Today's journey was another long one in our plan. The last journey was rather short, so we were mentally prepared for this long leg. The host helped us to check our bicycles were all ok for this long journey and we departed on time for the journey from Grenzach-Whylen to Basel was smooth. On arrival in Basel, we kind of lost our wifi connections and we were a little lost on how to get out of Basel for our intended destination. We lost a good 45 minutes. Fortunately, we asked for direction from a British woman who gave us good guidance on how to get out of Basel. Basel is a busy city with many bridges connecting the countries. We were able to see the Three Countries Bridge.
The urban area of Basel extends from Switzerland into France and Germany, giving it the title of Drei Länder Stadt (a three-country city). It owes its importance to its position at the head of the navigable Rhine and is Switzerland’s only port. Built in 1225, the Basel bridge was for many years the only bridge over the Rhine between Rotterdam and Konstanz. For over 500 years from AD999, the city was ruled by Prince-Bishops from their power base around Basel münster (cathedral), built between 1019 and 1500 on a hill overlooking a river bend. In 1521, local trade guilds asserted their supremacy and power moved to the Rathaus and guild houses below the hill.
From Basel cathedral, we headed North, leaving cobbled Münsterplatz by Augustinergasse. Continued into Rheinsprung, overlooking the Rhine, and descended steeply. Cyclists are required to walk down the slope. Then crossed the river on Mittlere Rheinbrücke bridge. Crossed bridge over the entrance to Basel harbor and continued through Swiss-German border post into Zollstrasse. Then crossed the Rhine on Dreiländerbrücke bridge into Huningue passing from Germany into France.
The Three Countries Bridge
The Three Countries Bridge is a bridge across the Rhine that links the towns of Huningue (France) and Weil-am-Rhein (Germany), within Basel Switzerland. It is the longest single-span pedestrian and cycle bridge in the world at 238 meters long.
We passed Huningue headed towards Bad Bellingen and then crossed the bridge over to the German side of the Rhine River. The traffic was pretty heavy at the bridge although there was a proper cycle path. Then we headed towards Stauwehr and passed the hydroelectricity dam. The journey from Huninghue was kind of monotonous and almost 95% of the passage was on gravel/sandy/stone road and river on the side. Finally we arrived at Bad Bellingen just after noon time. This is just midway through our journey.
We stopped over at Bad Bellingen to have lunch. We were unable to go to Ottmarsheim due to a large diversion and the distance that we had to cover was too much for the day. The Ottmarshiem is a commune in the Haut-Rhin region north-east of Mulhouse on the border with Germany. The jewel of its heritage is the abbey church Saints Pierre and Paul, built according to an octagonal plan. A 17th-century Alsatian house is also visible in Ottmarsheim.
From Bad Bellingen, we headed towards Neuenburg am Rhein and Geiswasser. Along the way, we passed through large corn farms. Then just before Breisach, we crossed over the bridge to get over to the French side of the rhine river and headed towards Neuf Brisach. We arrived late in the evening at Neuf-Brisach.
Neuf-Brisach, a strategic stop near the Rhine, was built-in 1699 by Vauban by order of Louis XIV for the safety of Alsace. Place Forte is a unique site in Europe. The last fortified city built by Vauban offers a remarkable vision of the most accomplished defense system of the 17th century.
A walking tour of the fortifications is essential to appreciate this architectural heritage with its ramparts and bastion towers still intact. We did aerial photography using our drone.
In Neuf-Brisach, visitors are invited to imagine this gigantic project carried out on the backs of men and mules. While walking between pincers and counter-guards, he is at the same time interested in the strategy of defense and attack of the place. In 2008, the outstanding universal value of the Vauban genius was recognized by UNESCO. Neuf-Brisach is one of 12 sites inscribed on the World Heritage List.
The Place Forte Alsacienne was chosen for its typology of plain sight, as well as for the representation of its highly developed defense system, whose star construction is clearly visible from the sky. Our entire journey was close to 83km.
Neuf-Brisach is a well-preserved example of an early 18th-century model fortified town. After France lost the important riverside town of Breisach (east of the Rhine) to the Habsburgs in 1697, the celebrated military engineer Vauban was commissioned to design a new fortified town to guard the border. Neuf-Brisach was Vauban’s final work and one of his greatest. The town is enclosed by an octagonal bastion wall with guardhouses and four gateways, surrounded by a system of concentric star-shaped earthworks that take up a larger area than the town itself. Within the walls, a grid street system had separate areas allocated to public buildings, private residences, and military installations, all grouped around a large central square.
We had dinner at Neuf Brisach and then proceeded to our Airbnb at Rue Principale, Appenwihr. It was a very long journey for us.