Nowhere in Alsace can one find a more Alsatian town than Obernai. Obernai is in the Bas-Rhin department of the Alsace region, 25km south of Strasbourg. A picture postcard pretty town, Obernai has lots of delightful medieval houses lining the narrow streets and open plazas, all set within the original ramparts of the town. The Rue des Pelerins (Pilgrim's Street) is perhaps the highlight. The greatest miracle of the town is how well it escaped damage during World War I and World War II, and much of the town appears unchanged from its heyday in the 15th and 16th centuries. In the streets and squares of Obernai, history can be seen from many perspectives, dreams have something to feed on and the inhabitants have peremptory reasons for ardently maintaining a town which has been able to keep alive all of the fairies of the Middle Ages as well as those even more sumptuously dressed of the Renaissance.
Take a stroll around the ramparts, look out upon the monochrome sea of the most beautiful roofs in the world and pause for a moment in front of the Convent School (l'Ecole des Soeurs).
During folk festivals, when visitors see figures dressed in medieval costumes strolling through the streets and bustling about, they really feel that they're seeing the town's authentic inhabitants.
There once stood the castle of Frédéric le Borgne, father of Emperor Barbarossa.
You can be sure that in this city a learned and loquacious guide could stop in front of each and every structure and deliver a lecture embellished with interpretations, souvenirs and anecdotes.
Visitors may feel merely like movie extras in their plain twentieth century garb.
Apart from the houses and their sometimes attractive patterned tiled rooves, other notable highlights of Obernai include the clocktower and an ancient well, the numerous towers that form parts of the ramparts, the old wheat market, and the ruins of the Abbey Truttenhausen.The town is also well situated to explore the vineyards of the region.
More informations : http://www.francethisway.com/places/obernai.php
Tourist Classifications for Obernai
- Listed as "Plus Beaux Detour" town in France (ie recommended stopover place)
- approved Station Classée (resort paying particular attention to facilities for tourism)
Places to visit near Obernai, Alsace
Explore places of interest within about 70 kilometres on a map at places near Obernai. Some places to visit within 30 km: 7 km: Barr (Alsace town) 10 km: Chateau Andlau (castle) 28 km: Chateau du Haut-Koenigsbourg (castle) 17 km: Ebersmunster (Town) 12 km: Epfig (Town) 25 km: Kintzheim (Town) 25 km: Le Struthof (WWII concentration camp) 27 km: Marmoutier (Town) 9 km: Molsheim (Town) 9 km: Mont-Sainte-Odile (Hilltop pilgrimage site) 4 km: Rosheim (Town) 23 km: Selestat (Town) 19 km: Strasbourg (Capital of Alsace)
