GR®53 - Crossing the Vosges Mountains
Hard
GR®Have you ever heard of the GR®53? Now is your chance to discover a hiking trail that is off the beaten track but well worth the detour. Focus on the GR®53, Northern Vosges section
6 steps
Description
From Wissembourg to Saverne, the GR®53 trail winds its way through the iconic sites of the Northern Vosges: Fleckenstein Castle, Grand Wintersberg Tower, Lichtenberg Castle, Petite Pierre Castle, and more. Marked with a red rectangle along its entire route, the castles, sandstone landscapes, and forest settings will punctuate your days and your discoveries.
With accessible elevation gains of no more than 1,000 meters per stage, the GR®53 offers a wonderful adventure in the heart of the green ocean that covers the Northern Vosges: the forest.
- Departure : Wissembourg SNCF train station, Wissembourg
- Arrival : Rue des Châtaigniers, Wangenbourg
- Towns crossed : Wissembourg, Rott, Climbach, Wingen, Lembach, Niedersteinbach, Obersteinbach, Dambach, Windstein, and Niederbronn-les-Bains
11 points of interest
Vue sur Wissembourg et son vignoble - PNRVN - A. Serylo 
PanoramaWissembourg and the vineyard
Magnificent view of Wissembourg and its vineyards. In the middle of the latter stands the Château St. Paul, the last of the 4 castles built to protect the city.
Point de vue sur la vallée de la Lauter - PNRVN - A. Serylo PanoramaLauter Valley
A beautiful view of the Lauter valley. In the village Weiler stands the Langenberg, a former castle from the 13th century.
Lignes de la Lauter - PNRVN - A. Serylo 
The Lauter walking trail
Decided by Marshal de Villars in 1706, they were intended to lock the north of Alsace during the war of succession to the Spanish throne (1701-1714). Thus, 50 redoubts and 28 dikes constituted a continuous parapet allowing the valley to be flooded. An important redoubt was named Maréchal de Bourg, the man who improved and increased the lines in the Scherhol area.
Refuge-shelterscol du Pigeonnier shelter
Shelter and refuge of the Club Vosgien at the Col du Pigeonnier
Tour Scherhol - PNRVN - A. Serylo 
Historic SitesScherhol Tower
On the site of an old redoubt of the lines of the Lauter was built a telegraph station from 1795 to 1860, which was replaced by a pyramid of logs to carry out geodesic measurements in 1875 before being used as belvedere to admire the landscape . Replaced by a stone tower in 1895, it served as a watchtower during World War II before being destroyed by the Germans dynamite. It was never rebuilt. More info here.
Rocher de Krappenfels - A. Dorschner 
GeologyRocher de Krappenfels
Abri du Hichtenbach - http://www.refuges.info Refuge-sheltersHichtenbach refuge
GeologyRocher des Bohémiens
Château-fort du Vieux Windstein - M. SCHAMPION 
Castle-church-abbeyVieux Windstein fortified Chateau
Existing since 1147, it was besieged by the city of Haguenau, the bishop of Strasbourg and Hannemann of Lichtenberg to dislodge knight-brigands by digging a gallery on the west side of the site. It was then partially dismantled. At the beginning of the 16th century, the Duke of Lorraine seized it twice. The castle was burned down before being abandoned in 1664. You can still see a section of the stone wall with bosses, a vestige of the keep. More information here.
SYCOPARC GeologyRocher du Vieux Windstein
Château-fort du Nouveau Windstein - M. SCHAMPION Castle-church-abbeyNouveau Windstein fortified Chateau
Mentioned as early as 1205 near the Old Windstein, the dwelling was modified at the end of the Middle Ages to be adapted against artillery. After having served as a refuge during the Thirty Years' War, soldiers occupied it between 1652 and 1654 and used it to plunder the region. It was destroyed as a possession of the Eckbrecht family of Durkheim, who had fought against France in the Dutch War. Its defense is based on a shield wall, allowing it to dominate the valley on 3 sides.
Forecast
Altimetric profile
Sensitive areas
Information desks
Tourist Office of Hanau - La Petite Pierre
2A rue du Château, 67290 La Petite-Pierre
Tourist Office of Alsace Bossue
90 rue Principale, 67430 Lorentzen
Information Office of Niederbronn-les-Bains - Head Office of Alsace Verte Tourist Office
6 place de l’Hôtel de Ville, 67110 Niederbronn-les-Bains
Pays de Bitche Tourist Office - Baerenthal - Philippsbourg branch
1 rue du printemps d'Alsace, 57230 Baerenthal
Transport
Wissembourg SNCF train station
TRAIN
TER Strasbourg - Wissembourg line
Deutsche Bahn line to Mainz
BUS
“Fluo Grand Est” bus stop in front of the SNCF train station
www.fluo.eu - Grand Est Region transportation website
German “VRN” (Verkehrsverbund Rhein Neckar) bus stop in front of the SNCF train station - www.bahn.de - www.vrn.de - www.kvv.de
Wingen-sur-Moder SNCF train station
TRAIN
TER Strasbourg - Sarreguemines - Saarbrücken line
Saverne SNCF train station
TRAIN
TER Strasbourg - Saverne - Metz line
TER Strasbourg - Nancy - Metz line
TGV Strasbourg - Saverne - Paris line
Accessibility
- Emergency number :
- 114
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