BR28 From the country of Hanau to the Northern Vosges

To the west of Outre-Forêt, the Pays de Hanau offers a succession of gentle hills. From Val de Moder to Zinswiller, the road crosses a hilly landscape. It then runs along the foothills of the Northern Vosges Mountains, entering the pretty Meisenbach Valley after Ingwiller. The end of this valley opens up, after a few hairpin bends through the forest, to La Petite Pierre, a village clinging to a rocky promontory, home to a 13th-century castle built into the cliffside. The route continues west along the edge of the Lorraine plateau towards Petersbach and then Graufthal and its incredible troglodyte houses. After more hairpin bends, synonymous with a new foray into the heart of the Sandstone Massif, the circuit opens up to the charming town of Neuwiller-les-Saverne with its former Abbey Church of Sts. Peter and Paul and its former Collegiate Church of St. Adelphe. We continue towards Bouxwiller, located at the foot of the mysterious Bastberg Hill. The town boasts a prominent architectural heritage and is home to the Hanau Country Museum and the Judeo-Alsatian Museum. We return to Val de Moder, famous in particular for its Museum of Popular Imagery.