The Staufen - The Lorraine Cross

" Combine walking and history and set out to conquer this emblematic site of the Alsatian Resistance which offers a breathtaking panorama of the Alsace plain and the foothills of the Swiss Jura. "

During the Second World War, the Lorraine Cross was chosen as a strong symbol that corresponds to the rallying sign and emblem of the National Liberation, initiated by Charles de Gaulle. At the end of the war, the desire to erect a monument dedicated to the Alsatian Resistance took shape. The choice of the location, facing the Rhine border and visible from the Alsace plain, was strategic. The first stone was laid on 1 August 1948 by General de Gaulle himself. The monument, made of reinforced concrete, 12 metres high, in only 4 weeks, was inaugurated on 10 July 1949. A symbol of the Alsatian Resistance, it was destroyed twice in March and September 1981. Temporarily replaced by a wooden cross, the new Staufen Cross was inaugurated on 18 June 1986.
It now illuminates the town of Thann, in memory of the flame of the Resistance, evoked in General de Gaulle's Appeal on 18 June 1940. From there, the panorama extends towards the plain of Alsace, Mulhouse and the foothills of the Swiss Jura.