Bollenberg, la colline des sorcières

Orschwihr

Between Rouffach, Orschwihr and Westhalten, the Bollenberg raises its ridge of Jurassic limestone to 363 metres: it is one of the driest places in France, where an exceptional steppe flora thrives. The site has been frequented since the Celts, to whom tradition attributes rituals linked to a solar alignment on 2 February (Imbolc), before a Gallo-Roman villa was built and a Roman road passed this way. A church of Saint-Martin, raised in the 6th century on the ancient remains, drew pilgrims until around 1550. At the summit, the chapel of Sainte-Croix, rebuilt in the 19th century to re-Christianise the place, is nicknamed the "witches' chapel": from the 18th century onwards, it was said that sabbaths were held there, with apparitions of an illuminated palace and white ladies dancing in a ring around a flame. The memory of the persecutions, however, is all too real: between 1440 and 1660 Alsace executed nearly 5,000 women accused of witchcraft, with 62 trials for the Rouffach area alone, many of them simple gatherers of medicinal herbs. Every year, on the night of 14 to 15 August, the Hexenfeuer — the "witches' fire", Haxafi in dialect — sets the hill ablaze: the year's conscripts burn an effigy of a witch on a great bonfire at the foot of the chapel.

Getting there : From the eastern edge of the village of Orschwihr (68500), a short, steep and stony lane leads up to the chapel of Sainte-Croix; alternative access from the D18 on the Clos Sainte-Apolline side (Bollenberg hotel-restaurant); free access all year round.

Opening times and access details are given as a guide only: check before you set out.

Ambient sound