The Alsace in known for the colorful shingles that decorate many of its houses. (Michael Abrams/Stars and Stripes)
The Alsace in known for the colorful shingles that decorate many of its houses. (Michael Abrams/Stars and Stripes)
The Lauter flows past colorful houses on its way through Wissembourg, France. (Michael Abrams/Stars and Stripes)
A stack of miniature Kouglehopf, also known as Gugelhupf or Kugelhopf, a popular Alsatian cake, sit in the window of a Wissembourg bakery. (Michael Abrams/Stars and Stripes)
The hills and forests of the northern Alsace in France, and the southern Pfalz, or Palatinate, in Germany. (Michael Abrams/Stars and Stripes)
Tourists wander around the ruins of Chateau de Hohenbourg, one of many castles that line the French-German border in the northern Alsace. (Michael Abrams/Stars and Stripes)
Although the year 1578 is inscribed on this door head at Chateau de Hohenbourg, the castle on the French-German border probably dates to the 12th century. (Michael Abrams/Stars and Stripes)
The ruins of the Wegelnburg, a castle on the German side of the border, as seen from Chateau de Hohenbourg, on the French side. (Michael Abrams/Stars and Stripes)
The French-German border in the northern Alsace is sprinkled with the ruins of castles that once guarded the frontier. This colorful fellow was hewn from the remnants of one, and now guards a playground at the Gimbelshof, a hotel and restaurant near Fleckenstein castle that is popular with hikers. (Michael Abrams/Stars and Stripes)
The Alsatian village of Niedersteinbach makes a great base for hiking through the hills to the castles that line the French-German border. The Au Cheval Blanc restaurant, with its fine French cuisine, is also worth a visit. (Michael Abrams/Stars and Stripes)
Although the southern Alsace is better known for its wines, the area around Cleebourg in the north produces some mighty fine vintages. (Michael Abrams/Stars and Stripes)
The village of Hunspach, south of Wissembourg, is famous for its half-timbered houses, most of which also have white shutters. (Michael Abrams/Stars and Stripes)
The Church of Saint Peter and Paul in Wissembourg, France, is the largest in the Alsace after the cathedral in Strabourg. (Michael Abrams/Stars and Stripes)
A figure holding a pair of coats of arms hangs on a building in Wissembourg, France. The town's German name, Weissenburg, or white castle, is depicted in the coat of arms on the right, the one on the left is that of the German Confederation. (Michael Abrams/Stars and Stripes)
A horse grazes in a pasture near the Gimbelshof, a hotel and restaurant that is popular with hikers. The ruins of Fleckenheim castle can be seen in the distance. (Michael Abrams/Stars and Stripes)
The ruins of the once mighty Fleckenstein castle in the northern Alsace. (Michael Abrams/Stars and Stripes)
The ruins of Fleckenstein castle in the northern Alsace. It is the only castle in the area that is fenced in. It is open Sundays from January to mid-March, and then daily until November. (Michael Abrams/Stars and Stripes)
The window of the Patisserie Rebert is restocked with some of the goods it is famous for: eclairs, petits fours, cakes, chocolates and canapes. It should always be a stop on a visit to Wissembourg. (Michael Abrams/Stars and Stripes)
Fortifications of the Maginot Line are a common sight near the German border in eastern France. Like this bunker near Hunspach, they didn't keep the Germans from invading France in World War I. (Michael Abrams/Stars and Stripes)
The figure of a woman holding an olive branch decorates a monument to the fallen in an Alsatian town. With its proximity to the German border, the region has been fought over many times throughout the centuries. (Michael Abrams/Stars and Stripes)
A four-legged friend follows his master to a Wissembourg brasserie at lunchtime. (Michael Abrams/Stars and Stripes)
If you drive south from Kaiserslautern or west from Stuttgart and cross the German-French border, you will find yourself in France’s Alsace region.
While the central section of the Alsace, with the city of Strasbourg and its mighty cathedral, is better known, and the south with its vineyards and picturesque towns are more popular, the northern border region also has its attractions.
Wissembourg is a colorful Alsatian town with half-timbered houses, the second largest church in the Alsace — after Strasbourg’s cathedral — and a small river, the Lauter, flowing through it. There is a Saturday market on its central square, and the town is worth a stop for sightseeing and shopping. If you have a sweet tooth, stop at the Patisserie Rebert, famous for its chocolates, cakes and éclairs.
Follow highway D3 to the west and you come to the villages of Climbach, Lembach and Niedersteinbach. All three feature restaurants named Au Cheval Blanc (The White Horse). The one in Lembach has a Michelin star, while the one in Niedersteinbach features fine French cuisine sans the star.
North of the towns, a ribbon of castle ruins line the French-German border. They once guarded the frontier, switching hands many times over the centuries. A maze of hiking trails crisscross the hills here, leading past the châteaux de Hohenbourg, Fleckenstein, Froensbourg and Wasignestein, to name a few.
High up on Hohenbourg you can look across the border and see the ruins of the Wegelnburg castle, and far in the distance, the city of Pirmasens.
While the terrain here is forest, hills and streams, south of Wissembourg, the gentle hills are covered with fields and vineyards.
Although the wines of southern Alsace are better known, the vintages produced here can compare well. The vintners’ cooperative in Cleebourg is a good place to buy the wines of the area.
Not far away is Hunspach, a village full of half-timbered houses. This type of architecture is not unusual in the Alsace, with many houses painted in colorful pink, blue or green. Here they are almost all white, even the window shutters.
If the castles in the north were to protect the countryside from attack, in the east the remnants of another defensive line can be seen, the bunkers and pillboxes of the post-World War I Maginot Line.
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