The Montori historic trail

" In the heart of a preserved forest, follow the path of the red castle and let yourself be guided to the ruins of Montori — the forgotten sentinel of the valley that once watched over the Abbey of Masevaux. "

You will walk through a preserved forest setting. The path, marked by a red castle on a white background by the Club Vosgien, leads you to the Château du Montori, whose ruins have been an archaeological site since 2017 under the auspices of the Town of Masevaux-Niederbruck and the Société d'Histoire de la Vallée (Valley History Society). At the highest point, you will have a beautiful view of Masevaux and, in particular, the Abbey estate that the lords of the castle were supposed to protect. The legend of the Montori carriage: This route takes you to Montori Castle, the subject of the old legend of the Montori carriage, known in Alsatian as ‘die Montorikütscha’. The fearsome lords of Montori would leave their castle around midnight in a carriage drawn by headless white horses to hold council at the town hall in Masevaux. The carriage moved at a rapid pace and made a deafening noise. The carriage's passage through the town was frightening. The windows shook, the doors groaned, and the beams and floors creaked so loudly that one expected to see the devil himself emerge from hell! The appearance of the lords, who spoke a language that no one understood, was enough to repel even the bravest, and woe betide anyone who dared to spy on them! A brave lady, who was trying to catch a glimpse of the carriage through a crack in her shutter, was violently thrown backwards by a supernatural force. A poor man, who had lost his way in the forest, found himself unwittingly in the path of the carriage, which crushed him without mercy. When they arrived at the town hall, the lords held their nightly meeting, but what did they discuss? No one knows... Around one or two in the morning, the Montori carriage left the building with a terrifying noise. It crossed the market square to reach the Cour du Chapitre, and disappeared, swallowed up by the ground that opened and closed. The Montori carriage was reportedly heard for the last time in 1913, which foreshadowed difficult times ahead.