Tour du Brotsch starting from Saverne

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A pleasant walk with no real difficulty around Haut Barr Castle, almost entirely through forest.
Pass by the Table des Sorcières, the Petit Krappenfels, the Source des Pionniers, the Rocher du Brotsch, the Tour de Brotsch, the Petit and Grand Geroldseck, the Chappe telegraph and the Haut Barr.

Details

n°2859682
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  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 10.14 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 3h 55 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Moderate
  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 354 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 347 m
  • ▲
    Highest point: 539 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 246 m
  • ⚐ Country: France
  • ⚐
    Area: Vosges mountains
  • ⚐ District: Saverne (67700)
  • ⚑
    Start/End: N 48.731257° / E 7.35181°
  • Accessible from the train station Gare de Saverne-(Ht-Barr).
  • ❏
    IGN map(s): Ref. 3715OT
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Photos

view from the Rocher du Brotsch
pines
Beech forest
View of the plain

Description of the walk

Park near the Haut Barr school in Saverne. Parking is easy there.

(S/E) Head towards the forest in a north-westerly direction towards La Garenne. Take the forest path to the crossroads with Rue du Parc Celtique.

(1) Turn left along the houses towards the forest.
Follow the signs for Table des Sorcières - Cols des Geroldsecks marked by red discs. You will reach the Haut Barr trail junction.

(2) Continue straight on to the Table des Sorcières.

(3) Follow the yellow circular route. Quickly reach the Petit Krappenfels viewpoint via the track.

(4) Continue on to reach the Source des Pionniers.

(5) Stay on this route to reach Rocher du Brotsch and its cave.

(6) Turn left to quickly climb up to the Brotsch Tower.

(7) Finish the circular on the right to return to the Table des Sorcières crossroads.

(3) Cross the road and take the Chevalet Rouge marked trail towards Petit Geroldseck, which you will reach quickly.

(8) Stay on the path heading north to reach Grand Geroldseck.

(9) Continue in this direction, passing the Chappe telegraph station, then head for Château du Haut Barr.

(10) Walk alongside it and join the forestry trail marked with a green ring.
Descend through the forest to the entrance to Saverne, turn right at the Maison Forestière. Return to thefirst crossroads.

(1) Follow the same route as on the way there to return to the school car park (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 246 m - Car park near the Haut Barr school
  2. 1 : km 0.24 - alt. 262 m - La Garenne
  3. 2 : km 1.74 - alt. 341 m - Crossroads on the Haut Barr path
  4. 3 : km 3.09 - alt. 423 m - Table des Sorcieres
  5. 4 : km 4.05 - alt. 462 m - Petit Krappenfels
  6. 5 : km 4.88 - alt. 504 m - Source des Pionniers
  7. 6 : km 5.54 - alt. 518 m - Brotsch Rock - Grotte du Brotsch
  8. 7 : km 5.98 - alt. 538 m - Tour du Brotsch
  9. 8 : km 7.15 - alt. 461 m - Le Petit-Géroldseck
  10. 9 : km 7.66 - alt. 464 m - Le Grand Géroldseck
  11. 10 : km 8.49 - alt. 431 m - Château du Haut-Barr
  12. S/E : km 10.14 - alt. 247 m - Car park near the Haut Barr school

Notes

Restaurant located in Haut Barr

Worth a visit

Pleasant views and visits to castle ruins.

Reviews and comments

4.6 / 5
Based on 15 reviews
Reliability of the description
4.5 / 5
Ease of following the route
4.4 / 5
Route interest
5 / 5
Goethe
Goethe

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 23, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Nothing to add to the previous comments

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Maidli
Maidli

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 12, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

At the start of the hike, we are instructed to follow a red disc. In fact, it is a red triangle that leads to the Table des Sorcières.
A very pleasant hike, with many sites to visit along the way.

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Patrick 57
Patrick 57

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 04, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

a beautiful hike with interesting sights to discover. We particularly enjoyed Haut Barr Castle (we returned that evening to dine at the castle restaurant).

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Thecla
Thecla

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : May 06, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A superb hike on Friday (so not very busy, but beware of weekends!) in beautiful sunshine. We discovered several ruins and magnificent panoramic views. Thank you to the author for this beautiful route!
Just a small clarification to add to the description, if I may: specify that you can go to the Brotsch Cave by making a round trip from the Brotsch Rock.

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endless-summer
endless-summer

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 03, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

I know the area well.

Excellent summary of all the points of interest in the hills above Saverne

starting from Saverne rather than directly from Haut-Barr makes it more of a hike than just a stroll...

there's plenty to feast your eyes on all along the way...

well done!

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Ehrhart L
Ehrhart L

If you follow the explanation, it is a circular path passing through Krapenfels on the way there (do not climb up to the Witches' Table but go straight ahead and do not take the small path at Krappenfels but continue along the wide path towards the Pioneers' Spring) and the Brotsc Tower on the way back to the Witches' Table, rather than a round trip.

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Barabaste
Barabaste

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Feb 24, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

A pleasant hike, but very crowded during the February holidays. Mild weather and car parks near the castles contributed to the high visitor numbers

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Ehrhart L
Ehrhart L

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Feb 21, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

Between the start and the arrival at the witches' table, there is no indication to follow the red triangle, and the instruction to continue straight ahead actually leaves two possibilities, one of which is incorrect, with a path that is the same width as the previous one, whereas you have to take the narrow path (red triangle).

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sabine866
sabine866

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Jan 09, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

There were eight of us and we were all absolutely delighted! As we climbed higher, there was more and more snow and the scenery was magnificent. With blue skies to boot. It's fairly easy to do.
There are several points of interest worth lingering over
I will definitely do it again this spring, but I will allow six hours instead of four, so we can have a picnic and take the time to visit the castles... it's so beautiful!

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activités2019
activités2019

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 19, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Very beautiful hike with many points of interest.
Beautiful forest.
We parked at the Technical College, which is 50 metres from the trailhead.

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christlou57
christlou57

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 04, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A very beautiful hike with a succession of points of interest, each more charming than the last, as well as magnificent views. The Château du Haut Barr is a wonderful discovery.
The information provided regarding time and difficulty is very accurate.

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anstett josiane
anstett josiane

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 14, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

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Mary et Bernie
Mary et Bernie

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 04, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A lovely hike mainly through the forest with a very pleasant route and beautiful views. We started this hike from Saverne station (allow about 2 km to reach the starting point)

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MARCHEUR DU DIMANCHE
MARCHEUR DU DIMANCHE

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 07, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

Beautiful route with wonderful discoveries. Highly recommended!
We set off in the morning and enjoyed magnificent views, ruins and rocks
we completed the entire route without much difficulty,
(the descent to Brotsch Cave is quite winding... be prepared for the descent and then the climb back up!)

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Borner Jean Paul
Borner Jean Paul

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 09, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

a very enjoyable spring route for the whole family
lovely views from the Dabo rock and the Alsace plain
on the day of our hike, a race was organised with 800 participants
but we weren't bothered by it as the race was very well organised

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