Mont Saint Odile and Obernai
The Route des Vins d’Alsace is a 170km enchanting wine trail from the north to the south of Alsace.
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Follow the mythical route at your own pace wherever your fancy takes you ! Travelling through beautiful countryside stopping off at vineyards is definitely a delicious, convivial, enjoyable experience !
Stop off at Mont Saint Odile, a natural attraction and archaeological site at 753m altitude, not far from Strasbourg.
Before or after a walk along signposted paths, admire the Convent dedicated to Saint Odile, patron saint of Alsace, a major place of pilgrimage and an absolute must to see. Legend has it that Odile, daughter of Etichon (or Adalric), Duke of Alsace, was born blind. Rejected by her father, she was hidden in a monastery in Burgundy and recovered her sight on the day of her baptism. Her brother, Hugues, took her back home but when Etichon wanted to marry her to a young prince she ran away. Miraculously, a rock opened up in front of her. Etichon gave in, founded the Convent of Hohenburg on the hill and Odile became its first abbess.
Don’t miss Saint Odile’s tomb, the Chapelle des Larmes and the Chapelle des Anges, as well as the panoramic terrace and the miraculous spring, 15 minutes’ walk away. Continue your visit with a walk along the Mur Païen (Pagan Wall) whose origins are the subject of many stories and legends. Finally, Obernai on the Route des Vins, the 2nd most visited tourist town in Bas-Rhin is well worth a visit, as is shown by its classification as one of the « Plus beaux détours de France ».
Obernai is Alsace in a nutshell with ramparts, fortified towers, half-timbered houses and tiny streets.
Continue along the Route des Vins to the village of Gertwiller, famous for its ‘Lebkücheler’ gingerbread (‘pain d’épices’) since the 18th century. In 1900, there were about ten gingerbread makers in the little village of 800 inhabitants at the foot of Mont Saint Odile. It was traditional for men to offer gingerbread in the shape of a heart to their sweethearts ; conscripts used to sell oval-shaped gingerbread to locals when they passed joyously through the village ; children used to collect the embossed wrappers and young girls would use them to decorate their poetry books. Pop into « Pains d’Epices Lips » a small family business with 9 employees which strives to preserve the traditions and age-old production methods. It also houses the pretty Musée du Pain d’Epices et de l’Art Populaire Alsacien. (Museum of Gingerbread and Alsatian Popular Art).
