The best walks and hikes around Eichhofen

The municipality of Mittelbergheim is located on the eastern edge of the Northern Vosges in the Bas Rhin department, belongs to the arrondissement of Sélestat-Erstein and the canton of Obernai. The village, with around 600 inhabitants, is located on the Route des Vins between Andlau and Barr and is about 25 km from Strasbourg, which lies to the northeast. The municipality is counted among the most beautiful villages in France by the association Les plus beaux villages de France.

In his meditation on the Stations of the Cross with the Holy Father – on Good Friday 2025 in the Roman Colosseum – Pope Francis, who died on Easter Monday of this year, invited us to let Jesus on the cross look at us. A few short sentences from this meditation seem to me to fit well with the small sacred memorial located here: + “We go our usual ways and you come towards us. Your eyes look into our hearts. (…) Jesus is your name, and truly, ‘God saves’ through you. The God of Abraham who calls, the God of Isaac who cares, the God of Jacob who blesses, the God of Israel who delivers: in your gaze, Lord, … lies a whole revelation. In your footsteps leading out of the city, we see our departure into a new land. You came to change the world: for us, this means changing direction, seeing the good you have left behind, and allowing the memory of your gaze to continue to work in our hearts.” (Pope Francis)

The castle was built between 1197 and 1200 by Konrad von Landsberg to fortify the abbeys of Hohenburg, Niedermünster, and Andlau, and to serve as a refuge for Niedernaier Castle in times of danger. By the 15th century, the castle was said to have been in poor condition, and in 1632, it was completely destroyed by the Swedes during the Thirty Years' War. During the French Revolution, the castle, like its neighbor, Hohenburg-Andlau Castle, was sold as national property. Today, the castle, which is owned by the von Türckheim family, is undergoing extensive restoration work and excavations.

Built in 1247 to control the valley and the neighboring abbey, the castle features a large, 24-meter-high square tower and a courtyard. Fragments of polychrome frescoes can be seen on one of the ruins' arches—with the carved chimney gables, they display a rare level of sophistication in the 14th century. Over the past 20 years, it has been restored, making it more accessible.

The castle was built around 1264 by the Lords of Andlau, Knights of the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation, and was largely spared the destructive fury of the Thirty Years' War. During the French Revolution, the castle was confiscated as national property and sold to a merchant in 1796, who resold it piece by piece from 1806 onward, without much notice. In 1818, the Andlau family bought back the castle to preserve its remains. This painstaking and meticulous work is now undertaken by the association "Les Amis du Château d'Andlau" (Friends of the Castle of Andlau).

Magnificent viewpoint with a bench overlooking the village of Andlau and the Alsace plain

Beautiful castle ruins. The view of the valley is also magnificent. :)

Each of these crosses, which bikers often come across in the fields or, as here in Andlau, on prominent points in the mountains with a wide view of the surrounding landscape, are a sign of remembrance of the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ. "Here on earth there is His memory, but in the kingdom of heaven there is His presence: this presence is the joy of those who have already attained salvation. The memory is our consolation, as we are still wanderers and journeying towards the fatherland." (Bernard of Clairvaux)