A medieval town of craftsmen in the wine trades

From Saint Sebastien's Chapel, you can see the granite wall and its three towers, the red tiles of houses huddled inside the ramparts, the vines climbing up the hillsides. There is a historical walk, a miniature railway and the Frankstein Gran Cru wine trail for you to discover here.

Mentioned as early as the XIth century, Dambach-la-Ville (guided tour) became a fortified Episcopal town in the XIVth century. As you walk through its lanes, you will come across buildings that bear witness to all the periods of history : half-timbered houses from the Middle Ages, stone Renaissance buildings which saw the organisation of the Peasant War, XVIIth century houses rebuilt after the Thirty Years War, great cellars representing the flourishing wine production of the XVIIIth century.

The town bustled with wine-related and other carfts and activities which can be seen on the coasts of arms decorating the entrances to courtyards : wine-growers, coopers, potters, bakers, smiths, shopkeepers, wheelwrights... The wine-growing town is also a trading centre where almost 10% of the Alsatian crop are sold.

Visit : the Bernstein castle / the Chapel of the Virgin / market square