, with a quick detour into the forest to sit for a moment in front of the small Notre-Dame de l'Unterholz Chapel and admire it.

Enjoy the omnipresent greenery along this route, the forest and views of four mountain ranges.

For geologists, this part of the Sundgau facing the Porte de Bourgogne is called the Fossé de Dannemarie. The landscape is gently undulating, with only one wooded hill emerging. At its summit stands the church of Gildwiller, where gazes and prayers converge.

This forest route allows you to discover the Chapel of Notre-Dame du Chêne, the Steinbaechlein and hundred-year-old oak trees.

This is an undemanding hike, ideal for a Sunday stroll with the family. This circular runs along the banks of the Ill and allows you to discover the "Japanese Bridge" behind the Mulhouse swimming pool, as well as the "Bois des Philosophes" near the University.

The "Au fil de l'eau" circuit, between the Doller and Leimbach rivers, crosses a magnificent oak-lined avenue before entering the Vorwald oak forest, passes by two series of blockhouses, then the Müatergottesgartla Chapel, and reaches the banks of the Doller via farmland north of Reiningue. The entire route is marked with the Anneau Vert (Green Ring) sign by the Club Vosgien de Guewenheim

During a heatwave, we mainly seek shade or cool places. That is why this route was created. Enjoy this peaceful walk, far from the noise. To complete the circular route, return to the city centre.

Along this trail of bunkers, explore fortifications dating back to the First World War, built by the German army. After the fighting in the summer and autumn of 1914, the Haute-Alsace front stabilised on along the line of Cernay-Dannemarie. The commune of Burnhaupt-le-Bas remains on the German side. In December 1914 and January 1915, the French offensive in this sector regularly broke the German lines at the cost of many lives.

When you think of hiking in Alsace, the Vosges mountains spring to mind. But the Alsace plain also offers some very pleasant walks. This is the case with this short, family-friendly circular in the Bois de Lutterbach, on the outskirts of Mulhouse. This walk is completely safe and accessible to almost everyone. Most of the route is through forest. The highlight of the hike is halfway along the route: the Gros Chêne de Pfastatt (Pfastatt Great Oak).

Leaving Habsheim, discover a panoramic view of the surrounding towns and villages as you climb higher! Finish with a short tour of the centre of Habsheim, then through charming residential areas.

This hike takes you up to the heights between the villages of Habsheim, Zimmersheim and Eschentzwiller to enjoy beautiful views, with short passages through the charming residential areas of these three villages.

According to Marc Glotz, "The Sundgau has only two Romanesque churches, both founded by the dynasties that shared the region in the Middle Ages: the Habsburgs and the Ferrettes. While Ottmarsheim evokes Carolingian grandeur, Feldbach recalls monastic simplicity. You leave it as if returning from a pilgrimage, with a renewed sense of serenity and the impression of having encountered the fleeting shadows of the counts."

The municipality of Richwiller is launching a series of historical discovery trails to help residents learn more about their village. First loop: "Richwiller, its industrial past" with 18 stops.

Speaking of this part of the Sundgau, André Gide wrote:"One is constantly surprised, as one crosses the forest, to find oneself in the presence of an unsuspected sheet of water, mysteriously asleep in the shelter of the beech forests; rushes adorn narrow sandy beaches at the edge of large fields of water lilies. There are also several reminders of the First World War and the front line that separated Largitzen from Bisel.

Friesen boasts an exceptional array of half-timbered houses built between 1499 and 1876. Thanks to meticulous inventory work, the walk allows you to see many reminders of a rural world that disappeared forever after the Second World War. A country lane then leads to the Notre-Dame de Grünenwald chapel and Ueberstrass, following in the footsteps of the Knights of Malta.

The route allows you to discover part of the town of Wittelsheim, its historical and natural heritage, and above all its mining past, thanks to the Potash Mine Memory Circuit. The route partly follows the Wittelsheim Discovery Route and the new Anneau Bleu route, marked by the Club Vosgien.

In warm weather, this is a pleasant walk from the Ill valley to the old bed of the Rhine at the foot of the Jura mountains. The well-marked path offers plenty of opportunities to rest and leads to a strange crypt, the last vestige of a convent destroyed during the Revolution, where the shadow of an exiled poet still lingers.

A lovely family walk that allows you to discover the potash villages from a different angle, along the Ill and Dollerbaechlein streams.

A very beautiful walk around a lake with views of the Vosges mountains and a bird observation post.

A circular walk around Michelbach dam with views over the Swiss Alps and 'Le Grand Ballon d'Alsace' on a clear day. Perfect spot for wildlife spotting. Along the way there are many signs giving some information about what to see and the history.

Kilometre Zero is the starting point of the front line established during theFirst World War. It is located on the current French-Swiss border, at a place called Le Largin. The Kilometre Zero trail explores three sections of the front line, the first kilometres of the French and German fronts, and the Swiss front at Le Largin, established along the border opposite the no man's land where boundary marker No. 111, considered the zero point of the Great War front line, is located.