At , the Grand Wintersberg (german: Großer Wintersberg) is the highest hill in the North Vosges in

Alsace Alsace (, ; ; Low Alemannic German/ gsw-FR, Elsàss ; german: Elsass ; la, Alsatia) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in eastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine next to Germany and Switzerland. In 2020, it had ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

. The Grand Wintersberg lies about four kilometres northwest of Niederbronn-les-Bains. The

massif In geology, a massif ( or ) is a section of a planet's crust that is demarcated by faults or flexures. In the movement of the crust, a massif tends to retain its internal structure while being displaced as a whole. The term also refers to a ...

separates the valleys of the Falkensteinerbach and the Schwarzbach. At its summit, which is made of Bunter Sandstone, stands a 25-metre-high

observation tower An observation tower is a structure used to view events from a long distance and to create a full 360 degree range of vision to conduct long distance observations. Observation towers are usually at least tall and are made from stone, iron, an ...

, which offer hikers an outstanding panoramic view over the North Vosges, the Palatine Forest and the

Upper Rhine Plain The Upper Rhine Plain, Rhine Rift Valley or Upper Rhine Graben ( German: ''Oberrheinische Tiefebene'', ''Oberrheinisches Tiefland'' or ''Oberrheingraben'', French: ''Vallée du Rhin'') is a major rift, about and on average , between Basel in the ...

across to the

Black Forest The Black Forest (german: Schwarzwald ) is a large forested mountain range in the state of Baden-Württemberg in southwest Germany, bounded by the Rhine Valley to the west and south and close to the borders with France and Switzerland. It is t ...

. At the 514-metre-high

saddle The saddle is a supportive structure for a rider of an animal, fastened to an animal's back by a girth. The most common type is equestrian. However, specialized saddles have been created for oxen, camels and other animals. It is not k ...

between Grand and Petit Wintersberg (Col de la Liese) is a hut, the ''Chalet du Wintersberg'', managed by the

Vosges Club The Vosges Club (french: Club Vosgien, officially the ''Fédération du Club Vosgien'', german: Vogesenclub) is a French rambling organization that covers the Vosges Mountains in the regions of Alsace, eastern Lorraine and the northeastern part ...

, as well as the ''Liese'', a

Gallo-Roman Gallo-Roman culture was a consequence of the Romanization of Gauls under the rule of the Roman Empire. It was characterized by the Gaulish adoption or adaptation of Roman culture, language, morals and way of life in a uniquely Gaulish context ...

sphinx A sphinx ( , grc, σφίγξ , Boeotian: , plural sphinxes or sphinges) is a mythical creature with the head of a human, the body of a lion, and the wings of a falcon. In Greek tradition, the sphinx has the head of a woman, the haunches of ...

-like sandstone

relief Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces are bonded to a solid background of the same material. The term '' relief'' is from the Latin verb ''relevo'', to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that th ...

. Celtic relicts may also be found on the hill of ''Ziegenberg'' to the southeast.

Notes

External links

Grand Wintersberg in the Pässelexikon at quaeldich.de
(access: June 6, 2014) {{DEFAULTSORT:Wintersberg, Grand Mountains of Bas-Rhin Mountains of the Vosges Observation towers in France Hills of France