Westhoffen combines a long architectural history with a landscape trail through vineyards, fruit trees and woodland. The themes are clearly distinct: churches, the synagogue and fortifications focus on periods, materials and architectural styles, while the Sentier découverte et viticole passes through a variety of landscape settings.
Church, Synagogue and Fortifications
Westhoffen’s Protestant Church of Saint Martin was built between 1250 and 1310 and is one of the last hall churches in Alsace. A much later architectural landmark is the present-day synagogue: the pink sandstone building dates from the second half of the 19th century and is designed in the Neo-Orientalist style. This makes it possible to compare different architectural styles and periods: a medieval hall church and a 19th-century synagogue building, whose material and style are also precisely identified. Anyone interested in architecture will find more here than just a single period of construction.
The fortified wall adds another chapter to this architectural history. It dates from the 14th century, was raised in the 15th century and has six towers. The sequence of its construction and subsequent raising distinguishes two building phases. Together with the construction date of Saint Martin’s Church, this provides a chronological comparison within Westhoffen’s medieval architectural history.
The Jewish cemetery also offers specific historical details. The oldest graves date from the late 19th century. The gravestones bear inscriptions in French and Hebrew and are arranged in five rows. At the entrance is a wall fountain installation bearing the year 1931. Its dates, languages and layout offer points of interest of their own, distinct from the questions of construction date and architectural style that are central to the church and fortifications.
Paths Through Vineyards, Fruit Trees and Woodland
The Sentier découverte et viticole de Westhoffen combines a section through the town with vineyards, fruit trees and woodland. The urban and wooded sections are equipped with six and four information panels, respectively. The trail can be explored independently all year round. It is therefore a distinct landscape attraction alongside the historic buildings.
A special section of the trail passes through the Verger Conservatoire de Cerises. There, visitors can discover around sixty varieties of fruit trees. This approximate variety makes the orchard a distinctive feature of the trail and adds another landscape element to the sections through vineyards and woodland.
For a different perspective on Westhoffen, the BL921 – Le vignoble du Roi Dagobert cycle route passes through the town. The two options differ in format: BL921 is a cycle route, while the Sentier can be explored independently all year round and connects several landscape settings. Those deciding between a cycle route and a themed trail for their travel plans have two different ways to discover Westhoffen.
Discover more destinations: Lampertheim, Reichsfeld, Brumath, Bourgheim, Wildersbach, Soultz-Les-Bains, Griesheim-Près-Molsheim, Scherwiller
For the overview of the wider region: Bas-Rhin.
