Ribeauvillé

Ribeauvillé (pop. 4,929), whose Alsatian name is Rappschwihr, is a little town with a picturesque aspect and many old half- timbered houses. Above the town are three ruined castles dating from the 11th-14th centuries, Girsberg (528 m/1,732ft), St-Ulrich (530 m/1,739ft) and Haut-Ribeaupierre (642 m/2,106ft). In the Middle Ages the town was held by the Count of Ribeaupierre (Rappoltstein), "king" of all the strolling musicians and singers of the Upper Rhine, who paid dues to him for his protection and gathered annually at Ribeauvillé for "Pfiffertag" - a festival which is still celebrated every year on the first Sunday in September.

In the Grand' Rue (No. 14) is the Pfifferhaus, and farther along the street is the main square, with the Town Hall (1773-1778), a Renaissance fountain (1536) and a Late Gothic monastic church (1412). Parts of the old town walls have been preserved, including the Tour des Bouchers (Butchers' Tower, 13th-16th C) and other defensive towers.