Office de Tourisme de la Vallée de Munster
Office de Tourisme de la Vallée de Munster
January 1, 1873 Founded by Mr. SCHWARTZ, Garde Général des Eaux et Forêts
In 2023, we celebrated the 150th anniversary of the Club Vosgien de la Vallée de Munster, founded on January 1, 1873 on the initiative of Garde Général SCHWARZ and 16 other Munster notables. It was the 11th 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:
1874 Presidency of Mr. CRAMER, principal of Munster secondary school.
Under his presidency, the Club Vosgien increased its membership from 20 to 125.
Access to the lakes was his priority. The first staking works were undertaken on interesting routes: first the grande vallée, the crête and the petite vallée. He was responsible for marking the first trails, such as the Wormsa (created in 1850 by industrialist Jacques HARTMANN to raise the dike at Lake Fischboedle), Schiessrothried, Frankenthal, Gaschney, Glasborn and Kastelberg.
1877 Presidency of Mr. JACOBS, secondary school teacher
On December 31, 1878, the Club Vosgien is recognized as a “public utility association”.
1881 Presidency by Emile IMMER, industrialist in Metzeral
The community owes President Immer the conversion of a refuge at Lac du Fischboedle, donated by Frédéric HARTMANN.
It’s worth mentioning that the valley’s first Alsatian president had his work cut out for him by the political leadership of Kaiserreich officials.
First hiking map in 1886. Curt MUNDEL’s guide “Die Vogesen” (1881) was appreciated for its precise descriptions and itineraries. It was followed by others from 1900 to 1914, and then again in 1920, right up to the present day.
1891 Presidency of Michel HEID, teacher
Under his presidency, the general meeting and section congress of the Club Vosgien were held in Munster in 1894. He created the trails from Altenweiher to Kerbholz, from Soultzbach to Strohberg, the Ried and Petit Ballon.
In 1897, the Club Vosgien conceived the 430 km crossing of the Vosges massif, marked by a red rectangle, which is now part of the GR5 linking the North Sea to the Mediterranean and crossing our Munster Valley. On its route, the Rocher des Sources between the Schlucht and the Hohneck was lined with Guardrails.
1903 Presidency of Paul GLASMACHER, General Warden
He continued the staking work begun by his predecessors, creating new routes: Glasborn, Katzensteine, Baerenstall to Soultzerer Eck, Steinabruck to Schiessrothried lake. The Fischboedle hut was refurbished.
In 1905 he published “Über Waldschutz und Pflege des Wadschönen” on nature conservation.
In 1905, the Munster branch had 260 members. At the time, the annual membership fee was 4 Reichsmark, and the area covered 12,000 hectares.
1907 Presidency of Pierre SPINDLER, doctor, mayor of Munster
Under his presidency, the Club Vosgien embarked on a multitude of activities: cultural events, themed lecture evenings, hike reports and extended stays outside Alsace, musical evenings, creation of a library.
On May 23, 1909, he inaugurated a monument in memory of Frédéric KISCHLEGER, a botanist who spent half a century roaming our balloons and valleys, combining his fervor for nature with his devotion to science. He was also a precursor of the Club Vosgien, founding the Philomatic Society in 1860 and joining Dr. FAUDEL’s Alsato-Vosgienne Society in Colmar. Alas, the war of 1970 interrupted tourist aspirations in our region.
1909 Presidency of Heinrich STROHMEYER, General Warden
Creator of the Sentier des roches, inaugurated on August 6, 1911, also known as the “Strohmeyerpfad”. At the time, people were surprised by the boldness of the project, and thought it would take several years to overcome all the difficulties presented by its route. But thanks to the tireless commitment of the General Forester and the strong support of André HARTMANN, the work progressed rapidly. Contractor A. SCANDELLA of Stosswihr did his best to complete the work. The iron railings were installed in this difficult terrain by master blacksmith SCHWENCK from Stosswihr. Fortunately, there were no accidents, apart from a minor fall by an Italian worker towards the end of the work.
That said, other trails of the same type have been created: La Bloy, linking Frankenthal and Gaschney, the Hirschsteine in 1909, the Ammelthal to Spitzkoepfe trail, the Schaeferthal ascent, once used by transhumant cows.
The creation of these trails only served to boost tourism, and the High Vosges became a major attraction for all the leisure activities that developed. The construction of the electric rack-and-pinion tramway from Munster station to the Col de la Schlucht, linking up with the existing Gérardmer – Schlucht – sommet du Hohneck tramway, which ran from 1907 to 1914, only accelerated the phenomenon.
1914-1918 First World War
The war wreaked havoc in the valley, leaving villages in ruins. The border between Germany and France passed through the Grande Crête. The positions conquered in and around the valley varied according to the position of the troops. Trench warfare was born. It lasted until 1918. During this war, the buildings, shelters, staking, signposting and signposting that had been the work of the Club Vosgien since 1873 were either destroyed or seriously damaged.
1920 Presidency of Jean SPIESER-SCHEURER
On May 6, 1920, a general meeting was held in Colmar at the Café Vauban to revive the Munster section of the Club Vosgien. The new president had to re-establish the Club Vosgien de Munster, which had grown from 203 members in 1914 to zero during the war, and 281 in 1923. His task proved overwhelming.
In 1921, the Club Vosgien was given a monopoly on path marking.
1923 Presidency of Gauthier ERICHSON, textile engineer at Hartmann establishments
Erichson and his team of volunteers undertook extraordinary work to restore the hiking network and its signposting.
He is also credited with transferring the war damage from the former Fischboedle lake shelter in 1928, to lease land from the Soultzeren commune at the Gaertlesrein and build a permanent chalet there.
The period from 1923 to 1930 was marked by a major event: the creation of the Club Vosgien de Metzeral section. Jacques IMMER, an industrialist in Metzeral in 1923, led a delegation of citizens from Metzeral, Mittlach, Sondernach and Muhlbach, dissatisfied with the slow pace of restoration of the hiking trails at the bottom of the great valley, four years after the hostilities of the First World War, decided to take action. Naturally, this decision 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 Club Vosgien de Metzeral section came into being in 1923, with Jacques IMMER as president until 1935. From 1936 to 1940, he was succeeded by Charles BOEMER.
The “One Hundred Walks” guide was revised and reissued in 1924, with half in French and half in German.
1931 Presidency of Robert RUCKSTUHL, then Adolphe EMIG, Director of Physical Education and Sports.
Inauguration in 1932 of the Chalet Erichson, named in tribute to Erichson, who was unable to inaugurate it, having died in October 1930.
1937 President Émile RETTERER, pharmacist
The Hischsteine – Baerenbach trail was completely rebuilt. The section now had 340 members.
1939-1945 Second World War
From 1940 to 1945, Club Vosgien sections were put on the back burner. In 1945, the Club Vosgien de Munster had just 45 members. After the war, Metzeral remained without a president. However, in 1962, Jean GAEBELE, well known in the valley, tried to re-establish the Metzeral section, but to no avail.
The former members of the Metzeral section, who are still alive, have rejoined the Munster section, with the territory and network of trails they once had. As a result, the Club Vosgien de Munster now alone maintains 470 kilometers of marked trails.
1946 Presidency of Othon BACH, pharmacist and mayor of Munster.
The occupation of the site by the military and the fighting in 1939 and 1944 left their mark on the trails: markers, footbridges, bridges and other elements were damaged: 90% of the signposts and over 1,500 plaques had disappeared. The Gaertlesrain chalet had been requisitioned and used as a refuge for forest rangers. It had been found in a deplorable state. The wounds had to be healed. It was to this task of reconstitution that the new committee courageously set about. In 1946, almost 200 members had signed up, rising to 240 by 1949.
1949 Presidency of Philippe MATHIS, dentist
During this period, tourism once again awoke. The era of the automobile as a popular means of transport was born. Circular self-pedestrian walks were born. The Club Vosgien had to adapt. The 100 walks guide was reissued, replacing all other guides and maps in existence since 1886.
1956 Presidency of Émile HERTZOG, first notary clerk, mayor of Eschbach
During the same period, the marcairies on the hautes-chaumes, with the influx first of hikers and then of motorists and buses, had to adapt to the situation. For the most part, they have transformed their marcairie or at least enlarged the reception room to accommodate this new influx of tourists. They have become farm inns, with a completely different view of the farm. The farm was mechanized, and tractors adapted to the mountain environment were introduced. Cows were milked mechanically. Fortunately, the production of Munster cheese has remained the same.
The Club Vosgien also had to adapt to the situation. Signposting was reviewed and redirected to farm inns, creating new itineraries. New guides and maps linking farmhouse inns, Club Vosgien and self-pedestrian circuits were updated or created (Reissue of the guide des 100 promenades de la Vallée de Munster in 1980 and guide des Vosges in 7 volumes by Jean BRAUN in 1981).
Protecting nature was starting to preoccupy a lot of people. Scientists were already aware of the greenhouse effect caused by the influx of cars. The protection of the capercaillie and the Colmar-Metzeral line became priorities at the time. President Herzog signed for the protected Breitfirst-Hilsen-Klintzkopf site for the capercaillie.
Under the chairmanship of Émile HERTZOG, the restoration of the orientation table at Le Hohneck was undertaken, as was the platform for the viewpoint halfway along the sentier des roches. Tables and benches have been installed mainly at viewpoints along various routes in the valley. The land for Chalet Erichson was purchased from the Communs de Soultzeren in 1961.
1984 Presidency of Robert NEUNLIST, EDF retiree
Robert NEUNLIST continued the work begun by Emile HERTZOG, and the membership has grown steadily, reaching 660 in 1995. Trips to Switzerland – Austria – Spain were organized. The Club Vosgien escaped to other horizons, as modern means of transport made it possible.
After Emile HERTZOG’s death, Club Vosgien members decided to honor the man by dedicating the Eschbach-Buchwald yellow triangle route (Herzog trail) to him, as well as a stele bearing his name in Buchwald.
In 1993, he reissued the “Guide du promeneur et du touriste – 100 promenades et randonnées” in French and German.
1996 Presidency of Kurt MULLER, commander of the Peloton de Gendarmerie de Montagne de Munster.
After a change in its statutes, the Club Vosgien section became the Club Vosgien de Munster association. Its members are all volunteers, and the association is affiliated to the Fédération des Club Vosgien in Strasbourg.
The town of Munster made available the former communal workers’ workshop, which the volunteers refurbished (paint, electricity, etc.). The Grande Vallée work team, in turn, built an equipment depot on land made available by the commune of Metzeral.
A 4×4 vehicle with trailer has been acquired, more practical than the old van for mountain travel.
Refurbishment of the Hohneck trails with the PRNBV and young GRS volunteers – Frankental footbridges (refurbishment, i.e. cable safety to replace the crazy guards on the Roches and Hirschsteine trails), refurbishment after a landslide of the Ameltal trail at Spitzkopfe, with young military personnel from the Munster PGM, replacement of footbridges in the Wormsa valley, in the Leibeltal, on the Crête, GR5, Soultzeren, etc.
From early 2000 to June of the same year, the work teams were asked to make an extra effort to restore the damage caused by storm “Lothar”. Exemplary coordination took place with foresters, lumberjacks, local authorities and members of the 2 work teams, clearing, diverting and repairing paths and footbridges.
The work done with young people, such as students from various countries, to repair the Hohneck, GRS and Trois Fours, and with the APPART team from Munster to repair the fitness trail at Dubach, Hohneck and Katzensteine, was exemplary and deserves to be mentioned.
In the field of nature protection, the Club Vosgien sits on various commissions, notably the Parc Naturel Régional des Ballons des Vosges, Natura 2000, the Frankenthal reserve, the departmental PNPP commission, the Haut Rhin site commission, and Kurt MULLER has been appointed chairman of the Federation’s environment commission.
Creation of two new hiking guides in the form of 20 practical fact sheets.
The creation in 1998 of the first Christmas night walk, followed in 2002 by a mountain festival at Gaertlesrain, gave the Club Vosgien a strong tourist boost. The walk is still held every year on the last Saturday of Advent.
2005 Presidency of Albert HEINRICH, Munster Gendarmerie Commander
On July 27, 2006, an article in the DNA newspaper “Des envies d’éclaircies” illustrated the Club Vosgien’s fight for the Protection de la Nature du Patrimoine et des paysages (PNPP) to prevent meadows no longer used for grazing from being invaded by the forest, and our magnificent viewpoints from being closed in.
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 summer 2006.
A granite rock engraved with the name of Robert NEUNLIST was inaugurated in the spring of 2006 on the path known as the “sentier NEUNLIST” between the Lac du Forlet and the Crête, in memory of this president.
In 2008, construction of the gazebo at Lac du Fischboedle.
From 2008 to 2014, our vice-president Frédéric LUNG was appointed chairman of the Nature, Heritage and Landscape Protection (PNPP) commission at the Fédération des Clubs Vosgiens. He will continue to fight with elected representatives for the opening up of our landscapes.
Overhaul of the CVVM’s articles of association in 2009. The Club Vosgien de Munster becomes the Club Vosgien de la Vallée de Munster.
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, ending symbolically with the handover of the trail key to the Tourist Office Director during a convivial ceremony. This event, initiated by Frédéric LUNG, has been held every year since.
In 2010, the Sentier des Roches was completely restored, replacing all the outside railings with sturdier, safer handrails set into the rock face. 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 trail’s creator Henri STROHMEYER and numerous personalities.
André HUGUELIN creates the “Classeur du baliseur” with maps of marked trails, listing all signs.
2012 saw the creation of the 1:25,000 IGN map of the Vallée de Munster, after tough negotiations with IGN and the Federation. Previously, 4 IGN maps were needed to hike throughout the Valley. This updated map is still on sale at the Tourist Office and local bookshops.
2013 Presidency of Gérard HEINRICH, Vice-Chairman of the Tourist Office.
2014 Frédéric LUNG installs an explanatory panel near the 48° / 7° geographic coordinates point.
In 2016, the first Nordic walking and orienteering introductions, followed in 2017 by the creation of a Nordic Walking section.
2018 saw the publication of the hiking guide “20 balades agréables dans la Vallée de Munster” thanks to Frédéric LUNG and the participation of hiking guides.
On Sunday June 10, 2018 the Club Vosgien de la Vallée de Munster organized, on behalf of the Federation, the 6th Nordic Walking Festival, which helped to raise the profile of our Club and rejuvenate its image.
The year 2020 saw the installation of a new Gloriette at Chalet Erichson, allowing hikers to take shelter even when the chalet is closed, and 2021 a sanitation facility sized to accommodate the 200 people at the mountain festival, as well as the refurbishment of the spring catchment reservoir.
Our 470 km of trails have all been digitized with GPS, and recorded in a tablet application called “Guide du baliseur”, which includes an interactive map that links to each of our 103 itineraries, with links to the 2023 photos of trail junctions and their marker panels. This data is transmitted to IGN for ongoing updating of the cartography.
In 2022, over 2,500 hikers and Nordic walkers took part in our guided outings. On our 470 km of trails, our work teams were hard at work, as were the volunteers at the Erichson chalet, serving almost 11,000 hikers. Many thanks to all our volunteers. Our Club currently has over 600 members, four trail work teams (35 volunteers), 23 certified hiking and Nordic walking guides, and 74 volunteers for Chalet service.
Sources
Le centenaire du Club Vosgien de Munster 1873-1973 (Fascicule).
Histoire du Club Vosgien by Kurt MULLER (Presentation to the Société d’Histoire de la Vallée de Munster – 2007).
A word from the President: R. NEUNLIST (no date).
15 years of Club Vosgien by Frédéric LUNG.
Office de Tourisme de la Vallée de Munster 2024
L’Alsace Essentielle – Mentions légales – Espace Pro