Vosges du Nord Driving Route

Bouxwiller (pop. 400) lies at the foot of the Bastberg (320 m/1,050ft). The Renaissance-style Town Hall, built in 1659 as the chancellery of the Count of Hanau (restored 1909), has a very handsome doorway.

Fleckenstein Castle (alt. 370m/1,215ft), built in the 12th C but now a ruin, is partly built into the sandstone crag on which it stands.

The Fleckensteins lived in the castle from 1129 until it was destroyed by Louis XIV's troops in 1689. The castle towers 340 metres above the surrounding fields and forests.

The little town of La Petite-Pierre, still partly surrounded by walls, is charmingly situated on the slopes and crest (wide views) of the Altenberg. The church has 15th C frescoes in the choir.

Niederbronn-les-Bains (pop. 4,319) is an important spa and climatic resort, situated at the entrance to the beautiful Falkenstein valley, and a good base for walks and climbs in the hills. The brine springs of Niederbronn-les-Bains, which were already known to the Romans, and chalybeate springs are used in the treatment of a variety of complaints. There is a museum containing prehistoric and Roman material.

Five km/3mi southeast of Soufflenheim is Sessenheim (German spelling Sesenheim), scene of Goethe's love affair with the local pastor's daughter Friederike Brion in 1770-1771. In the Auberge du Bôuf is a small Goethe Museum.

Soufflenheim (pop. 4,500), 14km/9mi east of Haguenau, is the center of the Alsatian ceramic industry.

The little town of Wôrth, on the river Sauer, was the scene of bitter fighting during the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-1871. It has a Renaissance Château (16th century) with a 14th century tower. In front of the Town Hall is a Roman altar with reliefs of Mercury, Hercules, Minerva and Juno.