Wattwiller is located at the foot of the Molkenrain Mountain and the battlefieldof the Hartmaswillerkopf. The town was able to save its fountains,vestiges of the former fortifications but above all its roman church.Today Wattwiller is well known for the purity of its spring water soldall over the French territory.

Come and discover

The hartmaswillerkopf battlefield

The 15th century roman church

The fountains

The Cross

The vestiges of the former fortification tower.

The city hall – school

The former bottling factory of Wattwiller

The path of the Oratories

The “Red Band”

The headland of the Vosgien massif was one of the main strategic points during the battles on the Vosges front between 1914 and 1918.
The fortifications and military equipments remain impressive. Registered historical monument since 1912, the Harmannswillerkopf is a place for memory.

Coat of arms of the alpine hunters

Other place for memory in France

www.marne14-18.fr

This is one of the five oldest churches known in Alsace. Its current layout is highly influenced by the former roman edifice built during the 13th century. The Church was consecrated in 1481 to Saint Jean Baptiste.  You can see an altarpiece made in 1901 which is telling his life. The Church will be rebuilt after 1918.

•  Two wall paintings from the 15Th century: The Christ’s resurrection and a Christ on the olive wood Mont
•  A bone yard on the ground with its geminate roman windows.
•  A Rinckenbach organ from 1930 with 24 ranges and 2 fingerboards.

There used to be a former graveyard around the Church registered historical monument in 1930. Some parts are still remaining today. You can also notice the War Memorial behind which you can see some traces of the inscriptions dating from before 1939 which where since maimed by the Nazis 

One of the stain glass windows.

Guided visits in July and August
Group visits can be organized all the yearlong by request at the tourist board.

There are 4 fountains in the town

The Saint Sebastian fountain: built in 1866 it has a statue of Saint Sebastian on its top, the patron saint of the arquebusier who used to train in the neighbour field. The fountain is composed of two parts: a top one and a low one used as a trough.

The fountain in the bottom part of the village: she is adorned with a top that bears the former weapons of the village. It has today vanished

The Saint Jean fountain: its name appears for the first time in 1487. It has the statue of Satin Jean Nepomucene protector of the bridges.

The fountain at the top of the village: in 1778 the Saint Jean fountain could not provide enough water for the whole village so that the inhabitants asked the eminent council of Alsace for a new one. A new fountain with a greater capacity was built only in 1786.

There are 3 calvaries in Wattwiller

The Koch Calvary: a cross erected in 1698 by Jacob Koch, the priest of Wattwiller

The Gohr Calvary : erected in 1694 the cross is a donation from Leopold de Gohr, son of the bailiff of Wattwiller 

The Zurbach Calvary: the cross was erected in 1885 as a donation from Catherine de Zurbach

The angle tour that you can see rue d’Uffholtz  in Wattwiller is the only vestige remaining from the former fortifications which used to protect the village since 1260.

The fortification wall, a 200 on 500 meter quadrilateral had 3 doors: the Obertor  on the west side, the Untertor on the North side and the Mülhenthorlé on the south side. The town was divided in districts: Elbach Viertel (south west), Dorffmatt Viertal (south east) Bad Viertel (north west) and Rothenturm  Viertel (north east). The ditches of the town were made into gardens after the 17th century.

In 1273 there used to be a little convent instead of the present City Hall. A hospital was added to the convent in 1310. The convent vanished in 1495 and the town bought the building in 1513 in order to widen the city hall and built a hospice. In 1829 a school was built instead of the hospice. The place has not changed since that time !

The Romans were the first people to exploit the baths in Wattwiller and made them famous. Between 1522 and 1712 the town of Wattwiller was administrating the baths. Then the town of Murbach took care of it during 27 years before trading it.

Many different owners would run the baths until February 1865. The government then classified it as being of public interest. In 1870 the manager at that time bought the building and got successful. After his death the building was closed for 2 years. It opened once more in 1896 and would experience a growing success until 1914.

The current building built after the First World War used to host a bottling factory which offered for sale the water “Arsène” and the gas water “Lithia” until 1975.

An historical 1 hour sightseeing tour called « Red Band » (Fil Rouge) will lead the walker trough the remarkable places of the town of Wattwiller