Eguisheim – Home of Storks and a Pope

Eguisheim marked the end of our journey along the spring-like Wine Route in southern Alsace. Here too, we were once again greeted by the familiar sight of Alsace: winding alleys, window boxes overflowing with flowers, intricately adorned half-timbered houses on facades that glowed in colourful or warm earthy tones – just like in Ribeauvillé, Riquewihr, Colmar or Kaysersberg. And yet, Eguisheim was different.

Eguisheim literally circles around itself. Three concentric, ring-shaped alleys enclose the historic town centre like annual rings around an old tree. In the middle lies the central square – an ensemble of an octagonal castle, the Baroque St. Peter and Paul Church, and the fountain with the monument to Pope Leo IX, who was born here in 1002. As Bruno of Egisheim-Dagsburg, he came from the local noble family that then ruled the southern Vosges. In 1049, he became Pope. Today, his statue, with a blessing gesture, watches over the heart of his birthplace.

But it’s not just spiritual figures circling above Eguisheim – another, very real bringer of good fortune has also settled here: the stork. On the castle and the church alone, we counted four nests. If you keep your eyes open, you’ll discover many more: on chimneys, roofs, towers, and even on specially built platforms. The village also has a small stork sanctuary that reintroduces young storks into the wild. The rhythmic clattering of their long beaks isn’t just heard here – it’s part of Alsace’s acoustic heritage, like the scent of tarte flambée and the sound of the local dialect.

The return of the storks is a success story: in the 1970s, the Alsatian white stork was almost extinct, but targeted conservation programmes, nesting aids, and breeding stations like the one in Eguisheim allowed its numbers to rise again. Today, it is not only considered the heraldic bird of the region but also a living symbol of the balance between humans, nature, and tradition.

High above the village, like guardians from the past, stand the castle ruins of the Drei Exen – Wahlenburg, Dagsburg, and Weckmund. Their angular silhouettes are sharply outlined against the organic structure of the forest. The group on the castle hill can be reached via a steep road or – much more pleasantly – by a hiking trail that winds through vineyards and forest. Once at the top, you are rewarded with a view that makes their strategic location tangible: the flat Rhine Valley to the east and the gentle hills of the Vosges behind you.

Eguisheim – that was Alsace once again in a concentrated form: a place that breathes history, offers natural experiences, and welcomes visitors hospitably and invitingly like an old friend.