Heiligenberg

Perched at the entrance to the Bruche Valley, in the foothills of the Vosges, Heiligenberg is a small village located 25 km west of Strasbourg. Its name, meaning "holy mountain" or "sacred mountain," already evokes the serenity that reigns there, far from urban bustle. The village is home to a church built between 1865 and 1869, replacing an old chapel of the castle, dedicated to Saint Vincent. Inside, a STIEHR organ from 1869, restored in 2007 by Dietmar Schömer, still resonates today. Heiligenberg is also known for its replica of the Massabielle grotto in Lourdes, carved into sandstone rocks and inaugurated in 1928.

During the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-1871, a French balloon named Montgolfier landed there, while a Prussian garrison settled in Mutzig. According to local legend, the hill's rocks come from a castle built by Satan and destroyed by the archangel Saint Michael, a story immortalized by the poem *Das Teufelsschloss* by poet Ehrenfried Stöber (1779-1835).