Flaxlanden: Walking Routes and Historic Buildings

Two walking routes in Flaxlanden have different thematic focuses: one leads to field names and through the surrounding hills, while the other visits old buildings. Buildings from several centuries and the dry grassland area on Palmenhardt add to these local and landscape themes.

Walking Routes with Different Focuses

The 13.4-kilometer, blue-marked “Les Lieux-Dits” walking route is part of the Circuit Découverte. It leads to Flaxlanden’s most important field names and through the surrounding hills. It starts at the Salle des Sports et de la Culture. Its distance, markings, and theme give the route a clear character: the focus is on field names and the hill landscape.

The “L’Histoire et le Patrimoine” walking route starts at the town hall and leads to old buildings, including some dating from before the Thirty Years’ War. The main difference between the two routes is their subject: “Les Lieux-Dits” explicitly features the route and the path through the hills, while “L’Histoire et le Patrimoine” focuses on older buildings. When choosing between the routes, you can therefore base your decision on the landscape and field names or on architectural history.

Winemakers’ Houses, a Farmhouse, and a Church

The Maison vigneronne is a typical winemaker’s house with a large round-arched gateway. Its stone floors date from 1629. The Maison Landwerlin is a Renaissance house dating from 1621. Their different names and dates offer a glimpse of different architectural forms and periods of construction, without implying that the houses are the same.

At the Maison Meyer, a traditional covered balcony, known as a “Laube,” and an adjoining barn form part of a farmhouse. Together, they make up a small farmstead. The presbytery also has its own architectural classification: it is a Sundgau patrician house from the 18th century, dating from 1765. The houses described here thus display different features—from the large round-arched gateway and the Laube to the combination of a dwelling and barn.

The Church of Saint-Sébastien was built in the 13th century. Its nave, choir, and sacristy were rebuilt between 1786 and 1788 to plans by J.-B. Kléber. The church also houses an organ dating from 1863, built by the organ maker Jean Frédéric Verschneider. The original construction, reconstruction, and organ therefore belong to different periods in the church’s history.

Memorial Sites and Historic Traces

The Grotte de Lourdes was inaugurated on August 15, 1958, to mark the centenary of the Marian apparitions at Lourdes. The former Château de Flaxlanden, a manor house near the church, has been mentioned since 1580 and was restored again in 1694 after a fire. The château’s façades, roof, cellar, and balustraded staircase are listed as historic monuments. Geissberg represents another chapter in the village’s history: on August 19, 1914, at the beginning of the First World War, it was the site of fighting between French and German troops.

Palmenhardt offers a natural point of interest: it is home to a south-facing area of tertiary dry grassland that hosts a remarkable number of endangered plant species. Alongside architectural history and historic events, local themes therefore also include a specific landscape type and its plant life.

Discover More Destinations

Walbach, Nambsheim, Orschwihr, Wittelsheim, Neuwiller, Rombach-Le-Franc, Westhalten, Niederhergheim

Go to the overview of destinations in the wider area: Haut-Rhin.