ALSACE AND BLACK FOREST

END OF SUMMER - SEPTEMBER 1990

ALSACE



"COUNTRYSIDE - Beautiful anyway"


"FORD SIERRA COSWORTH- 200Km/H and more in the German highways, without infringing the Law..."


"REST with a nice view"

***


BADEN-BADEN

"SO GOOD THAT THEY NAMED IT TWICE"



"KURHAUS - Built between 1821 and 1824, it keeps its its unique Belle Epoche elegance"


"NEUES SCHLOSS, situated on the Florentinerberg, is the former residence of the Margraves of Baden"

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FREIBURG

THE SUNNY CAPITAL OF THE BLACK FOREST IS ONE OF THE MOST COLOURFUL CITIES IN BADEN-WÜRTTEMBERG



"MÜNSTERPLATZ with its colourful morning market. Up until 1785 the square was surrounded by a wall and in the Middle Ages it was also used as a cemetery"


"FREIBURG'S «BÄCHLE», little streams running through gullies, are one of the historic old town's trademarks. Some say they were originally designed to supply the city with water, and for sewage; others say they served for watering cattle and, above all, as a fire precaution. The legend is that those who accidentally step into one of them will marry a Freiburger"


"HAUS ZUM WALFISCH - In the Franziskanergasse stands the beautiful House of the Whale, with its splendid late Gothic doorway. Built in 1514-15 for Jakob Villinger, Chancellor of Emperor Maximilian I. It was the home of Erasmus of Rotterdam, when he had to leave Basle after the Reformation in 1529"


"KAISER JOSEPH STRASSE - Freiburg's main street, lined by arcades built since the war, was the central marketplace in the Middle Ages with wooden buildings known as "Lauben" down its centre. The "Große Gaß" is bounded to the South by the Martinstor to which further storeys were added in 1901/03. The Christoffeltor to the North was torn down in 1704"


"MARTINSTOR is to the southwest, and marks the border to Freiburg's historic city centre"

***


SCHWARZWALD


"BLACK FOREST is a wooded mountain range in Baden-Württemberg, bordered by the Rhine valley to the west and south, with an highest peak - the Feldberg - at 1,493 meters. The name Black Forest comes from the dark color of the pine trees growing in the region"


"BLACK FOREST is also the English name for the dessert Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte. Black Forest gateau consists of several layers of chocolate cake, with whipped cream and cherries between each layer. These layers are topped with additional whipped cream, maraschino cherries, and chocolate shavings. Traditionally, the cake is saturated with Kirschwasser. In the USA, Black Forest gateau is usually prepared without alcohol... Guess why?"

MULHOUSE, COLMAR ET STRASBOURG

VILLES D'ALSACE - SEPTEMBRE 1990

MULHOUSE

La capitale industrielle de l'Alsace doit son nom à sa origine: un moulin (Mühle) solitaire près duquel sont venues se rassembler quelques maisons.


"MULHOUSE - De la place de Réunion, avec l’Hôtel de Ville du 16ème siècle, on peut partir à la découverte du musée de l'Automobile et du musée du Chemin de Fer"

***

COLMAR

Le premier document écrit mentionnant Colmar est daté de 823, quand Louis le Pieux fait don d'un domaine dans la région de Columbarium, à l'abbaye de Munster. Située au centre de l’Alsace, entre les deux autres grands pôles que sont Mulhouse et Strasbourg, Colmar est une étape incontournable.


"LA PETITE VENISE - L'ancien quartier des Tanneurs, qui menaçait ruine, a été admirablement restauré et constitue maintenant un des endroits les plus séduisants"


"LA PETITE VENISE et le quai de la Poissonnerie: le point de vue le plus photographié de Colmar"


"LA PETITE VENISE - une vue sur la Lauch bordée de très belles maisons à colombages"


"PLACE DE L'ANCIENNE DOUANNE - on y trouve la fontaine Schwendi, dédiée à Lazare de Schwendi, qui commanda l'armée impériale contre l'armée de Soliman le Magnifique, en Hongrie. La légende raconte qu'il en rapporta le Tokay"


"PLACE DE L'ANCIENNE DOUANNE - la place abrite de belles maisons alsaciennes"


"LE KOIFHUS - Il s'agit de l'ancienne douane (Kauf Haus), qui était le siège administratif et économique de la ville. Le premier bâtiment date des années 1480"


"COLMAR - On reconnaît les étendards"

***

STRASBOURG

Strasbourg, capitale de l’Europe et de l’Alsace, possède un patrimoine historique et architectural qui en fait la ville la plus riche d’Alsace. Son centre ville fait partie du Patrimoine Mondial de l'UNESCO.


"L'ANCIENNE DOUANNE - Dès le 12eme siècle, Strasbourg se spécialise dans le commerce de transit. L'Ancienne Douane - le bâtiment date de 1389 - était un entrepôt pour les produits devant être taxés. Aujourd'hui, on y trouve une belle brasserie"


"L'ILL - possibilité de promenade dans l'ignorance du trafic urbain"


"PLACE MARCHÉ AUX COCHONS DE LAIT – Nom surprenant et belle place pour trouver un restaurant; mais le paradis des sybarites est ailleurs dans la ville"


"LA CATHEDRALE, dont les travaux ont duré de 1176 jusqu'à 1439, repose sur les fondations d'une ancienne basilique construite en 1015. «C'est le prodige du gigantesque et du délicat», dira Victor Hugo"


"LA MAISON KAMMERZELL - Construite en 1427, est la plus ancienne et la plus belle maison de Strasbourg, mais c'est seulement en 1467 et 1589 qu'est élaboré son visage architectural tel qu'on peut le contempler aujourd'hui. Richement décoré, elle abrite un restaurant et un hotel (Baumann) dont le propritaire vous dit: «Ma choucroute aux 3 poissons, dans la plus belle maison de Strasbourg, un verre de Riesling bien frais en contemplant la Cathédrale... Le reste, c'est de l’histoire!»"


"PETITE FRANCE - A proximité du centre ville, après la terrasse panoramique (barrage Vauban), l'Ill s'élargit et se divise en cinq bras. Vers le nord le plus large, ou Fossé du Faux-Rempart. Au nord-est quatre petits bras réunis à nouveau à hauteur de l'école Saint-Thomas. Ce caprice topographique permet l'installation de moulins et attire les tanneurs, grands consommateurs d'eau"

ALSACE - VILLAGES AND WINES

ENJOYING SUMMER IN ALSACE - AUGUST 1990

TRAVELLING THROUGH THE WINE VILLAGES OF ALSACE

Alsace, with the Vosges mountains on one side (west) and the river Rhine on the other (east), is like a narrow ribbon from the Swiss border in the south (Basel) up to the German border in the north (Strasbourg). It is surprisingly beautiful, with its medieval villages full of flowers in spring and summer. The slopes facing south are covered with rows of vines, whose seven kinds of grapes give birth to the Alsace wines, named after the grape variety: Sylvaner, Riesling, Gewurztraminer, Muscat d'Alsace, Pinot Blanc, Tokay Pinot Gris and Pinot Noir. Richly decorated wrought iron inn signs and great wooden doors, from beneath which arrive irresistible smells of onion tart and freshly baked bread, complete the scenery.

BALLON D'ALSACE




"BALLON D'ALSACE NATIONAL PARK - The Ballon is the southernmost peak (1247m) of the Vosges Mountains. Flower among flowers"

RIQUEWIHR




"RIQUEWIHR is certainly the object of an enchantment which lasts for centuries. Its layout and structure have not changed since the Middle Age, and the old houses built in the 16th and 17th centuries, with courtyards, galleries, wells and fountains, are perfectly superb. In Riquewihr everything, and everybody is linked to the wine. Main street: Rue General de Gaulle"


"RIQUEWIHR - Every piece of architecture is miraculously preserved. If today's Riquewihr resembles so much the Middle Age town it is because the people have not changed much either"


"PLAZA - Food for thought"


"THE DOLDER - The 25 meters high Tower built in 1291 as an entrance through the inner wall.
Houses the Dolder Museum, which has an exhibition of weapons from the 15th and 16th centuries. Next to the tower you'll find the Sinnbrunnen fountain (1560). On both sides of the tower, original outer ramparts from 1291"

KAYSERBERG


"FORTRESS - Hansi, an Alsatian artist, said: «The situation of Kaysersberg, its unusual silhouette and its numerous ancient constructions make it the prettiest city on the Wine Road». The high fortress that dominates the city serves as a reminder of its strategic importance and its violent past"

RIBEAUVILLÉ


"RIBEAUVILLÉ has a long History. It is first mentionned as Ratbaldovillare - the Villa of Ratbold - in an official document circa 768 AD. In old german «Ratbold» meant «the boldest man of the counsel»"

ROUTE DES CRETES




"THE ROAD OF THE EDGES or THE ROAD OF THE PEAKS- long of more than 80 kilometers, it was created during the war of 1914-1918 with the strategic aim of ensuring the defense of the Vosges. This splendid road makes it possible to admire the Vosgean collars, the balloons, the many lakes, as well as the farms and his animals. There we can see all the Alsace, and by good weather the Black Forest or even the Alps"