Ecomusee d'Alsace

From 1980 a group began rescuing timber-framed Alsatian farmhouses due for demolition, taking them apart beam by beam and reassembling them on a site at Ungersheim; there are now around seventy buildings arranged as a village with farms, a chapel, a school, workshops and a station. It is not a static display: crops are grown, a blacksmith and potter work, bread is baked, horses and Alsatian farm breeds are kept, and storks nest on the roofs, which was part of the point since stork numbers had collapsed and the site helped their recovery. Costumed staff work the trades and seasonal festivals follow the farming year.

What you actually see

• The rebuilt village - about seventy rescued timber-framed buildings.
• The working trades - smith, potter, baker and farm work in season.
• The stork colony - nests on roofs from a species recovery effort.
• The seasonal festivals - harvest, slaughter and midsummer events.

When to go

April to October for full operation; the site runs winter and Christmas seasons with reduced buildings open. Storks are present spring and summer. Weekdays outside holidays are calmest.

Honest expectations

It is large and involves a lot of walking on open ground with little shade. Not all buildings are open on any given day. Some activity is aimed squarely at children.

Nearby

Mulhouse lies southeast; the Alsace wine road is north.