The best walks and hikes around Pfarrebersweiler

This memorial was erected in memory of the 17,000 dead from Alsace and Moselle, forcibly incorporated into the Wehrmacht or other German military formations by the occupier during the annexation of our eastern provinces to the Third Reich from 1940 to 1945, abandoned by the Vichy government, in defiance of all legality. These victims were young men and women born between 1906 and 1928, mobilized from October 16, 1942, to January 12, 1945, under threat of family deportation in the event of desertion. Consumed in the Red Army in 1943, as "escapees" or as "unwilling" Wehrmacht prisoners of war, they were dragged from camp to camp, immediately converted into "underfed forced laborers." A large number of them were gathered very early on at the sinister Tambow camp, known as the "French camp" due to the size of the French Community at certain times. Tyranny, malnutrition, arbitrary punishments, excessive workload, deteriorating collective morale, epidemics, the harsh climate, inadequate clothing, overcrowding, and poor hygiene—all these factors quickly took their toll on the captive population. The loss of life at the Tambow camp is estimated at approximately 50 to 60 percent. Between 1944 and 1945, 68,000 prisoners of war of all nationalities passed through, among whom the "French contingent" was the most exploited. Few endured this regime of psychological persecution, meager rations, and forced labor for which they were ill-suited. Almost all survivors reported incurable after-effects. Six Lazarets and two rudimentary "Hospitals," antechambers of death, delivered their cargo of corpses every night, early in the morning, then dumped pell-mell into the mass graves dug by their comrades in the forest around the camp. This memorial is intended to be a place of contemplation and reflection in tribute to the dead who perished needlessly, sacrificing their young lives without reproach, knowing that their remains would never be repatriated. Most were delivered to the inhospitable Russian land, in complete anonymity. Thousands of families thus lost all trace of their sons, their husbands, their fathers who died neither for Germany nor for Russia, but in the fervent expectation and hope of returning to France, their homeland." The survivors of these Russian camps, originally from Alsace and Moselle, have devoutly preserved the memory of these dark hours and of their abandoned comrades, whom they consider "Martyrs." Don't forget them!

The Hoste Bas pond borders the Hoste Haut pond. It was part of the Maginot Line defense system. Today, they are home to numerous species of fish, much to the delight of anglers.

A pleasant setting for a stroll between the water and the forest. The lake is a kilometer and a half long.

Farébersviller (German: Pfarrebersweiler) is a French commune with 5,316 inhabitants (1 January 2021) in the Moselle department in the Grand Est region (until 2015 Lorraine). It belongs to the arrondissement of Forbach-Boulay-Moselle, the canton of Freyming-Merlebach and the Freyming-Merlebach municipal association founded in 2001. Pfarrebersweiler belonged to the Duchy of Lorraine since 1581, which fell to France according to a treaty after the death of Stanislaus I on 23 February 1766. From 1871, following the defeat in the Franco-Prussian War, Pfarrebersweiler was part of the Imperial Territory of Alsace-Lorraine within the German Empire. After losing the First World War, the German Empire had to cede Alsace-Lorraine to France again under the terms of the Treaty of Versailles. After a further 22 years, German troops marched into the town again. Thus, Farébersviller, now Pfarrebersweiler again, was effectively annexed like the rest of Alsace-Lorraine. The town returned to France in 1944 and was given its French name again.

The rock grotto of the Saint Helena Chapel was formerly a Celtic settlement and was used as a pilgrimage site.

The rock grotto of the St. Helena Chapel was formerly a Celtic settlement and was used as a pilgrimage site.

Nice little pond.

Nice little tour without great difficulty a lot of way in the forest