Vineyard and Castles Trail

☀️🚶🏻‍♀️🐕 Starting from Eguisheim, with my Lili, we drove through the Alsatian vineyards 🍇 towards the Ballons des Vosges Regional Natural Park ⛰️.. After a good climb along small paths and through pretty fir forests 🌲🌲, we reached Hagueneck Castle 🏰.. We continued along a winding path that led us ever higher to the site called "Hunters' Rest" at 600m altitude.. The Squirrel Trail 🐿️ then took us to the three castles of Eguisheim 🏰, of which only the three keeps and a few walls remain.. . The view over the Colmar plain from the castle site is superb, and opposite, we can clearly see the Vosges Mountains. The Black Forest, its peaks rising above the mist ⛰️⛰️... A long, gradual descent follows, and we end our journey with a visit to the historic center of Eguisheim, one of the most beautiful villages in France. And of course, a stroll through its famous Christmas market ✨🎄✨ is a must.

Start in Eguisheim, a nearly circular village whose narrow streets spiral around the historic center. First mentioned in the 8th century, the village looks back on a long history. Pope Leo IX, a native of Eguisheim, also came from the ranks of the church leaders – not to be confused with today's Pope Leo XIV. This gives the village, in addition to its charming half-timbered houses, a surprising note of world history. Our path leads through the surrounding vineyards, which have shaped the landscape here for centuries. Eguisheim is located in the middle of the Alsace wine-growing region, known among other things for its Grand Cru vineyards such as Eichberg and Pfersigberg. Between vines and dry stone walls, the path climbs steadily uphill, past the ruins of Hagueneck Castle, which was built in the 13th century by the Hagueneck family and today watches silently over the slope. We continue to the Turenne Rock, named after the French Marshal Henri de La Tour d'Auvergne, Vicomte de Turenne, who was militarily active in the region in the 17th century. Old legends whisper that witches once haunted this peculiar place. And honestly, when you see the huge rocks scattered in all sizes and shapes around the highest point, it doesn't seem so far-fetched. A touch of magic goes well with this place. We all agree: Yes, that could well be... 😉 A little further up the mountain, over beautiful paths, we reach the ruins of the Trois Châteaux d'Eguisheim. These ruins are also known under the somewhat mysterious name "Drei Exen". The complex sits at an altitude of about 591 meters on the Schlossberg and looks far over the Alsatian plain. Here you are not standing in front of a single castle, but in front of three closely spaced residential towers, so-called donjons, which were built between the 11th and 13th centuries. Each of these towers once had its own owner from the circle of the Counts of Eguisheim or their heirs: In the middle is the Wahlenburg, the oldest of the three towers, built in the 11th century by Count Hugo IV, the father of the later Pope Leo IX. To the north rises the Dagsburg, which was built around 1144 by the Counts of Dagsburg, while to the south is the youngest tower, the Weckmund, from the 13th century. This ascent is doubly worthwhile: In addition to a portion of history, a wide panoramic view over the Rhine Valley awaits you here at clear sight – and even as far as the Black Forest. After a picnic in the spring sun between walls that have seen more history than many a travel guide can tell, the path leads back down into the valley – back through the vineyards to Eguisheim. The ruins remain, but their silence is not entirely without emphasis. Some places have a quiet, barely tangible tension even in broad daylight... All the more we are now looking forward to the enchanting streets of Eguisheim and of course to the famous "Kougelhopf alsacien". But contrary to expectations, we are denied it today – no Kougelhopf far and wide. So we console ourselves in a small bakery with an equally fine Linzer tart... and agree: This is a more than worthy substitute and a perfect end to a perfect hike 😉🌞😋

After breakfast in the Colmar market hall and another walk through the old town, we set off on our return journey around midday. But first we want to take a hike to the Trois-Château. The ruins of the three castles lie above the town of Eguisheim on a forested ridge in the foothills zone. Between the city and the Vosges lie extensive vineyards, comparable to those in the Palatinate. At this time on a Saturday we can't immediately find a parking space, but we finally find one in front of the campsite. Our route leads uphill on tar and later gravel roads through the vineyards, always with the castles in the distance on the Schlossberg. We don't choose the direct route and stay on the north side of the Bechtalgraben, which increasingly cuts into the vineyards. We soon reach the tree line and continue climbing along a forest path. At the 'Chemin des Château forts d'Alsace' the hike goes along the 400m altitude line and after a short descent we reach the ruins of 'Le Château du Hagueneck' built in the 13th century. We climb the castle tower via a spiral staircase and the last part via a very narrow, steep staircase inside. Below are the towns of Wettolsheim and Eguisheim, a little further south and in the distance we have a view of the Kaiserstuhl and the Black Forest. https://www.visit.alsace/en/253000556-chateau-du-hagueneck/ Behind the castle, the castle path or 'Sentier Herzog' leads in long bends up to the mountain ridge, where we cross the 'Route des Cinq Châteaux' and climb up to the 'Rocher Turenne' and take our late lunch break. The rock was called the Witch's Rock until the 17th century. Marshal de Turenne is said to have camped here in 1675 during the conquest of Alsace for King Louis XIV. Despite the clouds, the temperatures are pleasant today. Occasionally the sun appears, but cannot prevail. After we have crossed the road again we walk along the 'Sentier de l'Ecureuil' (squirrel path) below the 600m altitude line to our destination for the day 'Les Trois Châteaux d'Eguisheim' or the Three Exes, the castle group made up of Dagsburg, Wahlenburg and Burg Weckmund from the 11th - 12th centuries (Château fort du Dagsbourg, Château de Wahlenbourg, Château fort de Vaudémont/Weckmund). https://de.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drei_Exen https://www.alsaceterredechateaux.com/de/burgen-und-befestigte-staedte/burgen-eguisheim/ We stay on the Schlossberg and explore the ruins, walls and foundations of the castle complex and the remains of the three castle towers. The descent initially takes place on a steep mountain path, then on a long bend down to the Bechtalgraben and through the vineyards back to Eguisheim.

From the large parking lot at the entrance to Eguisheim, the trail leads through the beautiful village center and through vineyards with views of the three castles, and later through the forest up to the ruins of Hagueneck Castle. The trail continues up to a mountain saddle with a rest area and magical rock towers (Rocher Turenne). Continue through the forest and over to the three castles, which lie side by side high above the village of Husseren. This "collection" of three castles, located right next to each other, is impressive and also offers beautiful views of the Rhine Valley. From here, the trail descends back to Eguisheim on an interesting root and rock path.

Beautiful hike through the vineyards, great 🌳 forests, parts of pine forests to Les Trois Château. The start and finish was the French favorite village of Eguisheim, which won an award in 2013.

Today the car stayed parked and we set off from our accommodation in the middle of the old town of Eguisheim, there were a few châteaux on the agenda again. First we strolled leisurely through the village, my son hadn't really seen it yet. It was of course quite busy, but we still liked it a lot. We then came to the mountains via the vineyards outside of Eguisheim and along relatively easy forest paths to the Château de Hagueneck. There wasn't much to see, but the stairs to the tower were the ultimate adventure, so narrow that you could hardly get through with a backpack 🤣 Unfortunately the weather didn't give us a great view, it was really cool today and quite windy outside the forest. Continuing uphill we finally reached the Rocher Turenne, a great rock, where we scrambled around a bit. The main goal was the Trois-Châteaux d'Eguisheim. Unfortunately there is a bit of construction going on there at the moment and you can't go up any of the towers, what a pity... The way down was the real highlight, it winds adventurously over rocks and roots, my son really likes that kind of thing. When we arrived in Husseren, our strength slowly started to wane and we trudged tiredly across the vineyards back to Eguisheim. We had expected a bit more, but it was still a pretty nice walk. Now we're going to end the evening in our accommodation, tomorrow we'll head back home with a few short stops.

First hike in Alsace! Unfortunately, the GPS didn't cooperate. It was just under 13 km in total, starting in Eguisheim and first climbing to the Chateau Hagueneck. Then on to the Rocher Turenne, the witch's rock. From there, along beautiful forest paths, we continued to Les Trois Chateau, the three lizards that tower far above Alsace. Great tour with beautiful views.

I've always wanted to visit the Trois Châteaux d'Eguisheim. We parked for free at the cemetery in Eguisheim and then headed through the sunny vineyards. As soon as we reached the forest, we headed up to the Château de Hagueneck. We briefly climbed the tower and then continued up the ridge. From there, the path was fairly level all the way to the three castles. Thanks to the nearby hiking parking lot, we weren't alone here, so we soon headed back. We quickly grabbed an ice cream and something cold to drink in Eguisheim, and then headed back. Eguisheim is especially beautiful if you don't mind the numerous tourists. The tour was quite okay, and so were the three castles. But there are nicer spots in Alsace.