GR® 53 : stage 3
Niederbronn-les-Bains

GR® 53 : stage 3

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Third stage of the Crossing of the Massif des Vosges, this hike connects Niederbronn-les-Bains to Lichtenberg.
The Grande Randonnée® 53 trail is a variant of the GR® 5 that links Wissembourg to Masevaux, that is to say the north and south of Alsace, via the Vosges ridges. This hike roaming through part of the Regional Natural Park of Vosges du Nord, you can pass near castles in ruins from which you can admire beautiful views!

Description

Along the way, follow the red rectangle markup.
  • Departure : 7, rue de la République, Niederbronn-les-Bains
  • Arrival : Rue du Château, Lichtenberg
  • Towns crossed : Niederbronn-les-Bains, Oberbronn, Baerenthal, Offwiller, and Lichtenberg

7 points of interest

  • History

    Garden of the Fairies

    This rectangular enclosure, with walls 3m thick at the base, built with stones coming from nearby quarries, would date from the medieval period as the dating of fragments of tiles and pottery found on site would indicate. Historians think that it would be a fortified camp which could have been used in 1398 during the siege of Wasenbourg by the troops of the bishop of Strasbourg.
  • Geology

    Stones with cup marks

    Typical geological formation of the erosion of sandstone, but which can also be the work of the human hand, they have the characteristic to be with pointed bottom instead of round or flat bottom. Almost always containing water, they are connected by small channels. Matthis believed that the altar stones, consisting of a table and a shallow cup, could have been sacrificial places.
  • Castle-church-abbey

    Wasenbourg fortified Chateau

    Located on a sandstone peak at an altitude of 410 m, dating from around 1275, the castle, characterized by a 4 m thick shield wall, is strategically placed, right at the entrance to the Falkensteinbach valley. It was inhabited until the middle of the 17th century and was destroyed by the troops of Louis XIV in 1677. It is characterized by a large bay with 9 lancets, unique in Alsace, and by a frieze with a statue of a human head. It was classified as a historical monument in 1898.
  • History

    Rocher Wachtfelsen

    Direct neighbor of the Castle of Wasenbourg, this rock still carries the traces of an old sanctuary of the heights devoted to Mercury, the god the most represented in the Vosges of North, dating from the Roman time. The rock may also have served as an observation post to guard the entrance to the valley.
  • Panorama

    Wasenkoepfel tower

    Located at the top of Wasenkoepfel, this 10 m tower dedicated to the Alsatian poet and ethnologist Auguste Stoeber was built in 1887 by the Club Vosgien. Unfortunately, in the course of time, the surrounding trees have grown, limiting the view to the canopy.

  • Refuge-shelters

    Col de l'Ugerthal refuge

  • Castle-church-abbey

    Grand-Arnsbourg fortified Chateau

    Perched on a rocky ridge 110 m long and 6 to 38 m wide, it dates from the 11th century, although the site has been fortified since the 9th century. Destroyed by the troops of the Bishop of Metz, but rebuilt, it was gradually bought by the City of Strasbourg in 1480. Modernized in the 16th century to resist the emerging artillery, it was finally destroyed in 1676 by the troops of Joseph de Montclar.

Forecast


Altimetric profile


Recommandations

IGN Map: 3714 ET

The car parks closest to the start of the hike are chargeable during the week; Free parking is located next to St. Martin's Church, sister street Elisabeth Eppinger.


Information desks

Information Office of Niederbronn-les-Bains - Head Office of Alsace Verte Tourist Office

6 place de l’Hôtel de Ville, 67110 Niederbronn-les-Bains

https://www.alsace-verte.com/#ottourisme@alsace-verte.com+33 (0)3 88 80 89 70

Tourist Office of Hanau - La Petite Pierre

2A rue du Château, 67290 La Petite-Pierre

http://www.tourisme.hanau-lapetitepierre.alsace/tourisme@hanau-lapetitepierre.alsace+33 (0)3 88 70 42 30

Transport

- Station Niederbronn-les-Bains
(TER line Strasbourg - Haguenau - Niederbronn-les-Bains)

- Routes in Alsace: www.vialsace.eu


Access and parking

From Haguenau, take the D1062 direction Niederbronn, then the D28.

Parking :

Free parking rue Elisabeth Eppinger, Niederbronn-les-Bains

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