Things to do in Turckheim: fortified gates, medieval centre and vineyards

Turckheim became a free imperial town in 1312. Work on the ramparts began in 1315, and in 1354 the town joined the Décapole, the league of free towns of Alsace that included Colmar, Kaysersberg and Haguenau. That history explains the shape of today’s centre: an enclosed wall, three gates, and inside a tight weave of houses. In the 15th century the town’s prosperity came from exporting its wines to Switzerland and the Rhine valley.

The Thirty Years’ War left Turckheim drained: the town counted about 1,200 inhabitants in 1618, and only 18 families in 1648. Recovery leaned on the vine, then on paper and textile industry. The town gained a station in 1868 with the Colmar, Turckheim and Munster line, and in 1899 saw the first electric tram in Alsace, which ran up to the Trois-Épis resort. The old centre, for its part, has not moved from its triangle.

The three gates are the simplest way to orient yourself in Turckheim. The Porte de France, dated 1330, opened the town to the south-east and served trade, mainly towards Switzerland. It had a drawbridge, a portcullis and two successive doors. Turrets were added in 1871, then removed in 1912. It also carries one of the town’s stork nests, visible from the street.

The Porte de Munster dates from the 14th century. Its windows are carved with scallop shells, suggesting a role on the pilgrim routes to Compostela, and it carried a bell meant to warn of storms. The Porte du Brand, to the east, had the most defensive purpose of the three: massive, unadorned architecture, portcullis, drawbridge and ditch. It was restored in 2006 and remains the natural way through to the vines.

The heritage trail starts from the tourist information office, set in the 16th-century former guardhouse on rue Wickram. Allow about 50 minutes of walking. It follows the remains of the town wall and passes the town hall of 1598 and the Hôtel des Deux-Clefs, a former tavern of 1620. Half-timbered houses follow one another without a break, often identified by an old sign rather than a number.

The route also points out the House of the Red Ox and the House of the Wild Man, the Royal Provost’s manor and the Tithe Court, where the tithe levied on harvests was gathered. The church of Sainte-Anne keeps a Romanesque bell tower of 1190, the only remnant of the original building: chancel and nave date from the 19th century. Inside are a Silbermann organ of 1755 and a 16th-century Pietà.

Turckheim is one of the last towns in France where a night watchman survives. The round takes place every evening from May to October and starts in front of the guardhouse on rue Wickram. The watchman wears a cloak and tricorne, and carries a halberd, a lantern and a horn. He crosses the centre singing his call and stops to tell the town’s story. Check the starting time with the tourist information office before setting off.

The role is nothing like a piece of scenery. The watchman was first meant to prevent fires, with this instruction addressed to residents: “Han sori zu Fir und Liacht”, take care of the hearth and the candle. He then called the hour, watched the streets, and later took on the duties of rural constable and gravedigger. Two watchmen were employed, paid by the families through a levy, the Wachtgeld. Abolished in 1791, the office was restored in 1795 and lasted until 1939. The Wickram history society revived it in 1953, and five volunteers now take turns.

The town has five official stork nests: on the Porte de France, on the school, on the wine cellar, at the campsite and on rue De Lattre. A wild nest also occupies the chimney of a private house. Spotting them gives a thread to follow while walking the centre. The stork park is in the Baradé leisure area: four birds are kept in an enclosure there to make them lose the migratory instinct, and they are fed every day.

Above the town, Les Trois-Épis form a hilltop site once linked to Turckheim by the electric tram of 1899. The town backs onto the entrance to the Fecht valley, which puts the forest and the ridges within immediate reach. Three discovery routes are offered from the centre, and the matching leaflets can be downloaded or picked up at the tourist information office.

Turckheim lies in the Pays de Colmar, a few kilometres from the city, at the entrance to the Fecht valley. The railway line opened in 1868 between Colmar, Turckheim and Munster still links the two towns, and Turckheim has kept its station. That lets you leave the car and combine both visits in the same day, without facing the question of parking in a medieval centre made of narrow streets.

A simple order works well: the medieval centre and its three gates in late morning, a climb into the slopes in the afternoon, the night watchman’s round in the evening if you come between May and October. The slopes above the town carry the Brand grand cru, which the waymarked vineyard trail, known as the Dragon trail, crosses from rue du Conseil. Turckheim belongs to the same historic league as Colmar and Kaysersberg, and the wine route passes through the town: the day extends easily to neighbouring villages if you have a car.