Unmissable stopping point of the Wine Trail, Obernai offers a beautiful taste of the Alsace region. Encircled by ramparts, the old town has a beautiful architectural heritage to the walker with its central market square surrounded by period buildings, such as the 13th-century belfry and the town hall, and also with the Renaissance well and the Saints-Pierre-et-Paul church of neo-Gothic architecture.
Beautiful and elegant half-timbered houses... wine route... no doubt you are in Obernai, medieval city of Bas-Rhin. Just 20 minutes from Strasbourg, the cradle of Sainte-Odile welcomes you for a picturesque tour of its streets. The natural environment of the commune at the foot of the Vosges is exceptional. It benefits from a part of the forest of Landsberg and the Ehn crosses its territory cracked of multiple rivers.
In turn, a Roman crossroads, a Merovingian villa or a property of the Dukes of Alsace and then of the Hohenbourg monasteries, Obernai crossed the epochs by gaining its stripes and quickly becoming an imperial city. It is around 1240 that it obtains its status of city. The city freed of the nobility thrives quickly thanks to viticulture and crafts. The Renaissance will leave many architectural testimonies throughout the city.
Attached to Germany in 1871, it was not until the two wars that it became French again like the rest of Alsace. Spared from destruction, the city has managed to preserve its heritage, rich in a diversified and perennial history. The vineyard always holds a very large place and Obernai knows how to seduce its visitors by the splendor of its vestiges and its innate taste for the art of living.
NEARBY!! Only 15 km away is Mont-Ste.Odile, site of a lovely convent. DO VISIT!
The convent situated at the top of the mount Sainte-Odile, at an altitude of 763 metres, near Obernai, constitutes a pilgrimage centre. This religious site is dedicated to Saint Odile, the main religious figure of Alsace. The terrace of the convent, with two viewpoint indicators, offers a magnificent view of the forest, the Alsace plain and in clear weather even of the Black Forest.
The pagan wall (mur païen), 10 kilometres long, is a surprising rampart arround the mount Sainte-Odile. Its origin still remains a mystery today. A forest footpath takes you around the length of the wall.
