The best cycling routes around Carspach

Carspach – Front village and Kilian tunnel Carspach is located immediately west of Altkirch and became a front village during World War I. As early as September 26, 1914, German trenches ran from north to south through the municipality, while French positions were located to its west. The front remained here until the end of the war. The proximity to the combat positions made life increasingly dangerous for the civilian population. On December 15, 1915, the entire population was evacuated. The inhabitants were first taken on foot to Zillisheim and then by special trains to other parts of Alsace. They could only return after the armistice of November 11, 1918. In total, the war claimed 37 military and 10 civilian victims from Carspach. In 1922, the municipality was awarded the Croix de guerre with palm. Particularly significant is the Kilian tunnel on the Lerchenberg. The German underground shelter tunnel was built in 1915/16 directly behind the front line. The approximately 150-meter-long facility could theoretically accommodate around 500 soldiers and served as protection against French artillery fire. On March 18, 1918, the tunnel was partially buried by French artillery fire. Numerous German soldiers lost their lives in the process; 21 buried soldiers were only recovered during the archaeological excavation in 2011. The excavation made the Kilian tunnel an important archaeological testament to World War I. In addition to human remains, equipment and numerous everyday objects were found, providing an unusually detailed insight into the lives of soldiers in the underground trench system. Carspach thus connects front-line history, the civilian population, and modern war archaeology. The Kilian tunnel and the preserved fortification remnants make the former front landscape visible to this day. Particularly worth seeing: Monument Kilian tunnel and the preserved German and French fortifications.

Altkirch Altkirch is the historic capital of the Sundgau and lies on a striking rocky spur above the valley of the Ill. The town's origins date back to the Middle Ages. The Counts of Ferrette built Altkirch into a fortified town; from 1215 onwards, it was protected by town walls and towers. The characteristic layout, narrow streets, and remnants of the fortifications have been preserved from this medieval town plan to this day. Particularly worth seeing is the Vieille Porte, a former town gate from around 1245. For centuries, Altkirch was an important administrative and commercial center of the Sundgau. After the destructions of the Thirty Years' War, numerous buildings were newly erected. The representative town hall dates from the 18th century, built in 1778 according to plans by the Swabian architect Jean Nissler. In the 19th century, the town continued to develop: alongside its traditional importance as a market and trading place, industrial enterprises emerged, including the well-known Gilardoni brickworks. The 20th century also left its mark. After the First World War, Altkirch became part of the re-Frenchified Alsace. The memory of this period is evident, among other things, at the Vieille Porte, where a Borne Vauthier commemorates the former front line of 1918. The original Altkirch war memorial from 1927 was destroyed during the German occupation in the Second World War; preserved parts were later integrated into a new memorial. Today, Altkirch, with around 6,000 inhabitants, is an important center of the Sundgau. The historic upper town with its old houses, remnants of fortifications, the town hall, and the Sundgau Museum continues to shape the townscape. Source: Ville d’Altkirch – History of the town

Albert-Lucie Memorial The memorial near Heidwiller commemorates the French soldier Alfred „Albert“ Lucie, who fell in 1917 during the First World War at the age of just 20 in the Schönholz area. Lucie came from Nancy and belonged to the 60th Battalion of Chasseurs à pied, a French hunter unit. The Schönholz was part of the front in southern Alsace during the First World War. Traces of the fighting at the time are still preserved in the woods today, including former trenches and communication trenches. Relatives of Albert Lucie searched for the place of his death many decades later and, together with local history enthusiasts, were able to locate the spot where he had presumably fallen. The memorial thus stands not only for the fate of an individual soldier but also commemorates the numerous fallen whose deaths are difficult to reconstruct today. It is particularly noteworthy that the memory of Albert Lucie was revived by his family, thereby also bringing the history of the fighting in the Schönholz more into public awareness. Further information: DNA – Sur les traces d’un Poilu lorrain tombé au Schönholz or https://gw.geneanet.org/christianlucie?lang=fr&n=lucie&p=alfred+albert

Beautiful half-timbered houses. Few public benches. Those in front of the church and in the adjacent playground are not sheltered from the wind. If you have a picnic area to recommend, go for it, thank you.

Beautiful route, away from the roads so very pleasant

beautiful climb up to this point passing various circuits

Very nice bench with view for a rest

Beautiful cycle path EV6.