FRANCE || Strasbourg & Alsace - travel vlog (Colmar, Eguisheim, Riquewihr) 15 Degrees North

15° North are travelling again! This time we are heading to France, to visit the Christmas capital of Europe: Strasbourg and Alsace. There, we visit: Colmar, Eguisheim, Riquewihr, Ribeauville, Kaysersberg, Obernai, Chateau du Haut-Koenigsbourg, Alsace-Moselle Memorial & Nancy in nearby Lorraine. Oh, and the European Parliament too!
Jérémy and Ben here again! We love to travel and to satisfy our wanderlust, we are on a European roadtrip exploring the best places for a city break on the continent. We love to escape Britain to experience the best culture, cuisine and attractions that Europe has to offer. If you’re a tourist like us and just need a good itinerary for what to do and how to do it when you’re in Alsace, we will show you the best things to put on your itinerary.
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Transcript:
Alsace is the easternmost region of France, bordering Germany. Having changed hands multiple times over the centuries, don’t let its Germanic place names fool you into thinking the people feel any less French than they are.
One place that has sat on both sides of the border multiple times is the region’s capital, Strasbourg. The eighth largest city in France, it straddles the River Rhine, which makes up the border with Germany, meaning that some of its suburbs are indeed not in France.
Strasbourg was ruled by a series of bishops, hence why its cathedral is known as one of the finest Gothic cathedrals in Europe. However the people eventually rebelled and the city became fully independent city state over four centuries. That was until Louis XIV conquered it in 1681 and incorporated it into the Kingdom of France. It was then claimed by Germany in the Franco-Prussian War, by France after World War 1, by Germany at the start of World War 2 and then back to France in 1944.
Today, its position right at the heart of Western Europe is why it is one of the four capitals of the European Union alongside Brussels, Luxembourg and Frankfurt. It houses the Council of Europe, the International Institute of Human Rights and the European Parliament.
To understand Alsace, you really do need to understand what happened in the region between the start of the Franco-Prussian War and the end of World War 2. We highly suggest a visit to the Alsace-Moselle Memorial in Schirmeck. The town was the location of the only concentration camp in France and the museum tells the story of how Alsatians were conscripted into the German Army and forced to fight against fellow French citizens. At the outbreak of war, the French government conducted a mass evacuation of Alsace, encouraging as many people as possible to relocate to the south. Many of them did, but many of those who didn’t did so remembering how valued they had been by the German government during their previous peace-time occupation. But history was not going to repeat itself, because like any territory occupied by the Nazis, vicious fascism and the holocaust would leave deep and incurable scars on the region.
The colourful timber-framed houses are clustered in countless towns and villages, making for picture-postcard street-scenes all over the area. In winter, this is an area that does Christmas in a big way, but in summer, it does wine in an even bigger way, with its mile upon mile of rolling vineyards making it one of the biggest wine-producing regions in France.
The houses are painted in multiple colours because each colour used to represent the trade of the person who lived inside. In the time before everyone could read, it was a handy way to find the services people needed without reading any boring signs. For example, if a house is red, it was the house of a butcher. But if a house is blue, it was the home of a fisherman.
One spot that really exemplifies the Germanic influence on the region is the Chateau du Haut-Koenigsburg. A medieval fortress owned by the Duke of Lorraine, it fell into disrepair in the fifteenth century and lay in ruins for centuries. Then, after the Franco-Prussian War, Kaiser Wilhelm II decided to restore it to its former glory. And embellish it all the more. Essentially, he wanted to build something remarkable that he could show off as something gloriously German in the region. And, for a time, it worked. Its rapid restoration lasted only eight years and provided jobs for scores of people in the area. It cost him an enormous amount of money, so determined was he to give a glorious present to Alsace. But then World War One got in the way, but at least he finished it. And the result is something really quite remarkable.