Reichstett: Open-Air Museum and Forts Trail

Reichstett brings together insights into rural ways of life with the history of a fort, a church and a cross-border cycling route. At Parc de la Maison alsacienne, the focus is on traditions, objects and rural ways of life from the area around Strasbourg. Fort Rapp-Moltke is one of the forts along the Forts Trail. The present-day church offers another clearly defined point of interest. When planning your trip, it helps to distinguish between the open-air museum, guided tours of the fort, and a short or longer cycling stage.

Open-air museum and rural ways of life

Parc de la Maison alsacienne is an open-air museum in the heart of Reichstett. It presents traditions, objects and rural ways of life from the area around Strasbourg, spanning the period from the Middle Ages to the 20th century. The park also recreates a typical Alsatian street with half-timbered houses, workshops and barns. The street gives the homes a spatial context; the different buildings form part of the scene in this reconstructed setting. If you are interested in the history of regional daily life, you will find a focus here on the interplay of traditions, objects and rural living.

The park can be reached via the Hay Ecomusée bus stop on bus line 74. The stop’s name gives you a specific point of reference for travelling on this line.

Fort Rapp-Moltke and guided tours

Fort Rapp-Moltke is home to two museums: the Musée de la Coloniale and the Musée de l’Ecole. Guided tours of the fort are offered from April to the end of September at 3 pm on the second and fourth Sunday of each month. Groups of ten or more can arrange visits year-round. If you are planning a guided tour, check the suitable date before you travel; groups can arrange a visit.

The church’s construction history

The present-day church in Reichstett was built in 1767 and extended with two transepts around 1900. Its construction history can be traced through two dates: first its construction, followed later by its extension. If you would like to include architectural history in your stay, the church offers a specific point of interest with a date, distinct from the rural ways of life presented at the open-air museum.

Forts Trail: route and individual stop

The Forts Trail is an 85-kilometre French-German cycling route that passes 19 forts. Fort Rapp-Moltke in Reichstett is one of the forts along the route. The names refer to different scales of planning: Fort Rapp-Moltke is a specific stop, while the Forts Trail is a longer route with several forts. This lets you focus on the fort itself or on cycling.

You can ride the Forts Trail in short sections or on longer stages. This gives you a specific choice for planning: you can select a limited section or plan a longer stage. The 85 kilometres describe the total length of the French-German route, not the length of a single section. Together with Fort Rapp-Moltke, this creates a clear link between a stop in Reichstett and the wider cycling route.

Discover more destinations: Souffelweyersheim, Breitenbach, Elsenheim, Bischwiller, Breuschwickersheim, Obernai, Colroy-La-Roche, Pfaffenhoffen

For the broader travel overview: Bas-Rhin.