Discover Hanviller

When choosing Hanviller for a stay, you can focus on two distinct themes: the town’s architectural history and a marked circular hiking route. The Château de Gentersberg and the parish church of L'Exaltation-de-la-Sainte-Croix represent historic building phases; the “Autour des cascades et de l'ossuaire de Schorbach” route passes through Hanviller, Schorbach and Bitche. This lets you weigh up whether historical context or a longer hike should be the main focus of your trip.

History between castle and church

The Château de Gentersberg was built in the second quarter of the 18th century for Jean Frédéric Dithmar. It replaced an earlier castle that was mentioned as early as the 15th century. This castle was destroyed in the late 16th or early 17th century. The development can therefore be understood in three stages: an early-mentioned castle, its later destruction and the construction of the château in the 18th century. This chronology clearly distinguishes the predecessor building from the later château. It is therefore not only the construction date of the Château de Gentersberg that is relevant, but also the history of the older castle and its relationship to the later building.

The parish church of L'Exaltation-de-la-Sainte-Croix was built after 1787 to replace a chapel that had become too small and dilapidated. The church was destroyed during the war of 1939 to 1945 and completely rebuilt in 1960. Its history can thus be read as a sequence of predecessor building, church construction and reconstruction. The bell tower of Sainte-Croix Church in Hanviller is 27 metres high. While the dates set out the building phases, the tower’s height adds a specific architectural dimension. These two perspectives offer different points of reference if you are interested in the history and appearance of the churches.

The circular hike and its scope

The “Autour des cascades et de l'ossuaire de Schorbach” route is route no. 12 among the Pays de Bitche’s Excellence Trails. It is an easy 12-kilometre circular hike that takes 3 hours and 30 minutes. It is marked by the Club Vosgien. The route passes through Schorbach, Hanviller and Bitche. Taken together, these details answer different planning questions: the circular format describes the type of route, the places named indicate its course, and the distance and duration give you a clear sense of how much time it takes. The “easy” rating and the markings complete the picture of the hike, so you don’t have to base your choice on just one detail.

Cascades, sandstone and setting

The Neubach waterfall consists of small cascades flowing down from the top of sandstone cliffs. Two distinct landscape features come together here: cascading water and the sandstone it flows down. There is also a stone trough carved into the rock at the source of the Neubach. You can consider these features as a theme in their own right, alongside the architecture and the hike: here, the focus is on water, rock and a crafted stone feature.

The Ferme du Gendersberg is situated away from the small village of Hanviller, in the heart of the Northern Vosges Regional Nature Park. This setting adds a specific location within the nature park to the historical and landscape themes described above.

Discover more destinations: Rémilly, Éguelshardt, Manderen, Burtoncourt, Condé-Northen, Basse-Ham, Haspelschiedt, Faulquemont.

For the broader travel overview: Moselle.