The weekend was set to be rain in Mannheim, rain in Bern, and magically mostly clear around the Jura and Doubs region of France. A quick look at hikes and things to do launched us towards the base of the Vosges.
- Saturday: hike in Giromagny, near the edge of the Vosges (NE of Belfort), followed by walking around the Ballon d'Alsace
- Sunday: early morning lap around Montbéliard, then to the citadelle in Belfort before heading back
Giromagny:
While all places we were are in the Franche-Comté region, Giromagny is more nested on the edge of the southern Vosges mountains.
I was pretty excited to see tons of these around: fountains segmented into several sub-pools which were used for washing clothes. I saw this in some show/docu series that included a roadtrip-in-France (I think it was two British guys).
Giromagny was a mining town, and the path we took was the one miners would take to go to work, it sounded like. From the town, on the way into the forrest, one can see an active quarry, so there's still related activity in the region supporting the economy. Good signage on the trail, fair amount of locals in pretty casual gear tramping around.
After Giromagny, Ballon d'Alsace (1247m (4091ft))
I'd looked up "the highest peak of the Vosges mountains" before, and we still had energy and time and sunlight and were only maybe 15 km away, so we drove up some really winding roads to get up to the top. The top, which clearly had been featured in the tour de France earlier this summer, based on the remaining writing on the road, encouraging various teams.
Various views from the top (disclaimer: was not a hike, just a short walk up to look around):
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| The cows markings gave him an angry eyebrow |
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| Heather (an early fall bloomer) out in force |
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| remnants leftover from the tour de France |
We then drove down to Montbéliard to check into our hotel.
Sunday 2019.08.25 - Montbéliard &Belfort (lion)
early morning walk around Montbéliard.
Some interesting trivia about the region:
Montbéliard was a late addition to France, which you notice in part because the dominant old church is protestant. It was an independent participant in the Holy Roman Empire from 1033 to 1793 (some of that under the Württembergish dukes, and there is a castle in town where they lived). Annexed to France in 1796. For more info, see wikipedia. And a deeper dive into its role in protestant history.
Two sides of the castle of the dukes, one of these castles that had so many eras in which people made additions, it looks kind of like 4 or 5 castles were broken up and re-assembled into one, piecemeal:
Something we really noticed about Montbéliard was the sort of lopsided architecture. No one paid attention to the lines or roofs of adjacent buildings when building, it seems:
After breakfast, we checked out of our hotel and went by Belfort before heading home.
Belfort (a lion, a citadel, and a part of Alsace that stayed French)
So, I have a weakness for citadels and, generally, for 17thCentury fortifications. We just do not have these in the states, and they are such incredible feats of engineering and earth-moving.
Belfort has a citadel, but, moreover, is the FIRST ONE I have been to which was expanded and improved on after the advent of long-range canons which caused everyone else to give up on fortifications. I wonder if it was the only one to do that. Why would you do that?
"Absorbed into France in the early 1600s, Belfort, lies in a gap between the Vosges and Jura Mountains, making it a natural invasion route into France. " (See this military history site)
From same site: "[Haxo's renovations resulted in] transforming the place as a truly entrenched camp, defended by the castle itself, and by two new bastions: the Miotte and the Justice. All these military forts were connected together and linked to the castle. Haxo also modernised the fortifications of the castle itself by digging two ditches and building two new lines of walls"
Vauban, responsible for all the other famous 17th Century fortifications in France laid the groundwork, re-routing the river to expand the fortified space in town so that it could withstand long sieges. Construction finisted in 1703. It was improved in in the early 1800s (by General Haxo), adding another defensive layer of trenches and whatnot to keep said improved-range cannons even further away.
From same site: "[Haxo's renovations resulted in] transforming the place as a truly entrenched camp, defended by the castle itself, and by two new bastions: the Miotte and the Justice. All these military forts were connected together and linked to the castle. Haxo also modernised the fortifications of the castle itself by digging two ditches and building two new lines of walls"
View of the additions from Haxo,and a map directly afterwards of said additions:
Views from other parts of the citadel:
CURRENTLY in Franche-Comté, counted as part of Alsace the last time Alsace was ceded to Germany, and was not included in the chunk ceded to Germany because the defenses in the town were so good and they kept up their siege like a month after cease-fire/surrender. The guy who insisted on keeping up this horribly traumatic siege (Bertholdi) is why Belfort has a huge lion statue (in sandstone), commemorating this pyrrhic victory.
My attempt at wounded-lion-snarling mimicry (left):
More on the history of Belfort.
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