Strangenberg and a visit to Rouffach

Car park behind Westhalten cemetery.

(S/E) Head up the vineyard path towards the Strangenberg and, further on, turn left.

(1) Follow the path to the right, which joins the Red Triangle-marked trail; follow this to the left. This path reaches the summit of the Strangenberg, leading to the starting point of the trail that runs along the ridge.

(2) Follow this path northwards, which offers breathtaking views of Westhalten, the Zinnköepfle, the Hohberg, Orschwihr and the entrance to the Vallée Noble, with the Grand Ballon and the Petit Ballon in the background.

(3) Leave this path on the right to join a wider track, which you should follow to the left. Then head right to reach the mobile phone mast.

(4) A path on the left leads to the Oelberg Chapel, winding its way through the thickets.

(5) Follow the wine trail marked with the Red Cross, ignoring the paths on either side. At the crossroads where four paths meet, turn right.

(6) At the water reservoir, follow the bend to the left, leaving the path on the right, and you’ll come out at the roundabout at the foot of Isenbourg Hill.

(7) Turn right onto Rue Pasteur, then left onto Rue du Schauenberg and Rue des Récollets. Walk along the outer wall of the Récollets Convent until you reach Rue des Spahis Marocains.

(8) Turn right onto this street, then left to follow the Promenade des Remparts.

(9) After Rue de la Poterne, head left towards Place de la République and join Rue de la Poterne. Visit the Church of Notre-Dame de l’Assomption, then walk up Rue du Marché, followed by its continuation, Rue du Maréchal Joffre.

(10) Turn right onto Rue Poincaré, admire the old patrician houses with their oriel windows, and head towards the Restaurant Bohrer (Chez Julien).

(11) Take the small Rue du Château on the left, then turn right onto Rue Ris and follow it to reach the roundabout you passed earlier.

(7) Head back up towards Strangenberg, following the route in the opposite direction to the way out.

(6) This time, turn left onto the path marked ‘Red Ring’. This path forms a circular walk. At the junction, 100 metres further on, it is best to take the upper path, which winds its way up the mountain through the vineyards of the Vorbourg Grand Cru.

(12) Just before the sharp bend to the left on the Red Ring marked path, where it joins the lower path, turn right to reach the Luzelthal.

(13) Turn left at the T-junction, then right 80 metres further on.

(14) Take the hairpin bend to the left and ignore a path on the right to follow the track that skirts the Schlossberg via a fairly steep, unmarked path leading down to Westhalten. Ignore a path leading uphill to the right and, 100 metres further on, you’ll reach a concrete track.

(15) Follow it to the right, then take the road to the left and, before the first houses, turn right onto a path that takes you across the meadows to the cemetery and the car park (S/E).

There are several restaurants in Rouffach.

The town of Rouffach, off the beaten track, is well worth a visit for the architecture of its houses (dating from the 14th to the 19th centuries) and for the Church of Notre Dame de l’Assomption. Don’t miss a stroll along the ramparts, the Place de la République with the old Halle aux Grains, the former Town Hall, the former Chapter House and the Church of Notre Dame. It is also a pleasure to treat yourself to a leisurely stroll through the narrow streets of the old town, such as the Rue de la Poterne. Rouffach, now the administrative centre of the canton, is a sleepy town that once enjoyed a prestigious past as the capital of the Obermundat, an episcopal possession.

There are, however, two regrets: the Église des Récollets, which has been left to fall into disrepair and is closed to visitors, and the baffling closure of the Musée du Baillage.