Wimmenau lies in a valley on the red sandstone of the Northern Vosges and is part of the Vosges du Nord Regional Nature Park. You can choose what to focus on here based on two specific interests: hiking through a forest landscape or exploring the village’s architecture and local history. Two easy routes have clear distances and durations.
Forest and trails
The forests around Wimmenau consist mainly of beech and Scots pine. They are home to deer, roe deer, wild boar, foxes, badgers, wildcats and martens, among other species; however, there is no guarantee of encountering any of these animals.
The “Boucle autour de l’Englishberg” is an easy 12.5-kilometre circular hike, with a stated duration of four hours. It starts and ends in Wimmenau and is marked with Club Vosgien trail signs. It also leads to the natural caves at Rocher de l’Ochsenstall, also known as “Rocher des Bœufs”.
A second option is the audio walk “Balade sonore – Découverte de Wimmenau”, listed as 3.3 kilometres long, with a stated duration of two hours; it is also easy. Compared with the Englishberg loop, it is 9.2 kilometres shorter, and its stated duration is two hours less. The formats also differ: “Balade sonore” is an audio walk, while the Englishberg route is a circular hike. You can therefore take the type of route into account alongside distance and duration when making your choice. Check the route details before setting out.
Views and local history
The “Fenêtre sur le Paysage « Ciel »” landscape window is in the managed Herrenfeld clearing south of the Maison Suisse. It offers views of the village, the ridges of the Northern Vosges and the edge of the forest.
The Maison Suisse is one of the few half-timbered houses in the village of Wimmenau. It is divided lengthwise and bears witness to the settlement of Swiss people in Wimmenau after the Thirty Years’ War. This gives the building a connection both to a rare architectural form in the village and to a specific chapter in local history. Its lengthwise division draws attention to the form of the house, while its history connects it to the development of the village.
Saint-André Church is now Protestant. Its nave was rebuilt after 1681 and extended in 1878. The choir tower is said to date from the 12th century and is said to have received a rib-vaulted ceiling in the 15th century. The nave and choir tower are distinct parts of the building, so the dates refer to different parts of the church.
The Wimmenau oil mill is an 18th-century heritage site where animal power was used to produce rapeseed and walnut oil. The complex includes a forge and outbuildings from the 19th century, which house an animal-powered oil mill for walnut and rapeseed oil. If you plan to visit, confirm access in advance.
Discover more destinations: Wingen-Sur-Moder, Batzendorf, Urbeis, Huttenheim, Ottersthal, Stutzheim-Offenheim, Epfig, Adamswiller.
For the regional travel overview: Bas-Rhin.
