Epinal Attractions

Epinal (pop. 38,207), chief town of the département of Vosges, lies on both banks of the Moselle amid extensive forests. Its most famous products are the colored prints known as images d'Epinal which in the 19th C. enjoyed worldwide sales. A printer and publisher named Pellerin set up in business in the town in 1799 and began to produce prints which were not confined, as in the past, to religious subjects but also illustrated contemporary themes and, for children, fairytales. Examples of these prints can be seen in the former printing house, the Vosges Departmental Museum (which also displays pictures and sculpture) and the International Museum of Folk Art. The church of St-Maurice (13th C., with an 11th C. tower) contains in the transept a 14th C. Virgin and a 15th C. "Entombment". In the Parc du Château are the ruins of a castle destroyed in 1670.