Departure from the car park to the left of the entrance to Habsheim church

Habsheim has been favoured since the Neolithic period thanks to the richness of the loessic plateau, then by its position near the old Roman road Augst - Strasbourg. A church dedicated to Saint Martin was established there as early as the Merovingian period (it is at least attested at the beginning of the 8th century). It was rebuilt in 1787-89, retaining the bell tower where the Gothic openings of the 13th century floors can be seen. Next to the church, a fountain with a very old barrel (1565) has the village coat of arms, two lizards and a goshawk, the emblematic bird of prey of the Habsburg family, owners of the place until 1648 (attachment to France). On the other side of the street, the town hall was rebuilt in 1953. It exploded in December 1944 when Colonel Fabien, a hero of the Resistance, mishandled a grenade, which cost him and four of his fellow officers their lives. The arcaded building is the Dorfhüs, a former Renaissance-style community house (1578), which bears the ancient coat of arms of Habsheim. On the left-hand side of the building, the explanatory panel of the "Autour" tour encourages visitors to discover the heritage of this former small Habsburg town (the name of the tour recalls the bird of prey called "Habicht" in German, from which the names Habsburg and perhaps Habsheim come).