Mutzig: Old Town, Chapels and Themed Trail

In Mutzig, a regional setting, historic buildings and a themed trail connected with nature come together. When planning your trip, you can decide whether you are primarily interested in the historic old town, sacred architectural history, Jewish heritage, or the connection between nature and Alsatian history. Each of these focuses gives a stay a different emphasis.

Location and Old Town Walking Tour

Mutzig is on the Alsace Wine Route, on the edge of the Vosges massif and about 20 kilometres west of Strasbourg. These details place the town in its regional context. The audio-guided tour of the historic old town starts at the Château des Rohan de Mutzig and lasts 1 hour and 40 minutes. With a named starting point and a specific duration, you can include the tour as a separate item in your day’s itinerary. Its focus is the historic old town.

Chapels and Architectural History

The Chapelle Saint-Jacques was built in 1626 by Jacques de Landsberg and his wife Amélie Zand de Merl on the site of the vanished village of Wege. Its architectural history is thus connected with a former settlement. Chapelle Saint-Wendelin is the older of the two chapels: Adam de Landsberg built it in 1566; originally, it was dedicated to the Virgin Mary. Adam’s coat of arms is on the lintel above the west door. Remains of frescoes have survived, but were damaged during restoration work.

The two chapels differ in their documented points of interest: for Saint-Jacques, the connection with the vanished village of Wege is central. At Saint-Wendelin, its original dedication, coat of arms and fresco remains offer specific clues to its architectural history. Those interested in these subjects will find two different ways to explore local history.

Synagogue and Former Town Fortifications

The Mutzig Synagogue was built in 1787 on the initiative of Aaron Meyer, the general representative of the Jewish nation in Alsace, and has been preserved in its original state. The former town gate, Ancienne porte de la Ville, dite de Strasbourg, was part of Mutzig’s former town fortifications, which have since been destroyed. These two historic landmarks therefore represent different building histories: the synagogue has been preserved in its original state, while the town gate was part of the destroyed fortifications.

Themed Trail to Fort de Mutzig

The themed trail “Sur les traces d'un géant...” is an interpretation trail leading to Fort de Mutzig. It combines discovering nature with the history of Alsace and sharing the region’s heritage of remembrance. The trail can be reached from Mutzig railway station using all environmentally friendly modes of transport; it can also be travelled by mountain bike. It thus combines nature and history with practical options for getting there and exploring.

Compared with the audio-guided tour, the themed trail has a different focus: the old-town tour has a starting point and a stated duration, while the trail brings together discovering nature, Alsatian history and the region’s heritage of remembrance. When planning your trip, you can therefore consider whether you prefer a defined-length walking tour of the old town or this thematic combination.

Discover more destinations: Breuschwickersheim, Schœnau, Kirrwiller, Boofzheim, Waltenheim-sur-Zorn, Dambach-La-Ville, Lalaye, Neuwiller-Lès-Saverne.

See the regional travel overview: Bas-Rhin.