To discover

Seltz

Mask covering mandatory

The cable ferry 'Saletio' is only one of its kind. A cable system whose principle is to use the sole power of the current to move connects the ferry between the two shores. It can carry 70 passengers, 28 bicycles and up to 6 cars outside of the rush hours. Connects 7/7 Seltz (FR) with Plittersdorf (DE).

Lauterbourg

Former Episcopal Residence in the Renaissance style (1592 restored in 1716)
The marking on the pediment above the front door, Pax intrantibus, Salut exeuntibus
(peace be upon those who enter, salvation be upon those exit), is happy to welcome visitors. The wrought iron initials affixed to the strip encircling the building remind us
that Lauterbourg belongs to the bailiwick of the Episcopal principality of Spire. Today, this Renaissance building houses the elementary school.

Lauterbourg

The Porte de Landau (1708), a witness to the Vauban epoch, is built on medieval fortifications. A sun sculpted on one side of the gate recalls the oath of allegiance to the King of France in 1680.
Upstairs in an exhibition room is a model of the town's fortifications, based on plans from 1782, and documents tracing the town's history.

Seltz

The Historical and Cultural Center is one of the main French components of the Museum complex whose elements are scattered on both banks of the Rhine River. It is the only museum which focuses on history and has displays about the Celtic, Roman and medieval periods.

Lauterbourg

Remarkable architecture with its great doorway with a shattered pediment. Headquarters of the Tourist Information Office.
The magnificent Renaissance doorway from 1731 bears the arms of the town. Inside, on the stair landing, is the Roman Altar discovered in 1891 near the church. This Altar, dedicated to Jupiter, doubtless comes from a sacred location and bears witness to the Roman occupation of the site.
The clock mechanism, made by Schwilgué (1776-1856), the famous renovator of the clock in Strasbourg cathedral, told the time on the church bell tower until 1991.

Mothern

The “Maison de la Wacht”
The former residence of the town's night watchman, of which only the front section has been conserved and restored to its original condition, the house was built in the style typical of Alsace. The reception area of the Pays de Seltz – Lauterbourg Tourist Information Office is based here.
The rear section, rebuilt in a contemporary style, houses a permanent exhibition: “Once upon a time on the Rhine”.

Mothern

As long as the Rhine has been navigable, the villages situated along the river have provided a significant contingent of boatmen, incorporating a whole range of professions, from cabin boy to captain, from cook to mechanic. In the 1950s, Mothern numbered some 150 boatmen (almost a third of Mothern's households), who formed an association. They then erected a mast on the village square (Place de la Wacht), similar to a boat's mast, but much more imposing. On feast days, this mast is decorated with a multitude of pennants and banners in the colours of the nations and shipping companies present on the Rhine. It reminds us of the Rhine's important economic role for the villages along its course.

Mothern

Beam wells are relatively rare in Alsace. This technique was more commonly used in central Europe. The water would be drawn up using a counterweight and would then run down a chute into a stone trough, which could also be used to water livestock. The beam well can be seen in the centre of the village. A second beam well can be found opposite the town hall.

Lauterbourg

The Butchers' Tower and the remains of the surrounding wall. The tower is the sole survivor of the 15 towers that once stood in the medieval town.

Mothern

Permanent exhibition: "Once upon a time on the Rhine", recounting the Rhine through imaginings related to the river.

Lauterbourg

The Maison Adam - « M aison des J eunes et de la C ulture » is a 18th century's building, bequeathed to the town in 1913 by the mayor Adam. The Youth and Community Center (MJC) has moved into his beautiful residence in 1968.

Beinheim

Initially built in 1352 at the time of the Lords of Fleckenstein, it was subsequently destroyed. In 1806, it was rebuilt thanks to Louis Schneider and his wife, Catherine Meissert, who took care of its funding. The Pietà in the choir was installed during the same period.
This edifice, capped by a small steeple, has a large doorway supported on two wooden posts.
Outside and inside alike, friezes and other discreet embellishments, made by the artist, Hervé Eichwald, adorn the building.
The stained glass windows date from 1958.

Néewiller près Lauterbourg

In 1828, the mayor of the village, a certain Antoine Weiss, had a statue erected to St Anthony of Padua on the site of the present day chapel. The statue was then housed beneath an oratory. The miraculous cure of a Bohemian girl made this site a place of pilgrimage. In 1887, a chapel was built.
The chapel has an overhanging gable, finished off with a lovely iron cross. This gable partially conceals the small polygonal wooden steeple.

Seltz

The parish church dedicated to Saint Stephen sits atop a promontory overlooking the lower Rhine valley. It has been here almost as long as civilisation has existed in the region and has always occupied this strategic position, whether during the Celtic or Roman epoch. A Roman god (Vulcan) found on this spot can still be seen in a niche on the outer wall of the northern chapel.

Seltz, like the rest of Alsace, was then part of the Holy Roman Germanic Empire and enjoyed the special status of the abbey founded by the Empress Adelaide in the 10th century. This church replaced the original one, built on the plain on the banks of the Sauer, which was swept away by flooding. It was during that period, in 1357 to be precise, that the emperor elevated Seltz to the level of Imperial City.

On 18 April 1674, the King's dragoons burned Seltz to the ground, including the church. However, the outer walls, which remained standing, helped with its restoration in 1683.
The Jesuits ended up the winning side: in November 1684, Seltz church was handed back to the Catholic faith.
A new pulpit and a high altar in the Baroque style were installed towards 1709. And a new bell tower was erected against the northern side aisle outside the nave. It was topped with an onion-shaped roof typical of the times.
In 1898, it was pulled down again and replaced by bell tower in the Neo-Gothic style placed in the central line of the nave, which was extended by one bay. From its 62 metres, the bell tower dominated the town and the surrounding landscape.

The height of the bell tower was its downfall, however. On 28 May 1940, a shell fired by the Germany army caused it to collapse on to the nave and resulted in a violent conflagration. The roofs of the nave and the side aisles, the organs and the pulpit were completely destroyed by fire. Fortunately, the fire stopped before the side altars, sparing them and the choir. But only a building in ruins remained…

The people of Seltz quickly set about building a temporary place of worship close to the present day bridge over the Seltzbach. That building was in turn damaged by shell fire, but would be quickly restored. A temporary building that would nonetheless last for nearly 20 years.
Rebuilding work began in 1953.

On 21 June 1964, the church was finally consecrated. In September 1968, Schwenkedel installed a new organ. It replaced the one built by Stiehr-Mockers (famous organ makers from Seltz), which had been destroyed in 1940.

On 9 March 2006, the DRAC (Regional Directorate for Arts and Culture) added the entire building to the list of historic monuments.
INFO

Lauterbourg

This former powder magazine from 1708, capable of holding "95,000 pouches of powder", was purchased by the Protestant community in 1887. Converted into a place of worship, it was consecrated in 1888 and restored in 1952.

Lauterbourg

A majestic church overlooking the town. The visitor will notice the medieval bell tower, the Gothic choir from 1467, the immense nave from
1716 and the stained-glass windows, the baptismal fonts, the pulpit and the Stieffel organ from 1777 listed and restored in 1998.
From the terrace (a former cemetery), you can look out over the artful layout of the streets. On the lintel above the porch, the Latin inscription means, "I am here by the grace of God, favoured by peace, and with the help of the Town".

Mothern

Place convenient to the meditation. Situated on the road that leads to Neewiller, a Lourdes Grotto was constructed in 1901 by a couple who had lost two children shortly after their birth. The couple later experienced the joy of bringing two other children into the world.

Niederlauterbach

The chapel, rebuilt in 1757 on the site of an earlier one, was destroyed in 1940.
It could be found to the west of the village.
The chapel housed a number of monumental paintings, the majority by Oster of Strasbourg, dating from around 1830. They had been restored in around 1920 by the painters Fenger from Niederlauterbach and Eisenmann from Lauterbourg. It also housed numerous ex-votos but, apparently, none have survived.
The chapel has eleven stained glass windows in slab glass, works produced in 1962 by Tristan Ruhlmann. The nave contains six, illustrated with themes on the Virgin Mary, and the choir contains another four in geometrical designs, and the gable oculus.

Munchhausen

The church dates from 1840. It is in the Italian Renaissance style. It houses copies of a number of Italian works (paintings, sculptures, stained glass decorations, coffered ceiling).

Seltz

The Media Library offers its readers several kinds of documents: books for adults and children, DVDs, audio CDs.
Internet access, making copies, reserving books or renewing books on loan, as well as listening to music or watching films on request, are possible.
Likewise, an activities programme for young and old is also proposed throughout the year. on every first Wednesday of the month, at 10:30 in the morning, the baby reader (1 to 4 years of age) and, on the last Wednesday of the month, for children of 4 years old and older, there's Story Time. Activities for adults are also regularly proposed.
To liven up your holidays, a “Holidaymaker's Subscription” is also available from € 6.50 (with a security deposit of € 30). Loans are made for 21 days.

Lauterbourg

The film club is based in the north-east wing of Lauterbourg community hall. A proper movie theatre with comfortable seats invites you to catch up with recent releases twice a month on Saturdays at 5pm and 8pm, with lectures on particular themes… or even open-air showings in the summer season.