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Since December 30th, 1975 the natural Regional Preserve of Northern Vosges joined the other 30 National Preserves existing in France. The Natural Regional Preserve of Northern Vosges is ruled by an organization gathering the communes of the preserve, establishments of intercommunal cooperation, both departments of the Lower Rhine and Moselle, both Regions of Alsace and Lorraine and eventually, the State. This board of management is called « SYCOPARC» which is a mixed trade-union. It has been managed by a team of 17 skilled members with several aptitudes. The chairman is Mr. Jean WESTPHAL, General Councelor of the Department of Lower Rhine and Mayor of Ingwiller.
The Natural Regional Preserve spreads over 1.220Km2 in an area extending between Wissembourg, Saverne and Volmuster. It is located for the 2/3 in Alsace and for 1/3 in Lorraine. It is also close to the Natural Preserve of Palatinate, in Germany. The Natural Regional Preserve of Northern Vosges stands at an hour drive from Metz and a short hour drive from Strasbourg. Among the102 communes included in this natural preserve, 64 stand in the department of the Lower Rhine and 38 in the department of Moselle. They gather 76.000 inhabitants on the whole. The Natural Regional Preserve includes three types of landscape : the Alsatian Piemont, the Forest which covers 65% of its territory, and the plateau of Lorraine. The biodiversity of Northern Vosges constitutes an unprecedented natural whole in Europe. It is for all that wealth that the UNESCO granted this natural preserve with the label « World Preserve of the Biosphere» in 1989. More recently, in 1998, the UNESCO chose to create the first natural preserve beyond borders, in Europe. Various equipments for the discovery of nature have been set for the public in general and schools and youngsters in particular. For instance a nice tour is exploring the peat-bog path in Hanau, in the country of Bitche. The whole of the natural Regional Preserve of Northern Vosges gathers 627 ha of protected natural sites. Besides, its 1.084 Km of water streams make the Northern Vosges a real water tower. Those streams and rivers flow either towards the Rhine or towards the Moselle.
The Natural Regional Preserve of Northern Vosges shelters over 250 archeological sites of reference and one of the largest concentration of fortified castles and ruins of castles (35 on the whole). As an example let us mention the castle of Lichtenberg in the country of La Petite Pierre. There are many others, like those of Fleckenstein and Wasigenstein for instance. Other architectural and historical masterpiece stand on this comprehensive patrimonial list : the town of Art of Wissembourg which shelters the second gothic monument of Alsace, as well as Saverne also famous for its wonderful rosery or, Bitche and its citadel where an audio-visual and olfactive guided tour is offered. That is something unique in France. Many museums are scattered in Northern Vosges, offering a great diversity : historical, such as Phalsbourg's museum or some fortified refuges and battle sites ( the Maginot Line, the battle of 1870...), or technical museums like those of glass and cristal and the Iron museum in Reichshoffen, or the Oil museum in Merkwiller. There are also more traditional museums such as the museum for popular arts and traditions in La Petite Pierre or the one in Pfaffenhoffen about painted imagery. Some 15 circuits refering to architecture and history are available making it possible the discovery and interpretation of this patrimony with an abundant documentation at disposal.
The natural preserve counts 1.648 Km of marked out hike trails in perfect maintenance owing to the «Club Vosgien». Those trails are superbly detailed on the club's maps. Casual kinds of excursions are also available for hikers or bikers, allowing a cultural exploration of the sites including hotel accomodations and luggage forwarding from stage to stage. These sporting and cultural excursions are enabled by a whole of 34 proper equipments including museums, castles and sites exposure with reception centres scattered throughout the Natural Regional Preserve of Northern Vosges. There are also 20 sets of equipment fit for nature exploration and some other 15 proper historical and architectural circuits . Thus a hiker or a biker can have both : the sporting exploration of a great biodiversity and the tour of some masterpiece of History. It is also convenient to remind that Northern Vosges count up 297 touristic companies and offer a capacity of more than 11.000 beds besides many other accomodations available in private homes. |
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