Avolsheim

Avolsheim, nestled west of Strasbourg at the foot of the Alsace Wine Route, is set in a landscape of vineyards and wheat fields. This village, without walls in the Middle Ages, owes its name to the German word *offen* ("open"), reflecting its status as an accessible town. Today, it is a major cycling hub, crossed by two iconic bike routes: the vineyard route and the Bruche Canal route, linking Strasbourg to Molsheim and beyond Alsace. Its religious heritage is remarkable: the Dompeter church, one of the oldest in Alsace, dates from the 11th-12th centuries, although its foundations go back to the 8th century. In the heart of the village, the Saint-Ulrich chapel, shaped like a four-leaf clover, houses 12th-century medieval frescoes. Nearby, the sluices of the Avolsheim dam, built in 1682 on Vauban's orders, regulate the Bruche Canal, designed to compensate for the insufficient flow of the Mossig and transport stones from the royal quarry to the Strasbourg citadel. Finally, Avolsheim is crossed by marked trails, including the Saint James Way, offering routes to Strasbourg or Molsheim.