Morschwiller offers two distinct focuses for planning your trip: sacred architecture and art history, and a signposted walking trail with sweeping views across the Alsace plain. When choosing, it may help to consider whether you are more interested in churches, stained glass and local traditions, or mainly want to spend time outdoors. Saint-Etienne, the Saint-Ulrich Chapel and the Circuit des Collines each provide a specific point of reference for these themes.

Church Art and Local History

The Catholic Church of Saint-Etienne was built in 1840 by Louis-Martin Zegowitz. It has 14 figurative decorative stained-glass windows depicting Saint Odile of Alsace and Saint Wendelin. Ott frères created the windows in Strasbourg in 1890. This places five decades between the construction of the church and the stained glass: 1840 marks the building of the church, and 1890 the creation of the windows. The building and its later set of windows can therefore be seen as two distinct historical highlights.

The Chapel of Saint-Ulrich, dedicated to Saint Ulrich, is also known as Clause and Cloos. Private individuals built it in 1832 near the ruins of the former church in the vanished village of Bachhofen; that church was destroyed in 1841. The chapel grounds are home to the unique Croix de Sang Calvary, created in 1836. Local tradition connects it with a miracle: after a priest spilled altar wine, he is said to have seen eleven heads of Christ where the drops had fallen. The chapel’s history thus combines datable building events with a story explicitly preserved in local tradition.

The sacred highlights are clearly distinct: Saint-Etienne is defined by its church building and stained-glass windows, while Saint-Ulrich leads to the history of Bachhofen and local tradition through its Calvary. Since 2024, the patronal feast of the Church of Saint-Etienne has been held on December 26, the feast day of Saint Stephen in the calendar. If you would like to plan your trip around this feast, check in advance whether it will be held in the future.

Hiking and Views

The Circuit des Collines is a moderately difficult walking trail marked with signs from the Club Vosgien. Follow the red ring trail marker, the “Anneau rouge.” Difficulty and trail marking answer different planning questions: “moderate” indicates the level of difficulty, while the red ring identifies the trail marker. Check current trail conditions before setting out.

The Circuit runs along the heights of Morschwiller, offering views across the Alsace plain from the Northern Vosges to the Black Forest. At Les Acacias, a picnic area serves as a rest stop on the Circuit des Collines and offers an impressive 360-degree panorama. With a little luck, you may be able to make out the silhouette of Strasbourg Cathedral in the distance. The sweeping views across the plain and the possible distant view of the cathedral lend the landscape two distinct points of interest.

Discover more destinations: Illkirch-Graffenstaden, Haguenau, Ottrott, Eckbolsheim, Meistratzheim, Erstein, Mommenheim, Hœrdt.

For the broader travel overview: Bas-Rhin.