Stosswihr

Stosswihr, an Alsatian village with 1,425 inhabitants (INSEE 2006 figures) covering 2,640 hectares, is one of the oldest in the Munster valley. According to legend, Scottish or Irish monks settled as early as 634 at a place called Schweinsbach, where they founded Saint Gregory Abbey around 660 at the confluence of the two Fecht rivers. The village, mentioned in 783 as Stozzovilare and in 817 as Scotenwilre, only took its current name in the 13th century with the appearance of the area called Ampfersbach. From 1287 until the Revolution, Stosswihr was part of the Community of the Valley and the City of Munster. In 1543, its inhabitants adopted the Lutheran Reformation. Largely destroyed during World War I, the village was almost entirely rebuilt after the armistice.

Among the sites to discover, the oil mill, with first records dating back to 1727, was rebuilt in 1919 after its destruction during 1914-1918. Powered by the Petite Fecht via a diverted canal, it had a water wheel installed in 1920 and supplied local grocery stores with walnut oil until the interwar period. The Schweinsbach chapel, blessed in 1891, was severely damaged during the Great War before being restored in 1923.

The Protestant church of Kilbel, inaugurated in 1858, was almost completely destroyed in 1915 and rebuilt in 1926. The Catholic church of Mary Help of Christians, blessed in 1869, suffered the same fate in 1915 before being rebuilt in 1926; only the statue of the Virgin, erected in 1888, survived the conflicts intact. The town hall, inaugurated in 1923, also bears witness to this reconstruction period.

The watch turret, installed on the boundary wall of La Moraine in the Ampfersbach valley, comes from the old Strasbourg fortifications built by Vauban after 1681. It was acquired after these fortifications were dismantled following the 1870 war.

For hiking enthusiasts, the Vosgien Club offers several routes starting from the town hall, leading to Rebberg, Schupferen, Schantzwasen, or the Green Lake. Other departures are possible from the base of the waterfalls to explore Frankental, Hohneck, Gaschney, the Stoltz Ablass falls and bridges, the rock trail, the peat bog, or the Dagobert cave, where the king is said to have taken refuge.