Notre Dame du Chêne in Heimsbrunn walking tour

The church of Heimsbrunn, whose patrons are Saint Projet and Saint Amarin, was built in 1768. Its bell tower is topped by a spire erected in 1862 by the famous Mulhouse architect Jean-Baptiste Schacre. The church has a Callinet organ from the 1830s. Behind the town hall, house N°21 rue de la Cure has original half-timbered walls (16th or 17th century).

The half-timbered house on Rue de la Cure, No. 11, is remarkable. Its central post rising from the bottom to the ridge of the roof is quite rare in the Sundgau and bears witness to medieval architecture. It could date from the 15th century.

On the edge of the main road, you first pass the Sainte Anne retirement home, created in 1819, then a calvary dating from 1869 which recalls the memory of a young man (Joseph Sitterlen) who died at the age of 27.

The chapel of Notre Dame du Chêne, called Ramahay by the locals, was built in 1959 not far from an oak tree which, on the other side of the road, housed a statue of the Virgin and which was struck by lightning in 1947. Since the 19th century, many pilgrims have come to pray here and the chapel is still very popular today, especially on the feast of the Assumption. Next to the chapel, a whole wall is covered with ex votos (thanks to the Virgin).

Opposite the chapel, crossing the road, you can go and admire (200m round trip) the Saint Louis oak tree, probably the oldest in the former seigneury of Heimsbrunn. It is said to be between 300 and 700 years old.

When you arrive on the road (the old Mulhouse-Belfort main road), you follow and then cross the Steinbaechlein, a river which flows from the Doller at Pont d'Aspach and which flows into the Ill shortly after Mulhouse. The Steinbaechlein once fed a series of mills, and then, from 1746 onwards, made the Mulhouse textile industry rich thanks to its crystal clear water from the Vosges.

At the exit of the forest, a three hundred year old oak tree (circumference 4.70 m) stands like a sentinel opposite the fields.

Hidden in the Limberg forest are several remnants of German war shelters from 1914-18 that sheltered the rear lines of the front that was located a few kilometres away, near Burnhaupt-le-Haut.

At the end of the forest, you can make a 200-metre round trip to admire a bi-centennial silver willow (circumference 8.40 m), the only survivor of the 1974 land consolidation.

At the corner of the wood, there is a beautiful view of the village of Galfingue, the peaks of the Black Forest, the Vosges and the Jura.

Back in Heimsbrunn, the Saint Joseph fishing pond reflects some of the new houses in the village.

On arrival in front of the church of Heimsbrunn, a glance at house N°6 rue de Belfort reveals a beautiful half-timbered house. Dating from the 17th century, it has a porch surmounted by a loggia, buttressed windows and a slight corbel. The richness of its architecture suggests the property of a notable or a craftsman. A little further on, at nos. 8 and 10 rue de Belfort, two other timber-framed farmhouses are a little less old (18th or 19th century) but very typical.