Dragon Posted 15 October , 2012 Share Posted 15 October , 2012 I mentioned in Egbert's major thread about Vieil Armand / Hartmannswillerkopf that I could create a thread about other parts of Alsace and the Vosges which have a Great War past. These aren't in any particular order, just places which mightn't be the obvious ones.I'm somewhat disadvantaged because my computer caught fire and I'm awaiting a replacement, so I'm using a borrowed PC which doesn't have my own settings. I have lots more images on my external hard drives, but maybe these pictures from 2012 will be a taster.My two most recent holidays there were a long one including tracing the 1871 frontier between annexed Alsace and France, and a shorter break to have a rest after the death of my mother last month. The cemeteries are often a focus of people's memories. I have a postcard written in 1926 by someone who was visiting the grave of a friend who was killed at le Linge and I wanted to make the connection of seeing his grave among the thousands at...Cimetière Wettstein.Apart from that, I'm not really going to focus on the losses.All photos and postcards mine.Gwyn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dragon Posted 15 October , 2012 Author Share Posted 15 October , 2012 Elsewhere on the forum, I've described walking round Reichackerkopf, which was heavily contested because it controlled access to the two prongs of the Munster valley where it splits at Munster. After the war, it looked like this. And now, you might never guess what the forests conceal. Taken from the same spot looking up towards the area edging the battlefield of le Linge. Gwyn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dragon Posted 15 October , 2012 Author Share Posted 15 October , 2012 Kahlen Wasen. Then, a farm offering meals. Kahlen Wasen has a Great War past. It is close to the battlefield of Hilsenfirst and was used as a shelter by the Germans. It was ruined and had to be rebuilt after the war. Now it's a ferme auberge, typical of the many in the Vosges where you can enjoy mountain food prepared by the family and even eat outside in the pure air if you're hardy. Recommended. It's easy to imagine the advantages of having tremendous visibility... (Notice the castle of Haut-Koenigsburg on the distant centre. Of which, more later.) It's dusk, by the way and I'm looking across the Rhine plain to the Black Forest. The area is crisscrossed by trenches. Today they're guarded by... Vosgienne cows. This past fortnight transhumance has been taking place. It's a time of festivity, alpine horns, mountain food, music and hundred of cowbells as they walk down from the High Vosges to the lower farms. Gwyn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dragon Posted 15 October , 2012 Author Share Posted 15 October , 2012 I mentioned Haut Koenigsburg. In 1899, the town of Sélestat gave the ruins to Kaiser Wilhelm II after Alsace was annexed to Germany (Treaty of Frankfurt, 1871). He restored it between 1900 and 1908. Some holiday home... Seen above with a few mates. A lads' day out, evidently. It looks remarkable after sunset. Gwyn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dragon Posted 15 October , 2012 Author Share Posted 15 October , 2012 Finally, for this evening, a pretty scene. This is le Rudlin. Behind me - at height - is Col de Louspach, one of the Cols which were guarded by customs officers, French and German. Before the war, cross-border smuggling of contraband was a problem; some goods were cheaper in German Alsace, such as matches, some were cheaper in France, such as alcohol. The border was marked by boundary stones called bornes and each borne was numbered. Col de Louspach was number 2752. It cost 1F25 to have the borne painted a smart white. More of bornes later. The thought of carrying stuff through this valley and creeping with it up the mountainside makes me feel tired. Gwyn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tim_oz Posted 15 October , 2012 Share Posted 15 October , 2012 Gwyn Lovely pictures thanks for sharing them. Tim B Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Reed Posted 16 October , 2012 Share Posted 16 October , 2012 Absolutely fantastic thread - with some great images. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mandy hall Posted 16 October , 2012 Share Posted 16 October , 2012 Looking forward to seeing more of your amazing photos Gwyn. Mandy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
egbert Posted 16 October , 2012 Share Posted 16 October , 2012 Very evocative pictures, almost professional-thanks for showing them! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dragon Posted 16 October , 2012 Author Share Posted 16 October , 2012 Thank you for your nice comments. The Col du Bonhomme has been a route thgrough the Vosges for centuries. It's at the point where the main road from Nancy and St-Dié to Colmar crosses the Route des Crêtes, which was established in the Great War as a route along the ridge of the Vosges for the easier movement of French troops. It used to look like this card posted 1913 shows. As a border crossing between annexed Alsace and the rest of France, it was patrolled by customs officials and the frontier was marked with a poteau frontière (see the black German eagle on the white background, red border). This is a typical model of about 1889. Now there are two hotel/restaurants and a souvenir shop/cafe. It looks like this: The pillar to the right of the photo is the memorial to popular General Bataille wiki who was killed here with his officers in September 2014. (I have early postcards of the grave and a modern photo of the memorial should anyone want to see them.) The open-air sitting areas of the cafe are very popular stopping points and you see some fab bikes roaring through! What I imagine most people are unaware of is that if they were to explore the woods on the opposite side of the road to the Auberge, they would find numerous shellholes and trenches weaving through the woodland. I believe there are also vestiges of a military rail-line but I haven't confirmed that. Wandering in the woods behind the auberge, after about five minutes you start coming across stones at intervals, such as these two. On closer examination, it's clear that these are the original bornes (frontier stones). The smaller, more rugged one was a rudimentary interim measure while the occupying forces of the German Empire had marked stones made. I think these date from the mid-1890s. You can perhaps distinguish the number 270*. Some say very visibly F (Frankreich). Thus the war at this point in the Vosges was at the very edge of the occupied territory which France was determined to win back. There are numerous artistic picture-postcards of valiant French troops (usually watched by an adoring Alsacienne in costume often with a supporting cast of angels) destroying the poteaux while trampling the eagle to a squashed and gory death, and many real photos of the stone ones being crushed. Gwyn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dragon Posted 16 October , 2012 Author Share Posted 16 October , 2012 Still on bornes, this is one at the Col de Ste-Marie.... which looked like this, before the War. But you don't have to walk very far into the surrounding woods to start coming across monuments to men killed in the Great War, and examples of structures hidden in the hillsides. This (above) is quite an easy stroll by comparison with some of the other sites. Park by the hotels and either cross the road and go up the hill (easy), or choose one of the routes to the massif of Tête du Voilu (scene of fierce fighting in 1914). There are gentler and steeper paths ranging from 2 hours to 5 hours. Gwyn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marilyne Posted 16 October , 2012 Share Posted 16 October , 2012 Dragon, Fantastic pictures!! Thanks a lot for this! can I just ask you some technical detail, as a fotographer myself... which camera did you use?? And what lens and shutter speed to capture that rainbow?? M. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keithjk Posted 16 October , 2012 Share Posted 16 October , 2012 Great pictures Gwyn, thank you very much Keith Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hedley Malloch Posted 16 October , 2012 Share Posted 16 October , 2012 Great photos. The pre-1914 frontier posts, many pushed over, are vivid reminders of the causes of the war. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roel22 Posted 16 October , 2012 Share Posted 16 October , 2012 Great pics; definitely want to go there myself someday... Roel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spconnolly007 Posted 16 October , 2012 Share Posted 16 October , 2012 Great photos Gwyn, 12 more day's, and Im there Regards Sean. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dragon Posted 16 October , 2012 Author Share Posted 16 October , 2012 Sean, are you going to Alsace and the Vosges? If so, where? Gwyn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David B Posted 16 October , 2012 Share Posted 16 October , 2012 I just love seeing photos of members travels and yours are among the best Gwynne. Thanks for posting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BottsGreys Posted 17 October , 2012 Share Posted 17 October , 2012 Gwyn: Fantastic thread--I can't wait to see more! Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Admin Michelle Young Posted 17 October , 2012 Admin Share Posted 17 October , 2012 Amazing photos, thank you for putting them up- more please! Michelle Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spconnolly007 Posted 17 October , 2012 Share Posted 17 October , 2012 Sean, are you going to Alsace and the Vosges? If so, where? Gwyn Hi Gwyn, we are in Verdun for 2/3 days, then on to Colmar for a gastronomic tour (to appease the wife) but will try and drag the good lady around a few battle sites if possible Regards Sean Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dragon Posted 17 October , 2012 Author Share Posted 17 October , 2012 Would you like me to tell you of some temples of gastronomy within easy reach of Colmar (and not stratospherically expensive)? And where to buy the best chocolate and cakes on this planet? The good thing about Alsace is that the area is so beautiful that even if one's companion isn't into battlefields you can still have a lovely walk/ ride/ sit / eat or whatever is your thing. Gwyn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spconnolly007 Posted 17 October , 2012 Share Posted 17 October , 2012 Would you like me to tell you of some temples of gastronomy within easy reach of Colmar (and not stratospherically expensive)? And where to buy the best chocolate and cakes on this planet? The good thing about Alsace is that the area is so beautiful that even if one's companion isn't into battlefields you can still have a lovely walk/ ride/ sit / eat or whatever is your thing. Gwyn Yes please! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dragon Posted 17 October , 2012 Author Share Posted 17 October , 2012 Chocolate and patisserie at Gilg in Munster, Ribeauvillé and Colmar http://www.patisserie-gilg.com/ Oh my.... There are loads of good restaurants. I haven't eaten in Colmar because I was in hospital there and I have a 'thing' about the town now. The hospital food was awful. Aux Armes de France at Ammerschwihr - Gaertner is a chef who famously (in France anyway) renounced his Michelin stars because they were preventing him from enjoying cooking. Weekday Menu Eventail for 29€ is lovely. This is one of my favourite restaurants in Alsace. Another is le Cheval Blanc at Westhalten. Very professional but doesn't make you feel as if you ought to be grateful they let you in. My favourite in Munster is l'Agneau d'Or. Small restaurant, husband and wife team, just like the olden days. Delicious food. Le Mittelwihr in Mittelwihr is an interesting fusion of Alsacien and far Eastern food. We like le Pressoir de Bacchus at Blienschwiller (again, small, family run) A bit further afield but a nice ride down the wine road. We avoid the popular places like Kaysersberg and Riquewihr which are terribly crowded; eateries can be cynical and expensive. If you're up in the mountains and need a quick bite rather than a full meal, quite a few auberges will do tarte à l'oignon or tarte flambée. The one at the Col de Calvaire isn't wedded to the Great French Lunch Hour. Ferme auberges for the full-on repas marcaire / mountain food are usually good bets and you don't have to have the set meal. We like Kahlen Wasen (Luttenbach.... well about twenty minutes up the mountain from...) and Wassmatt (but it has no electric lights, uses candles). There has been a lot of investment in training farmers to run fermes auberges in a professional and visitor friendly way. Will think... Gwyn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spconnolly007 Posted 17 October , 2012 Share Posted 17 October , 2012 Thankyou Gwyn, looks like my diet may have to 'stand down' for a week or so Regards Sean. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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