The Vosges Club ( , officially the ''Fédération du Club Vosgien'', ) is a French

rambling Walking is one of the most popular outdoor recreational activities in the United Kingdom, and within England and Wales there is a comprehensive network of Rights of way in England and Wales, rights of way that permits access to the countryside. Fu ...

organization that covers the

Vosges Mountains The Vosges ( , ; ; Franconian (linguistics), Franconian and ) is a range of medium mountains in Eastern France, near its France–Germany border, border with Germany. Together with the Palatine Forest to the north on the German side of the bor ...

in the regions of

Alsace Alsace (, ; ) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in the Grand Est administrative region of northeastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine, next to Germany and Switzerland. In January 2021, it had a population of 1,9 ...

, eastern

Lorraine Lorraine, also , ; ; Lorrain: ''Louréne''; Lorraine Franconian: ''Lottringe''; ; ; is a cultural and historical region in Eastern France, now located in the administrative region of Grand Est. Its name stems from the medieval kingdom of ...

and the northeastern part of

Franche-Comté Franche-Comté (, ; ; Frainc-Comtou dialect, Frainc-Comtou: ''Fraintche-Comtè''; ; also ; ; all ) is a cultural and Provinces of France, historical region of eastern France. It is composed of the modern departments of France, departments of Doub ...

History

The club was founded on 31 October 1872 in

Saverne Saverne (, ; Alsatian language, Alsatian: ; ) is a communes of France, commune in the Bas-Rhin departments of France, department in Grand Est in north-eastern France. It is situated on the Rhine-Marne canal at the foot of a mountain pass, pass ...

and recognized as a

charitable organisation A charitable organization or charity is an organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being (e.g. educational, Religion, religious or other activities serving the public interest or common good). The legal definitio ...

in 1879. Its first chairman was Curt Mündel, known for his much-printed guide ''Die Vogesen – Reisehandbuch für Elsaß-Lothringen und angrenzende Gebirge''. In the period around 1890–1910 the Vosges Club erected

viewing tower An observation tower is a tower 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, and wo ...

s on the summits of the Scherhol, Grand Wintersberg,

Wasenkoepfel The Wasenkoepfel (526 m) is a hill northwest of Oberbronn in the Lower Alsace in the French Vosges Mountains, Vosges. It is the highest point of the southern Wasgau, a Franco-German, cross-border region that comprises the southern part of th ...

, Brotschberg,

Climont Climont (), formerly called "Clivemont" in Old French, and "Winberg" in Old Alsatian, is a conical sandstone peak of the Vosges mountains. The mountain, with a cut-off shape, is known from afar by walkers and modern-day travellers. Situated toda ...

, Champ du Feu, Heidenkopf, Ungersberg and Faudé.

Aims and organisation

The Vosges Club has 111 local branches (as of 2006, 126 by 2020) and about 34,000 members. The head office is in

Strasbourg Strasbourg ( , ; ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est Regions of France, region of Geography of France, eastern France, in the historic region of Alsace. It is the prefecture of the Bas-Rhin Departmen ...

. Its chief executive currently is Alain Ferstler. The aims of the club include the maintenance and waymarking of just over of footpaths and trails. The

waymark Trail blazing or way marking is the practice of marking paths in outdoor recreational areas with signs or markings that follow each other at certain, though not necessarily exactly defined, distances and mark the direction of the trail. A blaz ...

s are put up by just over 760 volunteers (which averages out at approximately per volunteer). The club manages its own hostels and maintains refuge huts. In addition to promoting hiker tourism the Vosges Club is also dedicated to other outdoor activities like

climbing Climbing is the activity of using one's hands, feet, or other parts of the body to ascend a steep topographical object that can range from the world's tallest mountains (e.g. the eight thousanders) to small boulders. Climbing is done for locom ...

and

skiing Skiing is the use of skis to glide on snow for basic transport, a recreational activity, or a competitive winter sport. Many types of competitive skiing events are recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), and the International S ...

, as well as

nature conservation Nature conservation is the ethic/moral philosophy and conservation movement focused on protecting species from extinction, maintaining and restoring habitats, enhancing ecosystem services, and protecting biological diversity. A range of values ...

. The club publishes walking guides and maps, as well as its own magazine, ''Les Vosges'', which comes out 3 times a year. The Vosges Club is a founding member of the French Ramblers' Association (''Fédération française de la randonnée pédestre'') and the

European Ramblers' Association The European Ramblers Association (ERA; ; ) is a network organisation working for promotion of walking, hiking, creating trails, exchange of the know-how over the borders and secure the rights of free access to nature for the walkers. Through thi ...

External links

Official homepage
{{Authority control Hiking organizations Sport in Vosges (department) Sports organizations of France Tourism in France Sport in Strasbourg