Journey to the heart of memory

This 9th stage of the Traversée du Massif des Vosges is all about remembrance, with moving visits to emblematic sites linked to the various world conflicts.

Before you strap on your rucksack for this new stage, take the time to learn about local history at the Alsace-Moselle Memorial on the heights of Schirmeck. The museum provides an insight into the region's tormented history, through the various world conflicts that affected Alsace and part of Lorraine in particular. It's a fun, immersive visit that offers a real lesson in the history of Europe, from its division to its union.

Then leave Schirmeck to begin your route through the forest. After a 6 km walk, you arrive at the European Centre of Deported Resistance Members - Site of the former Natzweiler-Struthof concentration camp.
Built in Alsace in the 1940s when it was annexed by Germany, the Natzweiler-Struthof concentration camp is the only one of its kind on French soil. Its discovery is solemn and poignant. Various museums dedicated to the living conditions of the deportees and, more broadly, to the Second World War and the Resistance, complete the visit.

You continue your ascent and then walk along the ridges until you arrive at Champ du Feu. At an altitude of 1099 metres, it is the highest point in the Bas-Rhin. A particularly fragile natural area, its vegetation is made up of stubble and peat bogs. If you're a winter sports fan, the Champ du Feu ski resort offers both downhill and cross-country skiing!

On your descent to the village of Le Hohwald, make a final stop at the Hohwald waterfall for a refreshing break.