The best cycling routes around Hausgauen

Altkirch Altkirch is the historic capital of the Sundgau and lies on a striking rocky spur above the valley of the Ill. The town's origins date back to the Middle Ages. The Counts of Ferrette built Altkirch into a fortified town; from 1215 onwards, it was protected by town walls and towers. The characteristic layout, narrow streets, and remnants of the fortifications have been preserved from this medieval town plan to this day. Particularly worth seeing is the Vieille Porte, a former town gate from around 1245. For centuries, Altkirch was an important administrative and commercial center of the Sundgau. After the destructions of the Thirty Years' War, numerous buildings were newly erected. The representative town hall dates from the 18th century, built in 1778 according to plans by the Swabian architect Jean Nissler. In the 19th century, the town continued to develop: alongside its traditional importance as a market and trading place, industrial enterprises emerged, including the well-known Gilardoni brickworks. The 20th century also left its mark. After the First World War, Altkirch became part of the re-Frenchified Alsace. The memory of this period is evident, among other things, at the Vieille Porte, where a Borne Vauthier commemorates the former front line of 1918. The original Altkirch war memorial from 1927 was destroyed during the German occupation in the Second World War; preserved parts were later integrated into a new memorial. Today, Altkirch, with around 6,000 inhabitants, is an important center of the Sundgau. The historic upper town with its old houses, remnants of fortifications, the town hall, and the Sundgau Museum continues to shape the townscape. Source: Ville d’Altkirch – History of the town

At the gate, a so-called Borne Vauthier can be seen in the middle. These memorial stones mark the course of the Western Front in World War I and, in particular, the position that German troops had reached on July 18, 1918 – the furthest extent of their advance at that time. The stones are named after the French sculptor and former soldier Paul Moreau-Vauthier. A total of 118 such Bornes were created between 1921 and 1927: 96 in France and 22 in Belgium. Originally, significantly more locations were planned. The stones were erected along a front line from the Belgian coast to the Franco-Swiss border. The monoliths, about one meter high, are mostly made of pink granite. On their top, there is a soldier's helmet on a laurel wreath. The sides depict typical soldier's equipment, including a gas mask, a canteen, and hand grenades. Many stones bear the inscription “Ici fut repoussé l’envahisseur 1918” – “Here the invader was repulsed in 1918”. The Bornes Vauthier are therefore not only monuments but also historical landmarks: they make the former front line visible in the terrain and commemorate the battles of 1918. However, it is important to note that they are not located exactly on the former front line everywhere, as some stones were moved for practical reasons, for example, to roads or intersections.

Observation post No. 2 in Largin was a Swiss wooden blockhouse during the First World War. From here, Swiss soldiers observed the French and German positions just a few hundred meters away and monitored Swiss neutrality. The post was thus located immediately at the southern end of the Western Front. The original blockhouse was reconstructed in 2012 based on historical models and can be visited today.

Kilometer 0 – Border stone of the Western Front The border stone No. 111 at Largin near Pfetterhouse marks the so-called “Kilomètre Zéro”, the southern starting point of the Western Front in World War I. From autumn 1914, the front ran here between France and Germany; on the Swiss side, the neutral Swiss army observed the events. From this point, the front line stretched for around 750 km to the North Sea. Today, the border stone, the reconstructed Swiss observation post, and numerous trenches and bunkers commemorate this special section of the Western Front.

The Ferme du Largin is located in the Swiss "corner" near Bonfol, directly at Kilomètre Zéro of the Western Front section. In the First World War, it was an important observation post for the Swiss army, which monitored the opposing French and German positions from here. The area became a meeting point for three armies in 1914–1918 – France, Germany, and Switzerland. Today, the Ferme is a working farm and the starting point of the 7.5 km long Kilomètre-Zéro circular trail, where numerous traces and fortifications of the former front can still be seen.

The Dreiländerstein from 1871 stands in the area near Largitzen/Pfetterhouse and commemorates the then border between France, Germany and Switzerland after the Franco-Prussian War and the annexation of Alsace-Lorraine by the German Empire.

Typical village of Sundgau with its half-timbered houses which are becoming rare these days.

At border post 111, on the French-Swiss border near Pfetterhouse, the Western Front of the First World War officially began in the autumn of 1914. This spot, where the borders of France, Germany and Switzerland had previously met, became the symbolic Kilometre Zero of a front line that stretched over 750 kilometres to the North Sea. Today it is a peaceful spot along a hiking and cycling trail, where you literally stand at the start of one of the most defining fronts in modern history.