Alsace Culture, Heritage and Tradition

• At the crossroads in the centre of Europe, Alsace has, been at the heart of events in the past, still conservated nowodays.
• The traditional image of Alsace gathers gastronomy, festivals, historical and religious heritage. The region effectively keeps alive its traditions as you can discover through delicious cooking and excellent wines and beers, leisure, medieval houses, great cathedrals.
• Colmar is the Capital of Alsace wines, that you could taste along the "wine routes" or in one of the 100 winstubs.
• The distinctive alsatian culture is due to its proximity to Germany influencing Alsace architecture, food and dialect. Alsatians are proud of their region and of their specificities and succeed to managed throught the centuries to maintain traditions, memories, architectural heritage and dialect as well!
• Alsatian territory benefits from the presence of museums, castles and places of interest for national and international tourists.

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		Alsace Gastronomy
Drinks		Alsacian vineyards stretch from North to South on more than 1000 kilometers, on the East side of the Vosges moutains. This is equivalent to 14,600 hectares divised on 119 communes. The main white wines are: Riesling, Pinot gris, Gewurztraminer, Muscat d'Alsace, Sylvaner, Pinot blanc, Klevener Edelzwicker, Crémant d'Alsace. The main red wines are: Le Pinot noir Rouge d'Ottrott, Rouge du Stephansberg. Alsacian beer accounts for 56% of the french production with 9 million hectolitres per year including 6 famous breweries: Kronenbourg, Heineken, Fischer, Karlsbrau, Météor and Schutzenberger.
Food		Alsace is well known for its traditionnal dishes like: Flammekueche, baeckeoffe, tarte flambée, choucroute, schiffala, fleischschnackas, carpes frites, foie gras d'oie and traditionnal desserts like: kouglof, tarte au fromage blanc, biscuits brédalas, pain d'épice (gingerbread).
		Alsace Leisure and Festivals
Leisure		Traditional art pottery and artisanal furniture with french and german influences. Alsace has a rich artistic patrimony with artists like Ungerer and Bartholdi.
Festival Celebrations		Les corsos fleuris in september. Parade of flowery tanks, the most famous being in Sélestat since 1927. "La fête de l’Ami Fritz" the 14th and 15th of August. Taking place in Marlenheim with concerts,folk animations, fireworks.
Language		French is obviously the predominant language of all Alsatians. But 25% of the local population is fluent in the Alsatian dialect or German.
		Places of interest in Alsace
Fortifications		Alsace is the region of Europe with the greatest number of feudal castles, as a sign of its tumultuous history. More than 400 of them are in ruins and hundred are relatively intact The most famous and the most visiting french monument: the castle of "Haut Koenigsbourg" with a large panorama on Vosges plain and an impressive architecture. Alsace also includes the medieaval castle of Hohlandsbourg,the mysterious castle of Fleckenstein and many picturesque medieval villages worth visiting like Colmar.
War sites		"Mémorial de l’Alsace-Moselle",relaying the tragic history of Alsace and Moselle from 1870 to european construction. Concentration camp "Struthof Natzweiler", the sole such installation on the french territory.
Religious monuments		From North to South, the "Route Romane d’Alsace" as pilgrimage of Compostella and including all the local religious patrymony. Le Mont Sainte-Odile culminate at 764 mètres of Vosges Mountains, with its monastery and pagan wall vestiges place very popular and consecrated to patron saint of Alsace. The cathedral Notre-Dame in Strasbourg high of 142 mètres, is the second highest french cathedral.
“Beautiful Villages”		Hunspach, Mittelbergheim, Eguisheim,Hunawihr and Riquewihr has been awarded as "the most beautiful villages of France".
Museums		Alsace includes 250 museums. Mulhouse is the second most visited town of France for its museum after Paris. Cité du Train, the largest rail museum of Europe Musée de l’Automobile, the largest automobile collection. Musée du Jouet in Colmar, with more than 2000 toys Ecomusée, outdoor museum concerning alsacian lifestyle. Musée du Pain d'Epices one of the component of Alsace Gastronomy.
Wine Routes		The wine route wends its way for about 170 km along the eastern side of the Vosges moutains across 67 communes, from Thann to Marlenneim via Colmar. Vineyards past across medieval villages, ancient castles and in the towns of Ribeauvillé, Riquewihr, Kaysersberg.

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