Munster Valley Tourist Office
Munster Valley Tourist Office
Munster Valley Tourist Office
Munster Valley Tourist Office
We celebrated the 2023th anniversary in 150e anniversary of the Vosges Club of the Munster Valley, founded on 1er January 1873 at the initiative of General Guard SCHWARZ and 16 other notables from Munster. It was the 11the local association of the “Vogesenclub”, founded on October 31, 1872 by Richard STIEVE, judge at the Saverne court. Since then, 19 other presidents have led our association:
Under his presidency, the Vosges Club increased its membership from 20 to 125 members.
Access to the lakes was his priority. The first marking works were undertaken on interesting routes: first the large valley, the ridge and the small valley. He was at the base of the marking of the first trails, such as the Wormsa (created in 1850 by the industrialist Jacques HARTMANN for the raising of the dam of the Fischboedle lake), Schiessrothried, Frankenthal, Gaschney, Glasborn, Kastelberg.
On December 31, 1878, the Vosges Club was recognized as a “Public Utility Association.”
The community owes to President Immer the transformation of a refuge at Lake Fischboedle, a gift from Frédéric HARTMANN.
It is worth mentioning that the first Alsatian president of the valley had difficulties to overcome, due to the political steering of the officials of "Kaiserreich".
First hiking map in 1886. Curt MUNDEL's guide "Die Vogesen" (1881) was appreciated for its precision of descriptions and routes. It was followed by others in the early 1900s to 1914 and taken up again in 1920 until today.
Under his presidency, the general assembly and the congress of the sections of the Vosges Club took place in Munster in 1894. He created the trails from Altenweiher to Kerbholz, from Soultzbach to Strohberg, Ried and Petit Ballon.
In 1897, the Vosges Club designed the 430 km crossing of the Vosges massif, marked by a red rectangle which is now part of the GR5 which links the North Sea to the Mediterranean and which crosses our Munster Valley. On its route, the Rocher des Sources between the Schlucht and the Hohneck was bordered by Guardrails.
He continued the marking work started by his predecessors, notably by creating new routes: Glasborn, Katzensteine, from Baerenstall to Soultzerer Eck, Steinabruck to Lake Schiessrothried. The Fischboedle refuge was restored.
In 1905 he published “Über Waldschutz und Pflege des Wadschönen” on nature protection.
In 1905, the Munster section had 260 members. At that time the annual fee was 4 Reichsmark and the sector covered an area of 12 hectares.
Under his presidency, a multitude of activities were born within the Vosges Club: cultural events, themed conference evenings, stories of hikes and extended stays elsewhere than in Alsace, musical evenings, creation of a library.
On May 23, 1909, he inaugurated the monument to the memory of Frédéric KISCHLEGER, a botanist who traveled our valleys and valleys for half a century, combining the fervor of nature with his dedication to science. We can say that the latter was a precursor of the Vosges Club because he founded the Philomatic Society in 1860 and joined the Alsato-Vosgienne society of Doctor FAUDEL of Colmar. Unfortunately, the war of 1970 interrupted the tourist aspirations in our region.
Creator of the Sentier des roches, inaugurated on August 6, 1911, which would also be called "Strohmeyerpfad". At the time, people were surprised by the audacity of the project, and it was believed that several years would be needed to overcome all the difficulties presented by its route. But thanks to the tireless commitment of the general forest ranger and the significant support provided by Mr. André HARTMANN, the work was able to progress very quickly. The contractor A. SCANDELLA from Stosswihr did his best to carry out the work. The iron balustrades were installed in this difficult terrain by the master blacksmith SCHWENCK from Stosswihr. Fortunately, there were no accidents to deplore, apart from the minor fall of an Italian worker towards the end of the work.
That said, other trails of the same type have emerged: La Bloy, a link between Frankenthal and Gaschney, the Hirschsteine in 1909, the trail from Ammelthal to Spitzkoepfe, the climb of Schaeferthal, formerly used by transhumance cows.
The creation of these trails only helped to advance tourism, and the Hautes Vosges became a major attraction for all the leisure activities that developed. A major event only accelerated the phenomenon: the construction of the electric rack tramway, linking Munster station to the Col de la Schlucht, making the connection with the already existing Gérardmer - Schlucht - summit of Hohneck, which operated from 1907 until 1914.
The war wreaked havoc in the valley, destroying villages that are now nothing more than ruins. The border between Germany and France passed through the Grande Crête. The positions conquered in the valley and the surrounding area varied according to the positions of the troops. Trench warfare was born. It would last until 1918. During this war, buildings, shelters, markings, signage, and works of the Vosges Club since 1873 were either destroyed or seriously damaged.
On May 6, 1920, a general meeting was held in Colmar at the Café Vauban to revive the Munster section of the Vosges Club. The new president had to re-establish the Vosges Club of Munster, which in 1914 had 203 members and whose number had fallen to zero during the war, it had risen in 1923 to 281 members. His task proved overwhelming.
In 1921, the Vosges Club received a monopoly on trail marking.
Mr. Erichson and his team of volunteers have undertaken extraordinary work to restore the pedestrian network and its signage.
He is also credited with transferring war damages from the former Fischboedle lake shelter in 1928 to rent land from the municipality of Soultzeren in Gaertlesrein and to build a permanent chalet on this site.
The period from 1923 to 1930 was marked by a major event: the creation of the Metzeral section of the Vosges Club. Indeed, Jacques IMMER, an industrialist in Metzeral in 1923, at the head of a delegation of citizens from Metzeral, Mittlach, Sondernach and Muhlbach, dissatisfied with the slow pace of the restoration of the hiking trails at the bottom of the large valley, and this four years after the hostilities of the First World War, decided to take action. Of course, this decision had caused a stir between the Munster section, its president Erichson and the central committee in Strasbourg. After an exchange of letters and contacts between the two parties, the Metzeral section of the Vosges Club was created in 1923 with Jacques IMMER as president until 1935. From 1936 to 1940, he was replaced by Charles BOEMER.
The “Hundred Walks” guide was revised and republished in 1924, with half in French and half in German.
Inauguration in 1932 of the Chalet Erichson, named in homage to the latter who was unable to inaugurate it, having died in October 1930.
The Hischsteine – Baerenbach trail was completely rebuilt. The section then had 340 members.
During the period from 1940 to 1945, the sections of the Vosges Club were put on hold. In 1945, the Vosges Club of Munster had only 45 members. After the war, no president appeared in Metzeral. However, in 1962, Jean GAEBELE, well known in the valley, tried to re-establish the Metzeral section, but in vain.
The former members of the Metzeral section who are still alive have reintegrated the Munster section, with the territory formerly allocated and the network of trails. This has resulted in the Vosges Club of Munster currently maintaining 470 kilometres of marked trails alone.
The occupation of the site by the military, the fighting in 1939 and 1944 left traces on the trails: the markings, footbridges, bridges and other elements were damaged: 90% of the signposts and more than 1500 plaques had disappeared. The Gaertlesrain chalet had been requisitioned and served as a refuge for forest rangers. It had been found in a deplorable state. The wounds had to be healed. It was to this work of reconstruction that the new committee courageously set about. In 1946 nearly 200 members had enlisted, there were 240 in 1949.
During this period, tourism was reawakened. The era of the automobile as a popular means of transport was born. Circular self-guided walking tours were born. The Vosges Club had to adapt to this. The guide of 100 walks was reissued to replace all other guides and maps that had existed since 1886.
During the same period, the mountain pastures on the Hautes-Chaumes, due to the influx of hikers and then motorists and the arrival of coaches, had to adapt to the situation. For the most part, they transformed their mountain pastures or at least enlarged the reception room in order to accommodate this new influx of tourists. They became farm inns with a completely different view of the farm of yesteryear. The farm was mechanized, tractors adapted to the mountains appeared. Milking cows became mechanical. The production of Munster cheese fortunately remained the same.
The Vosges Club also had to adapt to the situation. The signage was reviewed and redirected towards the farm inns by creating new routes. New guides and maps were updated or created linking the farm inns, the Vosges Club and self-guided walking circuits (Reissue of the guide to the 100 walks of the Munster Valley in 1980 and the Vosges guide in 7 volumes by Jean BRAUN in 1981).
Nature protection is starting to worry a lot of people. With the influx of cars, the greenhouse effect was noted by scientists. The protection of the capercaillie, the Colmar-Metzeral line becomes a priority at the time. President Herzog signed for the protected site of Breitfirst-Hilsen-Klintzkopf for the capercaillie.
Under the presidency of Émile HERTZOG, the restoration of the orientation table at Hohneck was undertaken, as well as the platform of the viewpoint halfway along the rock path. Tables and benches were installed mainly at the viewpoints on different routes in the valley. The land of the Chalet Erichson was purchased from the Communs de Soultzeren in 1961.
Robert NEUNLIST continued the work undertaken by Emile HERTZOG and the membership grew to reach 660 members in 1995. Trips to Switzerland, Austria and Spain were organized. The Vosges Club escaped to see other horizons, modern means of transport made it possible.
After the death of Emile HERTZOG, the members of the Vosges Club wanted to honor the man by dedicating the Eschbach-Buchwald yellow triangle route (Herzog trail) to him as well as a stele with his name in Buchwald.
In 1993 he republished the "Guide for walkers and tourists - 100 walks and hikes" in French and German.
After changing the statutes, the Vosges Club section became the Vosges Club association of Munster. Its members are all volunteers and the association is affiliated with the Vosges Club Federation in Strasbourg.
The city of Munster made available the former workshop of the municipal workers, which the volunteers restored (painting, electricity, etc.). The Grande Vallée work team, in turn, built a material depot on land made available by the municipality of Metzeral.
A 4x4 vehicle with trailer was purchased, more practical than the old van for trips in the mountains.
Renovation of the Hohneck trails with the PRNBV and young volunteers from the GRS - Frankental footbridges (refurbishment, i.e. safety of the cables replacing the guardrails of the Roches and Hirschsteine trails), renovation after landslide of the Ameltal trail at Spitzkopfe, with young soldiers from the PGM of Munster, replacement of footbridges in the Wormsa valley, in the Leibeltal, on the Crête, GR5, Soultzeren, etc.
At the beginning of 2000 until June of the same year, an additional effort was requested from the work teams for the restoration of the damage caused by the storm "Lothar". Exemplary coordination took place with the foresters, loggers, municipalities and members of the 2 work teams by clearing, diverting, repairing the paths and footbridges.
The work with young people, such as students from various countries, for the renovation of the Hohneck, the GRS, the Trois Fours as well as the APPART team from Munster for the renovation of the health trail at Dubach, Hohneck, Katzensteine... were exemplary and deserve to be mentioned.
In the field of nature protection, the Vosges Club sits on various commissions, notably the Ballons des Vosges Regional Natural Park, Natura 2000, the Frankenthal reserve, the department's PNPP commission, the Haut Rhin sites commission, and Kurt MULLER is appointed president of the environment commission at the Federation.
Creation of two new hiking guides in the form of 20 practical sheets.
The creation in 1998 of the first Christmas night walk, followed in 2002 by a mountain festival at Gaertlesrain, gave a good boost to tourism at the Vosges Club. This walk still takes place every year on the last Saturday of Advent.
On July 27, 2006, an article in the DNA "Des envies d'éclaircies" illustrates the struggle of the Vosges Club for the Protection of Nature, Heritage and Landscapes (PNPP) to prevent meadows that are no longer used as pastures from being invaded by forest, and to prevent our magnificent viewpoints from being closed.
In November 2006 the Munster association erected a memorial in the Wormsa valley in memory of Mr. IMMER. The memorial was designed by Jean GAEBELE from Metzeral in the summer of 2006.
A granite rock engraved with the name of Robert NEUNLIST was inaugurated in the spring of 2006 on the path called “NEUNLIST trail” between Lac du Forlet and La Crête, in memory of this president.
In 2008 construction of the gazebo at Lake Fischboedle.
From 2008 to 2014, our vice-president Frédéric LUNG was appointed president of the Nature, Heritage and Landscape Protection Commission (PNPP) at the Vosges Clubs Federation. He will never stop fighting alongside elected officials for the opening up of our landscapes.
Revision of the CVVM statutes in 2009. The Vosges Club of Munster becomes the Vosges Club of the Munster Valley.
On May 1, 2010, the first "trail opening" ceremony took place with 12 hikes to check the condition of the trails after the winter period, symbolically ending with the handing over of the trail key to the director of the Tourist Office during a friendly ceremony. This celebration, initiated by Frédéric LUNG, has been held every year since that date.
In 2010, the Sentier des Roches was completely restored by replacing all the exterior railings with handrails sealed on the rock side, which are stronger and safer. Construction of a metal bridge with the participation of the LAEMMEL company. The centenary of its construction was celebrated on August 4 (although it was inaugurated in 1911) in the presence of descendants of the creator of the trail Henri STROHMEYER and many personalities.
André HUGUELIN created the "Marker's File" with maps of marked trails where all the signs are listed.
In 2012, the IGN map of the Munster Valley was created at a scale of 1/25, after tough negotiations with the IGN and the Federation. In fact, it used to be necessary to have 000 IGN maps to hike in the entire Valley. This updated map is still on sale at the Tourist Office and bookstores in the region.
In 2014, an explanatory panel was installed near the geographic coordinate point 48° / 7° by Frédéric LUNG.
In 2016, first introductions to Nordic walking and orienteering, followed in 2017 by the creation of a Nordic Walking section.
In 2018, publication of the hiking guide “20 pleasant walks in the Munster Valley” thanks to Frédéric LUNG and the participation of hiking guides.
On Sunday June 10, 2018, the Vosges Club of the Munster Valley organized, on behalf of the Federation, the 6th Nordic walking festival, which helped to raise awareness of our Club and rejuvenate its image.
The year 2020 saw the installation of a new Gloriette at the Chalet Erichson which allows hikers to take shelter even if the chalet is closed, and 2021 saw the installation of a sanitation system sized to accommodate the 200 people at the mountain festival as well as the repair of the spring catchment reservoir.
Our 470 km of trails have all been digitized by GPS, and recorded in a tablet application called "Guide du baliseur" which includes an interactive map that refers to each of our 103 routes, with links to the 2023 photos of the trail junctions and their signposts. This data is transmitted to the IGN for the continuous updating of the cartography.
In 2024, across our 470 km of trails, our 34 volunteers from the four work teams had to work tirelessly to clear trees that had fallen during storms and dig through trails eroded by bad weather, a total of 4 hours of work. 5340 hikers and Nordic walkers participated in the 3095 outings led by our guides. The trail opening, the mountain festival, the Nordic walking festival, and the second edition of the pink walk were all a great success. The volunteers at the Erichson chalet served more than 228 hikers, and work has begun on the chalet's extension.
On March 14, 2025, during the meeting of the steering committee, Jean-Daniel CHAPOT was elected president of the CVVM, Gérard HEINRICH remaining vice-president in charge of work teams and external relations.
Sources:
The centenary of the Vosges Club of Munster 1873-1973 (Booklet).
History of the Vosges Club by Kurt MULLER (Presented at the Munster Valley History Society - 2007).
The President’s word: R. NEUNLIST (undated).
15 years of Club Vosgien by Frédéric LUNG.
Munster Valley Tourist Office 2024
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