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Masevaux

HisTOrical BackgrOundThe origins of Masevaux date back to the 8th century.

According to legend, the Count Mason, nephew of Saint Odile (the patron saint of Alsace) built a sump-tuous castle at the top of the Schlossberg hill, at the entrance of Masevaux.

The Count Mason’s son drowned himself in the river Doller. Devastated by this death, the Count gave all of his wealth to create a Benedictine Abbey under the protection of Saint Léger and entrusted the nuns to guard the body of his son. For many years afterwards, the Monastery was a convent for young girls of noble birth and was headed by an Abbess.

Catherine II of Russia stayed at the Abbey around 1750.

During the Great War 1914-1918, the small town of Masevaux was the centre of the military administra-tion and the capital of the reconquered Alsace. That is why Masevaux welcomed many famous people, such as the French President, the Italian King, Georges Clemenceau, the Maréchaux Joffre and Petain, and many Generals of the Allied Army.

Masevaux, is the principal town (population 3500) of the Canton (District ) which is composed of 15 villages.

The town is located in the southern Vosges valley, which is domi nated by the Ballon d’Alsa-ce (1427m) and the Haute-Bers (1250m).

The river Doller, which flows through the valley has its source at 900m at Fennematt, allowed the growth of the textile and me -tal industry within the valley.

Masevaux, which is a very pret-ty and well kept town, with a pedestrian centre, warmly wel-comes people, both local and from afar. The town is beauti-fully decorated during the sum-mer months with floral displays, which won the National Prize in 2000, as well as in the win-ter months such as Easter and Christmas.

The main events are:- The International Organ fes-

tival- The Christ’s Passion play, uni-

que in the whole of Alsace since 1930 and is presented in the German language.

The various associations orga-nise events throughout the year, such as theatre, cinema, concerts, tradi tional festivals.

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PLACE DES ALLIES The Historical heart of the town since the 16th century, all events, such as festivals, fairs and the weekly Wednesday morning market, take place here.The fountain: decorated with a Corinth Column, dates back to the 17th century and is registered in the Historical Monuments inventory. It was made by the German sculptor Jean-Baptiste Sellinger.

PETITE VENISE From the bridge we have a pleasant view of the river Doller passing along the town centre houses ; this place is called Little Venice.During the 17th century and after the French Revolution the Tanning industry deve-loped in Masevaux. Several small family workshops stood along the river. From the bridge we can still see the stone-made places, where they worked the leather at the riverbank.

HALLE AUX BLES This old grain-store house was rebuilt in 1831 with stone from the Vosges Mountains: The stone is pink in colour. The building was formerly the main place of public and private events ; later it became the "salle de fêtes" and, even later, a gymnastic hall.

ROUE A AUBE ET SON PONTThe water wheel belonged to the old Burlklé factories, manufacturing harnesses, combs and ribbons. It has a diameter of 4.49m, a weight of 3.8 tons. In the 17th century the bridge was made of wood and called the Butchers' Bridge because of all the shops which were installed there. A new bridge was built but destroyed again by the Germans in 1944. The present one dates back to 1950.

HOTEL DE VILLEThe building of the Town Hall was the grea-test construction of the 18th century in Masevaux. A famous stone-mason called Maurice Neumann sculpted the twenty carved heads which deco-rate the openings. During a flood of the river Doller in 1778, the façade on the river side collapsed, but the building was not destroyed. The main façade has kept its original aspect.

TOURELLE DU BAILLIThe turret is located in the “Rue des Gants”, on the right side. This remar-kable construction hides a spiral staircase.The house was lived in by a certain Jacob Meyer in 1623, Bailli of the Mase-vaux Seigneury (equiva-lent of the Mayor).

RUE MEYENBERG Several buildings in this street date back to the beginning of the 19th cen-tury. The Lord’s house at number 15, was built during the 17th century.

EGLISE SAINT MARTIN ET SES ORGUES The church was built in 1786, when the first walls were constructed, cracks appeared on them, stopping work for many years. During this time the church became a store for planks of wood, a circus and theatre house and even a store for weapons. It was only in 1837 that work started again with the architect Kuen, finishing in 1842.In 1966 a great fire entirely des-troyed the church. It took five years to rebuild it again, in the original neoclassical design. The three statues above the entrance door represent the theological virtues: Faith, Charity and Hope.

Before the great fire the church housed the famous organs built by the Callinet brothers. These organs were as large as the Nave. The largest that the Callinet’s had ever made (19m). These organs were inaugura-ted with the church in 1842, unfortu-nately to be totally destroyed in the fire of 1966. A new organ was built in 1975 by Alfred Kern from Strasbourg, completed with a Schwenkedel heart organ (1972). Thanks to both of these instruments, the International Organ festival has taken place in Masevaux since 1977, contributing to Masevaux’s renown.

ABBAYE The Abbey was founded by the Count Mason in the 8th century. During the French Revolution of 1789 all its possessions were sold as National goods and redistributed.In 1859 a fire entirely destroyed the Nave and the Great Tower, which is now the car park. Today only the heart of the church remains, surrounded by a gable wall. The building now houses the Communauté de Communes (the main administration for the Doller Valley).

TOURELLE DES REMPARTS This rampart turret dates from the 14th century and is one of the few remaining town fortifications. In 1215 the Archduke Frederic II of Austria decided to build fortifications around Masevaux, then in the 14th century a double trench, three doors, four towers as well as turrets were added. Two of which remain today. These fortifications stood up to the English in 1375, the Burgundies in 1423 and the Swedish invaders during the Thirty Years War.The Turret was originally built from stones from the river Doller and was more impressive, being 1.50m higher than it is today.

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PLACE CLEMENCEAU In 1842 the place was entirely destroyed by a great fire: 76 buildings disappeared in flames. After this event the fountain was created. Decorated with the town’s old arms, it is named The Dolphin Fountain.

Historic heart

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Office de Tourisme1 Place Gayardon - BP 5 - 68290 MASEVAUX

Téléphone 03 89 82 41 99 Télécopie 03 89 82 49 44E-mail : masevaux@tourisme-alsace.info

http://www.ot-masevaux-doller.fr

Opening times of Masevaux Tourist office

In January, February, March, April, November and December:Monday to Friday from 9.00 to 12.00 and 14.00 to 18.00

Saturday from 9.00 to 12.00

In May, June, September and October:Monday to Friday from 9.00 to 12.00 and 14.00 to 18.00

Saturday from 9.00 to 12.00 and 14.00 to 17.00

In July and August:Monday to Friday from 9.00 to 12.00 and 14.00 to 18.00

Saturday from 9.00 to 12.00 and 14.00 to 17.00Sunday from 10.00 to 12.00

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