Griesbach-au-Val

Griesbach-au-Val, an Alsatian village with 770 inhabitants (INSEE 2006) covering 473 hectares, has a name meaning "place near the sandy stream." Its history dates back to 1239, when the Munster Abbey owned a manorial court there, the Meyerhof. Over the centuries, the village changed hands several times: pledged to the Hattstatt family, then to the Ribeaupierre family in 1434, it became a fief of the Truchsess of Rheinfelden before returning to the Ribeaupierre until the Revolution. Above the village stand the imposing ruins of Schwarzenbourg Castle, built in 1261 by Gauthier de Géroldseck. This fortress, considered one of the most accomplished in Alsace during the Middle Ages, witnessed significant events such as the imprisonment of Walther Roesselmann, provost of Colmar, who died there in 1294. Destroyed during the Thirty Years' War, it was later incorporated into a romantic garden in the 19th century and used as a military observatory during World War I. A local legend speaks of hidden treasures in its underground passages and ghostly apparitions, including a white lady and an enchanted owl. The Meyerhof, a 16th-century farm, reflects the village's agricultural history, managed by the lord's steward appointed by the abbey. For nature lovers, Griesbach-au-Val offers four marked hiking trails crossing the communal forest. These routes, with evocative names like the Chestnut Grove, Oak Grove, Fir Grove, and Beech Grove, vary from one to three hours and connect to other Club Vosgien trails leading to Wasserbourg, Kahlenwasen, or Rothenbrunnen. A local curiosity, Napoleon Square or Terrace, is named after an Emperor's horse buried there after the Hundred Days.