Tour of the Scherhol from Wissembourg

La Pépinière car park.

(S/E) Leave the car park and turn right, then cross Avenue de la Gare. Walk up this road towards Weiler, following the Red Rectangle markings (^GR®53) to the small park.

(1) Ignore the path on the right that crosses the park (this is the return route) and continue straight ahead. Cross the road leading to the town centre at the roundabout and follow the path through the park along the Lauter and the town’s southern ramparts. Pass the small bridge on the right and take the access ramp to the road. Follow it straight ahead for about fifty metres.

(2) Cross the road with care. Ignore Rue Goldhaus and take Rue du Château d’eau for about 50 metres, then turn left onto a path that joins Rue de Turckheim. At the end, before the left-hand bend, follow the Red Rectangle path (to the Tour de la Scherhol), passing behind an antenna and an orchard, then following the ridge line from where you’ll have a view: to the north, the Lauter valley and Langenberg Castle, and to the south, the Alsace plain. Further on, the path runs alongside Route de Bitche (D3) and joins a junction near an antenna (on the left).

(3) Still following the Red Rectangle markings, turn right and then immediately left, and follow the path which crosses an old redoubt; then, at the junction, go straight on and continue along a small path lined with blueberry bushes which climbs up to the old Scherhol Tower (which was destroyed in 1945).

(4) At the summit, head back down to the left along the small path marked with a Green Triangle, passing over an old quarry and leading to the Club Vosgien refuge.

(5) At the bottom of the refuge, take the Red Ring path on the right. Keep left at the next junction of marked paths to reach the Col du Birkenthal.

(6) Turn left onto the Yellow Rectangle path (^GR®532) until you reach the junction with the road to Weiller. To do this, you will need to cross three paths and pass in front of a pumping station.

(7) Turn right onto the Yellow Ring trail. Follow this path to the hamlet of Bauchbronn.

(8) Leave the Yellow Ring markings, turn left and head down to the river (unmarked section). Cross the bridge and follow the path to the right towards Wissembourg, following the Yellow Rectangle markings. Walk past the ponds and then the La Walk hotel-restaurant, where you can see the old mill sails. You’ll reach the junction with Boulevard Clemenceau.

(9) Cross the boulevard near the swimming pool. Enter the town via the Hausgenossenturm Gate. Take the Faubourg de Bitche and follow the Lauter. At the end of the street you will see the house where the film ‘La Maison de l’ami Fritz’ was filmed. Cross the river and head towards the Pfisterturm Gate, passing the wash house.

(10) Go under the Pfisterturm Gate and turn left to reach the town walls, following them as far as the Powder Tower.

(11) Once you reach the Powder Tower, head back down and, at the crossroads, turn right, cross the Place de la Foire and enter the town via the Mitteltor. You’ll arrive at the crossroads opposite the Place de la Fausse Porte.

(12) Head up Rue Nationale to the right, then take Rue du Marché aux Poissons and Avenue de la Sous-Préfecture. As you go,admire the Maison du Sel, the Town Hall, the Church of Saints Peter and Paul, the Grange aux Dîmes and the former sub-prefecture.
Head towards the junction with Rue du Chapitre.

(13) Turn left onto Rue du Chapitre, then left again onto Rue Stanilas and walk past the former Palais Stanislas. At Place du Saumon, turn right until you reach Rue de l’Ordre Teutonique. At the junction with Rue du Maire Teutsch, continue for about twenty metres.

(14) Take a small path, the Schlupfgass, for a magnificent view of the church. Continue right onto Rue de la République, pass through Place du Marché aux Choux, continue right onto Rue du Général Leclerc then left onto Rue du Tribunal until you reach the bridge over the Lauter.

(15) Just before the bridge, turn right, then right again onto the footbridge and head towards the park and then Avenue de la Gare.

(1) Follow it to the left and return to the car park via the reverse route of the outward journey (S/E).

Club Vosgien mountain refuge

Set off through the park with its remarkable, centuries-old trees (sequoias, golden oaks, etc.) along the town ramparts and the River Lauter.
 Viewpoint with, on one side, the Alsace plain from where you can see Strasbourg Cathedral on a clear day, and on the other, the Lauter valley
 Passage through an old ‘Redoute’ built by Marshal De Villars in 1708 as part of the Lauter defences, ending at the summit.
 The summit of the Scherhol, where the observation tower once stood before being destroyed in 1945.
 Path overlooking a former sandstone quarry.
 The Mundat Forest
 The Lauter, a first-class river.
On the way back, you can visit the following in the town:
 the Abbey Church of St Peter and St Paul, founded in 660 by Austrasian nobles,
 the Protestant Church of Saint John, dating from the early 13th century, the town hall built in 1741,
 the Hôtel Stanislas, which hosted the King of Poland from 1719 to 1725
 the Salt House,
 the tithe barn, the Quai Anselmann,
 the house known as ‘l’Ami Fritz’,
 the wash houses, the locks, etc.