The retired traveller: 2026-06-16 Zellenberg & Saint-Hippolyte

Tuesday, June 6, 2026

I don't know how many cute and historic villages there are on the Route des Vins, but Dave is interested in seeing them all. He has Discovery Tours brochures for two he's interested in: Zellenberg and Saint Hippolyte. The weather has turned hot (high 80s today) and will get as high as 100 by the weekend. We'll head for the hills on that day - a Vosges Mountains driving tour.

Zellenberg perches on a hill in the foothills of the Vosges, above neighboring towns and vineyards that carpet the lower slopes. First settled in the 6th century, Zellenberg, like Rouffach, was a ping pong ball between France and Germany throughout the middle ages. It survived WWII relatively intact.

Zellenberg

As we drove into town, I noticed another community library. (Can't really call it a "little" library because it's actually pretty big.

The little yellow shed is not a bus stop as some are...

It's a "little" library. The sign says A Book Shelter or a pantry for the mind. Share the books you love.

Unlike many villages, the Church of St Ulrich sits, not in the city center, but outside the walls of the town. Built in 1760, it seems likely that being inside city walls was still a necessity for safety. The church sits next to the Northeast Tower. Surrounded by trees and buildings, there's no place to get a good photo of St Ulrich.

Our view of St Ulrich - beautiful flowers and trees, but the church is hidden.

The tower was part of the city walls

Besides the descriptions in our walking tour brochure, occasional signs posted along the road fleshed out the history of these building, especially during WWII. The young men of the town had to make difficult decisions. Zellenberg was German at this time, so Germany was conscripting young men for their army. But many considered the Germans as occupiers and wanted no part of the German army. Young men joined the Resistance, crossed into Switzerland, even went to Africa to train there with the Allies. Many lost their lives.

The Presbytery building as seen in the drawing, became a sanctuary for the community during WWII housing up to 100 people in the building's cave sleeping on mattresses carried hastily from their homes. Jean de Geetere, a soldier who with some of his US compatriots stopped to ask prayers for their comrades in arms who had just died described the scene they saw. Women and children crying, men looking haggard, the priest trying to comfort all in the dimly lit cave. As the priest offered the mass for the dead, all within struggled to hold back tears. The soldiers were pale, wondering if they would be next to die. Young girls began to sing the Requiem and no one could hold back their tears.

This plaque was on the house where Francois René Roeckel was born. He got a degree in German and moved to Paris to work as an interpreter. He joined the army in WWII and successfully led several different units. He was arrested December 11, 1943. That same day his wife and brother-in-law were also arrested for being related to René and were deported. René Roeckel was executed on March 24, 1944 singing the Marseillaise.

Today's Zellenberg is a prosperous wine-growing town, acknowledging and maintaining its history, but living in the present.

We continued north to Saint-Hippolyte, another village on the Route des Vins. The Romans brought vines here when they settled here. Later, the Dukes of Lorraine (who owned St. Hippolyte) successfully planted vines from Burgundy, pinot noir, resulting in Alsace's only red varietal. (Which we like and buy frequently.) We parked behind the Hotel de Ville and commenced looking for the toilets marked on our map. Turns our, they were gone, but the ones a couple blocks away at the park were open.

The church of Saint Hippolyte was difficult to find, despite seeing it's tower from many viewpoints. And it was closed.

Besides what is becoming expected, picturesque half-timbered very old houses, the former chateau (now a hotel) was built into the city walls by the Dukes of Lorraine .