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Regions of Alsace :
Plain of Alsace
From north to south, the plain of Alsace offers a great variety of landscapes and places of interest. The swedish country and the cleebourg vineyards, the Outre-Forêt, a wide forest home of legends and pottery makers, to be followed by the Kochersberg, Alsace agricultural belt.
After Mulhouse, starts the hills of the Sundgau which rolls down to the doors of Switzerland and Franche-Comté. erosion.
Select your plain :
- The Swedish Country
- The "Outre Forêt "
- The Kocherberg Region
- The Sundgau
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Places of interest :
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The Sundgau and the Alsatian JURA Mountains
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Still in Alsace, but already in the Jura foothills? This pleasant region that starts in Mulhouse and continues well into the Jura foothills is in every way refreshing. Try to find out why, but it’s true. Everytime you start out a get-away in the Sundgau Region, you always have the sensation that you are going "somewhere else".
In this region of forests and valleys where lakes and ponds spot the countryside and where the Ill River and its tributaries, the Largue and the Thalbach, flow gently through the valleys, the Sundgau Region offers untouched areas, shortcuts, and beautiful drives to the amateur. Take the time to let yourself be charmed by the numerous farms, the traditional houses, and the incredible scenery of this immense park...
Ferrette to the Swiss border
Ferrette, gateway to the Jura Mountains, is particularly seductive with its narrow streets that seem to descend quickly down through the village. The houses appear to be extensions of their rock foundations underneath. Besides being an ideal starting point for numerous walks (the paths were created by the Club Vosgien), the ruins of two châteaux have also contributed to the Ferrette’s historical charm (vestiges well preserved and a 612m (2007ft) high platform).
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The Sundgau, Alsace's "exotic" land is also the place in Alsace for horse riding. Dedicated to the "Sundgau Rando", more than twenty partners come together to offer visitors, cavaliers just starting out or highly skilled riders a palette of programs. Depending on the type of program, you can rent horses, stop at a riding inn, be logded in a bed and breakfast, sit down for a typical country meal, go horse riding or even go carriage riding...
Whether for just an hour or for a couple of days, the association offers pony and horse riding lessons (beginners and advanced), "horsetrail" training sessions, guided horse rides, theme related weekends in the country (gastronomy, fishing, rides, history...), carriage rides, a training session in carriage driving...
For more information on the Sundgau Region, click here.
Adaptation and Translation:
Sarah BROSSART-TARDIVON
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The Swedish Country
and Cleebourg
In the beginning, the villages around Cleebourg belonged to the Wissembourg Abbey. Then through certain marriages and births, this little region around Wissembourg came under control of the Crown of Sweden. Thus, the name: the "Pays Suédois", the Swedish Country.
From a cultural and religious point of view, these villages are marked by Calvinist influences in this dominantly Lutheran region. Gateway to the Swedish Country, CLEEBOURG and the surrounding region is the most northern point of the Alsatian wine country.
The village of Cleebourg awaits you: half-timbered houses, narrow streets, a late-gothic church steeple...
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From Cleebourg, you can climb up to the Schlossberg, an overhang where a fortified castle was located long ago.
Adaptation and Translation:
Sarah BROSSART-TARDIVON
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The "Outre Forêt "
and the Haguenau Forest
The "Outre Foret", literally "the area beyond the forest", is the region in northeastern Alsace located between Wissembourg, gateway to the Northern Vosges Regional Park Reserve, to the west and Lauterbourg to the east. This region is known for its pottery, the Haguenau Forest and the pretty villages that run parallel to the Wissembourg-Haguenau Road.
In the middle of the Haguenau Forest, you will find the Gros Chêne, the Large Oak Tree. A marked trail will lead you to the largest oak tree in the forest: Saint Arbogast's Oak Tree. This place is also a great starting point for walks on a number of marked trails. By bike or on foot, you can get there by taking the Betschdorf route from the Haguenau-Soufflenheim route.
Situated on the edge of the Haguenau Forest, Betschdorf and Soufflenheim are the two largest pottery making villages in Alsace. The methods and finished products are very different in each one of these villages.
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In BETSCHDORF, you will find decorated gray-colored pieces of pottery that cannot be used for baking or cooking. You can also visit the Pottery Museum. The pottery in SOUFFLENHEIM is beautifully decorated yet able to be used in the kitchen ("beackeoffe" terrines and "kougelhopf" cake pans).
For more information on these regions, click here.
Adaptation and Translation:
Sarah BROSSART-TARDIVON
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The Kocherberg Region
West of Strasbourg, you will find rich farmland in the Kochersberg and Ackerland regions. The rolling hills and the numerous villages seem to give a certain rhythm to these large agricultural spaces. It’s also known as the home of the "tarte flambée", a dish possessing two important qualities: a delicious rustic taste and an incredible low price! While passing through these parts of Alsace, take some time to notice the beautiful rural buildings dating back to the 16th and 17th centuries. |
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Ah yes, don't forget that a typical Kochersberg farm has a doorway with a decorated roof, brightened-up with niches.
For more information on the Kochersberg Region, click here.
Adaptation and Translation:
Sarah BROSSART-TARDIVON
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