Vosges. An excerpt characterizing the Vosges. Geological origin of the Vosges

The name Vosges is first found in Latin written sources and comes from the Celtic word "voe" or "peak". Unique beauty these mountains were sung by the poets of France and Germany, the peoples of these countries composed songs about them, and the legends of the Vosges are part of the school curriculum in history and literature.
The Vosges begins in the south, near the city of Belfort, where the sources of the Moselle River are lost between high, precipitous mountains bearing common name High Vosges. The Middle Vosges is a region of mountains up to 1000 m high. The Vosges is separated from the Jura Mountains located to the south by the so-called Belfort Passage, or Burgundy Gate. Since ancient times, this was the most important strategic point that the conquerors could not bypass: otherwise they would have to bypass the mountains. This place has been the scene of bloody battles for many centuries.
The Vosges stretched to the north-northeast, gradually descending to the Saverne and the Rhine-Marne canal, where they are called the Low Vosges. The Col de Saverne, or Saverne Passage, separates the Vosges in the north from the southern spurs of the Palatinate Forest in Germany. During World War II, at the end of 1944, the Saverny Pass became the site of a fierce battle between American troops and the German Wehrmacht for.
The Vosges stretched parallel to the river, along its West Bank, forming a natural border with Germany. The differences in the landscapes of the different slopes of the Vosges are clearly visible: they abruptly break off to the Rhine valley, but smoothly descend to the Lorraine plateau, breaking up into chains of low hills.
The Vosges is a forested area where all the slopes of the mountains up to a height of 1200 m are thickets of fir and spruce forests, above - beech, and closer to the peaks - alpine meadows.

The ancient fortifications, ideally inscribed in the mountain-forest landscapes of the Vosges, are the main attraction of these places.
Such an abundance of castles and other ancient buildings no wonder, because over the centuries, whoever has not claimed possession of the Vosges: the Swabian family of Hohenstaufen, the powerful imperial dynasty of the Habsburgs, the French feudal lords, Prussia, the German Empire ...
The mountains have become an ideal shelter from the enemy, which was important in times of feudal civil strife, when everyone fought against everyone. Almost all the castles of this area were located on the territory of the Holy Roman Empire. Alsace and the Vosges for a whole millennium remained one of the richest areas in Europe.
In 1079, one of the representatives of the Hohenstaufen dynasty received the title of Duke of Swabia, after which the Vosges entered the patrimonial possession of this family for two hundred years. In the second half of the XIII century. the era of the Hohenstaufen rule ended and the Vosges region was fragmented into many principalities.
Majority knight's castles not survived intact to this day, but remained picturesque ruins.
The area fell into complete decline when a series of peasant uprisings began (the largest in 1525), and then - religious strife during the Reformation, which continued until the 17th century.
After the Thirty Years' War of 1618-1648, France occupied the Vosges. The mountains became a natural border between France and Germany and were surrounded by three French historical regions: Alsace in the east, Lorraine in the west and Franche-Comté in the south.
The Vosges also became a natural border between the languages ​​of Germanic and Latin origin, largely sharing the historical fate of Alsace and Lorraine.
Up to the middle of the 20th century. Germany claimed the Vosges region, calling it Wasgenwald. During the First World War, it was a zone of endless and extremely fierce fighting. After World War II, the Franco-German border in the Vosges region was finally agreed upon.
The Vosges today is an area of ​​​​resorts and winter sports. People come here to look at one of the few places in Europe where wild fauna is still preserved: deer, wild boar, badger, fox, marten, ermine, chamois, lynx.
To protect the flora and fauna of the Vosges, a Regional natural Park"Northern Vosges".

general information

Location: northeast of France, western border of the Upper Rhine Plain.

Administrative affiliation: departments of France - Territory of Belfort, Haute-Saone, Vosges, Meurthe and Moselle, Moselle, Bas-Rhin, Haute-Rhin.
Languages: French, German (Alsatian).

Religions: Catholicism, Protestantism.

Currency unit: Euro.

Major cities: Strasbourg - 271,708 people (2009), Colmar - 67,214 people. (2009), Belfort - 50,199 people. (2009), Epinal - 32,845 people. (2009).

Major rivers: Tyr, Fecht, Bruch, Liporet, Zorn, Tsinze, Moder, Surbakh, Lauter, Eis, Zeitz, Mert, Saar, Erbach, Volon, Mosel, Savurez, Lauch, Du.

Major lakes: Gerardmer, Blanchemer, Longemer.
Major airport: Strasbourg-Enzheim International Airport (Bas-Rhin, France).

Numbers

Population: approx. 500 000 people

Population density: OK. 78 people / km 2.

Length: length - 830 km, width - 40-60 km.
Most high peaks: Mount Grand Ballon (Southern Vosges, 1423 m), Mount Donon (Northern Vosges, 1009 m).

Economy

Minerals: ore (iron, copper, lead, silver), marble, gypsum, hard and brown coal, salt, oil.

Industry: food (dairy products), light (textile), woodworking, pulp and paper, engineering (car assembly).

Agriculture: crop production (vine growing, horticulture), animal husbandry.

Forestry.

Traditional crafts.

Service sector: tourism, transport.

Climate and weather

January average temperature:+2°С.

July average temperature:+14°C
Average annual rainfall: on hills - 2000 mm (including snow cover), on the southern plains - 500 mm.

Attractions

Curious facts

The Vosges are French mountains, although for centuries neighboring Germany had a different opinion. Otherwise, you cannot explain the persistent desire of the Germans to seize Alsace and Lorraine - border French regions. Nowadays, the charming mountain landscapes of the Vosges, in which the gray stone colossus of ancient knights' castles are inlaid, belong to everyone. The Vosges is a mountain resort and a historical landmark of world importance.

FRENCH "BALLONS"

The rounded peaks of the High Vosges in the south of the city of Belfort to the middle mountain range the French call it a "balloon" (balloon) due to the fact that it seems that they are inflated with an ooeduh.

For the first time, the name of these mountains is found in Latin written sources and comes from the Celtic word “voe”, or “peak”. The unique beauty of these mountains was sung by the poets of France and Germany, the peoples of these countries composed songs about them, and the legends of the Vosges are part of the school curriculum in history and literature.

The Vosges begin in the south, near the city of Belfort, where the sources of the Moselle River are lost between high, precipitous mountains, collectively called the High Vosges. The Middle Vosges is a region of mountains up to 1000 m high. The Vosges is separated from the Jura Mountains located to the south by the so-called Belfort Passage, or Burgundy Gate. Since ancient times, this was the most important strategic point that the conquerors could not bypass: otherwise they would have to bypass the mountains. This place has been the scene of bloody battles for many centuries.

The Vosges stretched to the north-northeast, gradually descending to the Saverne and the Rhine-Marne canal, where they are called the Low Vosges. Col de Saverne. or the Savern Passage, separates the Vosges in the north from the southern spurs of the Palatinate Forest in Germany. During World War II, at the end of 1944, the Saverny Pass became the site of a fierce battle between American troops and the German Wehrmacht for Strasbourg.

The Vosges stretched parallel to the Rhine, along its western bank, forming a natural border with Germany. The differences in the landscapes of the different slopes of the Vosges are clearly visible: they abruptly break off to the Rhine valley, but smoothly descend to the Lorraine plateau, breaking up into chains of low hills.

The Vosges is a forest region, where all the slopes of the mountains up to a height of 1200 m are overgrown with fir and spruce forests, higher - beech, and closer to the peaks - alpine meadows.

There are practically no large industrial enterprises in the Vosges, as well as large cities. It only encourages them tourist attraction. Central and Southern Vosges - the world famous resort area and the pan-European center winter views sports. Regional Natural Park "Northern Vosges" - protected area listed world heritage UNESCO.

LAND OF KNIGHTS' CASTLES

The ancient fortifications, ideally inscribed in the mountain-forest landscapes of the Vosges, are the main attraction of these places.

Such an abundance of castles and other ancient buildings is not surprising, because for centuries no one has claimed ownership of the Vosges: the Swabian family of Hohen-Staufen, the powerful Habsburg imperial dynasty, the French feudal lords, Prussia, the German Empire ...

The mountains have become an ideal shelter from the enemy, which was important in times of feudal civil strife, when everyone fought against everyone. Almost all the castles of this area were located on the territory of the Holy Roman Empire. Alsace and the Vosges for a whole millennium remained one of the richest areas in Europe.

In 1079, one of the representatives of the Hohenstaufen dynasty received the title of Duke of Swabia, after which the Vosges entered the patrimonial possession of this family for two hundred years. In the second half of the XIII century. the era of the Hohenstaufen rule ended and the Vosges region was fragmented into many principalities.

Most of the knight's castles have not survived intact to this day, but picturesque ruins remain.

The area fell into complete decline when a series of peasant uprisings began (the largest in 1525), and then - religious strife during the Reformation, which continued until the 17th century.

After the Thirty Years' War of 1618-1648, France occupied the Vosges. The mountains became a natural border between France and Germany and were surrounded by three French historical regions: Alsace in the east, Lorraine in the west and Franche-Comté in the south.

The Vosges also became a natural border between the languages ​​of Germanic and Latin origin, largely sharing the historical fate of Alsace and Lorraine.

Up to the middle of the 20th century. Germany claimed the Vosges region, calling it Wasgenwald. During the First World War, it was a zone of endless and extremely fierce fighting. After World War II, the Franco-German border in the Vosges region was finally agreed upon.

The Vosges today is a region of resorts and winter sports. People come here to look at one of the few places in Europe where wild fauna is still preserved: deer, wild boar, badger, fox, marten, ermine, chamois, lynx.

To protect the flora and fauna of the Vosges, the Northern Vosges Regional Natural Park was created.

CURIOUS FACTS

■ Forests cover approximately 60% of the Vosges.

■ In Alsace, the rest of France is called "inner France" in the old fashioned way. When the Alsatians want to emphasize their isolation in cultural and historical terms, they say about the rest of France: "There, beyond the mountains."

■ Capercaillie is a symbol of wildlife in the Vosges.

ATTRACTIONS

■ City of Saverne: Chateau Haut-Barr (XII century), House of the Cat (half-timbered architecture, XVII century), Chateau de Rogan castle and museum (XVIII century), Saverne rose garden.
■ Guebwiller: Saint-Léger Church (XII-XIII centuries), Gothic Town Hall (XVI century). Church of Our Lady of Guebwiller (XVIII century), the ruins of the castles of Hugstein and Burgstall.
■ Castles of the Northern Vosges: Wasenburg (XIII century) Windstein (XIV century). Vazigenstein (XVIII century).
■ Valleys: Zhiromanskaya. Doller Valley, Amarinskaya (mountain landscapes).
■ Lake Gérardmer is one of the most picturesque places in the Vosges.
■ "Wine Route" (Les Routes de Veins): a chain of valleys with vineyards.
■ Belfort Passage (Burgundy Gate).
■ Col de Saverne (Savern passage).
■ Northern Vosges Regional Natural Park.
■ Strasbourg: "Big Island" (Grand-Ile, the central part of the city), Strasbourg Cathedral (XI century), Covered bridges (XIII century). Kammerzel House (masterpiece of half-timbered architecture, 16th century).
■ Colmar: Dominican monastery (XIII century), collegiate church of St. Martin (XIII-XIV centuries). House of Heads (decorated with images of over a hundred faces. XVII century), the ruins of the three castles of the village of Eguisheim.
■ Épinal: Place des Vosges, Chapitre district, St. Maurice Basilica, Foret de Épinal arboretum.

Atlas. The whole world is in your hands #136

Location of the Vosges.

Vosges mountain system located in the eastern part of France between 47°37" and 48°45" north latitude and 6°23" and 7°29" east longitude.

Northern frontier of the Vosges is a low hills with gentle slopes and is located between the cities of Phalsbourg and Saverne. Here passes the valley through which passes highway A4.

On South frontier of the Vosges runs along the line between the cities of Lure and Belfort. Highway N19 passes here.

Western frontier of the Vosges runs from the southwest of the city of Epinal to the northeast to Phalsbourg, through the town of Baccarat.

Eastern border of the Vosges is the valley of the river Rhine. Here, along the line of the cities of Mulhouse - Colmar - Barre, there are more steep eastern slopes of the Vosges, which, for 10 km. descend to the Rhine valley, forming a height difference of more than 1200 meters.

Vosges can be divided into two parts: northern and southern. The natural separator in this case is the river Bruch, which flows into the Rhine. The river valley passes at an altitude of no more than 400 meters above sea ​​level, dropping from west to east, between the slopes low mountains located on both sides.

South part Vosges - the largest mountain range with heights of more than 1,300 meters above sea level, covered with coniferous and mixed forests. All the highest peaks are located in this part of the Vosges: the mountains Grand Balon (le Grand Ballon, 1424 m.), Storkenkopf (le Storkenkopf, 1366 m.), Onek (le Hohneck, 1363 m.), Kastelberg (Kastelberg, 1350 m. ), Klentzkopf (Klintzkopf, 1330 m.), Rothenbachkopf (Rothenbachkopf, 1316 m.), Loschenkopf (Lauchenkopf, 1314 m.), Batrikopf (Batteriekopf, 1311 m.), O de Falimont (Haut de Falimont, 1306 m.), Gazon du Faing (Gazon du Faing, 1306 m.), Renkopf (Rainkopf, 1305 m.), Gazon de Faite (Gazon de Faite, 1303 m.). Mountain peaks fall to the south and north, where their heights no longer exceed 1300 meters above sea level.

North of the Vosges - has a small area (up to 1 thousand km2) and differs from the southern part of the Vosges by more gentle slopes of mountain peaks, the height of which only in two places exceeds 1000 meters above sea level: Rocher de Mutzig (Rocher de Mutzig, 1010m.), Donon ( Donon, 1009 m.). The rest of the mountain peaks in this part of the Vosges are much lower.

Vosges on the map:

origin of name "Vosges"

Name "Vosges" attested in written sources since ancient times. The first mention of this geographical area is contained in the Notes of J. Caesar on the Gallic Wars (IV, 10), where the word "Vosego" is mentioned, which meant a mountain between Celtic Gaul and Belgium. This ancient forested region served as the boundary between "Leuques" (west) and "Mediomatrici Sequanes" (east). Pliny, who was in charge of supplying the Roman fleet, already knew about coniferous forests Vosges.

Another mention Vosges the ancient Romans is their mythological ideas about the god Mercury. His descriptions often mention the term "Vosegus", which connected Mount Donon in the Vosges with this deity (Merc vosego). For most historians until the 19th century, this ancient "Vosegus" was the god of the dark forests of this natural area. The terms Mercure vosgien were frequent;

The third mention of Vosges , as a native region, dates back to the end of the 4th century. An ancient inscription links the term "foret vosgienne" with the wild and threatening deity "silva vosego".

In the 7th century, Jonas de Bobbio, biographer of the missionary preacher Columban, tells of Columban's journey in the area highlands of the Vosges , wrote "Erat enim tunc vasta eremus Vosagus nomine (...). Ibi cum suis resedit" (there really was then a vast desert called Vosagus (...) There he stood).

There are other references Vosges : in the commune of Zinswiller (Zinswiller, Lower Rhine) - "vogo sil"; in the commune of Gersdorf (G?rsdorf, Lower Rhine) - "vosego sil"; in the city of Bad Bergzabern (Bad Bergzabern, Palatinate, Germany) - "vosego"; in the municipality of Busenberg (Busenberg, Palatinate, Germany) - "Silva Vosegus"; in the forest house de Breitensteiner in the city of Bad Durkheim (Bad Durkheim, Germany) - "vosego", etc.

Subsequently, there is a weakening of Roman influence in this natural area, which increasingly fell under the influence of already Germanic culture. Since the 7th century, the Germanized name "Wasgauen" has already been found, which meant vast western regions related to Alsace and partly to Lorraine.

Later, these territories were liberated from the influence of the Germanic tribes. Frankish aristocrats and Christian associations appeared here. They created Frankish communities here, with a certain administrative and economic autonomy from the Carolingian Empire. However, the Carolingians, with the increase in their own influence in the Frankish lands, gradually increased it in the Vosges. Power began to be centralized, and to speed up this process, the Carolingians placed religious ministers under their control here.

Historians concluded that the mountains, although taking into account the similar administration of the Lower Empire until the beginning of the 7th century, approved in German society, began to be called Voge , which meant "great country" between the Saone and Moselle rivers. Dialect studies support this assertion.

By the end of the 8th century, a peasant communal civilization was gradually developing here. This place again begins to be called after the example of the Latinized Gaulish Vosge ou Voge , which referred to the border green area of ​​the country south of ancient Belgium (Belgica prima), the border of the former Austrasia (Austrasia) and Burgundy.

In the 13th century, the Christian Church established the Latin form of the name of the area - "Vosagum" , which comes from the Romance words Vogia or Vosgia. In the Old French of this time, the phrases "par Vouge trespassa" can be found, which means "he passed through the Vosges".

The multiple forms of the name of this mountainous area in the Romance and Germanic languages, their latinization, further interpretation under the Merovingians, led to the fact that by the end of the 13th century the population major cities in this area began to speak of her as "vosges" , which corresponds modern name this mountainous area.

Department of the Vosges (Vosges) was formed in southern Lorraine in 1790.

Geological origin of the Vosges

Vosges mountains in France and the Black Forest in Germany are not mountains of geological origin. They were formed as a result of the sudden collapse of the Rhine after a huge active fault about 65 million years before the beginning of the Tertiary period. The subsequent influence of the Alpine orogeny process due to the pressure of the African tectonic plate under the European plate is the main reason for the resumption of tectonic movements in the area. Because of this, the "Rhine faults" began to expand to the south, to the valley of the Saone and Rhone in the form of a corridor, and north of the less obvious path to the d "Oslo basin.

Intensive tectonic movement in the Tertiary period, in particular, which continued the Rhine faults, contributed to some increase in their boundaries, which ultimately led to the current state of the relief: two mountainous massifs lined up in parallel on both sides of the Rhine valley - the Vosges and the Black Forest. At the beginning of the Permian geological period, renewed erosion led to the destruction of secondary layers. Hard cores of igneous rocks such as granites and metamorphic zones of gneiss are currently shown only in some places of the Vosges. In the lateral zones of the collapse, they are sometimes still covered with thick layers of red sandstone from the end of the primary era, containing in some places thin layers of Carboniferous formations, indicating the presence of inland seas here.

At the beginning of the Mesozoic era, the formation of the Permian period Vosges became the vast shores of the sea, located far to the west and south of the center of the modern Parisian basin. A series of dives in this area leads to their being covered with alluvial sand. warm seas. However, in the subsequent Tertiary period, after the next tectonic uplift of this zone, erosion once again affects the slopes of the Vosges, removing the last secondary deposits, in place of which the old mountain range returns.

The first major glaciations of the Quaternary accelerated the erosion of limestone, clay and sandstone of the secondary period Vosges . At this time, erosion also affects the Permian deposits of the rock, as well as the rocks of the Hercynian period. Last glacial period left traces in the upper reaches of the valleys carved into the mountain slopes of the Vosges, leaving large volumes of moraine and soil below on the slopes. These relatively recent glaciations have left numerous traces of their influence in the Vosges: here is located a large number of mountain lakes, many of which subsequently turned into swamps or even ordinary flat periodically flooded meadows.

The result of intense tectonic movements in the area Vosges is their extreme instability to geological changes. Massive movements regularly occur in ancient deep faults in the earth's crust, which are especially sensitive to pressure, for example, as a result of the rise of the African plate on the European tectonic platform. On February 22, 2003, an earthquake of magnitude 5.4 occurred in the Vosges, with an epicenter near the commune of Housseras between the cities of Rambervillers and Saint-Dieu-des-Vosges. Tremors could be felt in most of France, especially in places located along large tectonic faults. Scientists say that an earthquake of the same intensity, but with an epicenter closer to the surface, will cause serious damage to houses and buildings in the area. In the 17th century, as a result of an earthquake, part of rock collapsed in the Plaine river valley.

More about the Vosges:

The highest peaks of the Vosges

Vertex	Height, m	A country	Photos
Mount Grand Ballon	1 423,7	France
Mount Storkenkopf	1 366	France
Mount Onek (Hohneck)	1 363	France
Mount Kastelberg	1 350	France
Mount Klanzkopf (Klintzkopf)	1 330	France
Mount Rothenbachkopf	1 316	France

Mountain peaks of the Vosges:

Climate of the Vosges

Climate in the Vosges unstable, and, as in the Jura region, strongly depends on the topography of the massif, as well as on weather conditions formed in the Alps. The Vosges are marked by heavy rainfall, which affects the well-developed river network of the region. The western slopes, dominated by the eastern masses from the ocean coast, are occupied mainly by forests and pastures. At the same time, continental air masses exert a noticeable influence on the eastern slopes of the Vosges (Alsace), which makes it possible to cultivate vineyards up to 400 meters above sea level in these areas, which are distinguished by a dry and warm climate.

The main air currents come mainly from the west and southwest, so the Alsatian Central Plains in the Rhine Valley from the east Vosges receive much less rainfall than on the hills in the southwest of the Vosges. The highest mountainous areas in the Vosges mountain system are very different high level precipitation - up to 2,000 mm. per year, while the mountain slopes of the Vosges near the city of Colmar have a drier climate. Here falls no more than 500 mm. precipitation per year.

Vosges exposed to two climatic zones: zones of temperate maritime and temperate continental climate. On the other hand, this is the first mountainous area on the path of moist oceanic air masses from the Atlantic Ocean. Finally, the Vosges is the northernmost major French mountain range.

In this regard, the region mountain system Vosges has a number of notable features:

Very low winter temperatures and long winters;
- ceteris paribus, the rain-snow boundary is lower than in the Alps and, consequently, the climate is more severe, with a predominance of mountain-type features, as a result of which the boundary of the traditional economic activity a person is located at lower altitudes than in other mountain ranges;
- a relatively large amount of snow in winter (winter without snow is extremely rare);
- a large amount of precipitation throughout the year, resulting in the formation of a very dense river system of the Vosges;
- winds from the west prevail, cool and humid, which change abruptly to winds from the east or northeast, which bring good weather, but in winter period high humidity increases the feeling of extreme cold;
- in winter, a temperature inversion occurs frequently, when cold air accumulates in the valleys, under a veil of fog, while the higher mountainous regions go under sunlight, exceeding the level of clouds, and are exposed to more moderate temperatures.

The flora and fauna of the Vosges. Flora and fauna in the Vosges

Flora of the Vosges

Due to the low urbanization of the region – currently Vosges remain one of the most attractive areas in terms of ecology, not only in France, but throughout Western Europe. More than 60% of the mountain slopes of the Vosges are covered with forest.

Coniferous forest trees predominate here - spruces and pines. Spruce plantations are also common, as well as beech forests and oak forests, planted on the basis of a forestry program developed in the middle of the 19th century. One of the features of the Vosges is the presence of extensive shrubs: dwarf and low-growing trees are found everywhere here, including beech, blueberry, blueberry, etc. Some of the high-altitude marshes are home to carnivorous plants.

Areas of massive blueberry growth in the Vosges widely known in Europe, including, thanks to the local traditional blueberry pie, which is offered on the menu by all restaurants in the region without exception. In the spring there is a mass flowering of wild daffodils. In the forests of the Vosges, cotton grass, carnation, cranberry, and sundew are found.

Animal world Central massif

Symbol of the Vosges is a capercaillie whose population in the region is currently under threat of extinction. Other species of birds are also found on the slopes of the mountains: boreal owl, pygmy owl, hazel grouse, black woodpecker, nutcracker, peregrine falcon, dippers, etc. The mountain slopes in the Vosges, covered with forests, are home to such large animals as deer, roe deer and wild boars.

Due to a certain conditional isolation, Vosges have long served as a refuge for herbivorous mammals, usually living on the European plains and seriously endangered in the rest of Western Europe. It is known that six species of large mammals that previously lived here also died out within the Vosges: brown bear, tarpan, European bison, elk, ibex and bison. Elk is the first large mammal exterminated in the Vosges in the Middle Ages (XI century). The European bison disappeared in the 12th century. Tarpan dies out later - in the 16th century, and a hundred years later - in the 17th century, there were no bison in the Vosges. As for the bear, in the Vosges its population was exterminated in the 18th century. The last ibex in the Vosges mountain range was shot dead in the Münster valley in 1798. The horns of the slain animal are today in the Museum natural history in Colmar.

At the end of the twentieth century, scientists attempted an artificial settlement Vosges chamois. However, this species of mammals did not undergo acclimatization and its population could not reach such a level capable of self-recovery and reproduction. Now in the Vosges there are only single individuals of chamois, the rest have died out or were exterminated by hunters and poachers.

Beaver, who also previously disappeared in Vosges , was later introduced to the mountains again and is now found in the valley of the Doller River, as well as tributaries of the Moselle River.

Among carnivorous mammals, Vosges the most common are wolves, which, however, have been absent here according to official data for 92 years. However, since 2004, several wolves have been encountered in the Vosges, which, most likely, migrated here from the Jura mountain region. Seven years later, on July 8, 2011, natural scientists confirmed the presence of a permanent population of wolves in the area of ​​Ventron and Beaune. In the winter of 2011-2012, their habitat was determined within the highlands of the southern Vosges, in the departments of the Upper Rhine, Vosges, Haute-Saone.

Preserved in forest masses southern region Vosges and a small population of lynx.

Vosges on the map:

Vosges(francais. Les Vosges, Deutsch. Vogesen listen)) is a mountain range in the northeast, constituting the western border of the Upper Rhine Plain.
A mountain range parallel to the Rhine on its western bank. It starts in the north from a, near the sources of the Moselle, in straight high steep mountains, without connecting spurs with the Jura, and stretches north to the sources of the Lauter; the northern spurs (in the Bavarian Palatinate) are called the Gardt, reach Worms and are separated by the Haxe (Nahe), a tributary of the Rhine, from the Gundsrück.
In general, the length of the Vosges chain is 830 km with a width of 40-60 km; it remarkably corresponds to the chain of the Black Forest (on the east bank of the Rhine) in terms of geological structure, age and direction. Like the Black Forest, the Vosges drops steeply to the Rhine valley, on the other hand, they slowly drop to the Lorraine plateau, crossed by numerous chains of hills.
The chain consists of granite, gneiss, variegated Triassic sandstone, Permian red bedrock, porphyry, melafir, and conchoidal limestone.

The Vosges Range can be divided into two parts: the southern, higher, and the northern.
The average height of the southern Vosges is 950 m. Not far from the beginning of the chain, to the north of the Belfort passage, rises Mount Berenkopf (1005 m), the domed peaks of Zhiromagny, or Alsasscal (1290 m), and Cervans (1189 m). Adjoining this group is the Faucille chain stretching to the west (crescent-shaped - monts Faucilles), so named for its general shape and connecting the Vosges with the Langres plateau. Further, the chain rises at the domed peak of Guebwiller, the giant of the Vosges (1426 m), then, at an average height of 900 m, Rotenbach (1319 m) and Gogepek (1366) rise; in the valleys adjacent to this mountain are the sources of Mertha, Valon and Moselotte and the lovely lakes of Gerardmer, Blanchemer. The mountains are almost entirely covered with forest, on the eastern and southern slopes there are vineyards, the ruins of castles. Remarkable: the Zhiromanskaya valley, abundant in meadows, along the Savurez River, the Doller Valley, Blumenthal at Guebwiller, along the Lauch River, the Amarinskaya Valley along the Tur River.
The northern Vosges are lower than the southern ones: the main peak is Donon (1113 m). The mountains gradually decrease, at the wide Saverne pass they are only 380 m high, and further north they pass into the Lorraine plateau with a height of 220-320 meters. In the Palatinate, the part of the Vosges located there is called Garde and rises somewhat: the final peak, Donnersberg, reaches 780 m.
Throughout its length, the chain has the same geological and botanical character. The Vosges feed many rivers; the Tur, Techt, Bruch, Liporet, Zorn, Tsinze, Moder, Surbakh, Lauter, Eis, Zeitz, tributaries of the Moselle, flow down from the eastern slope; With western slope: Mörtha, Sarr, Erbach - tributaries of the Moselle; tributaries of the Oak flow down from the southern slopes. The Vosges mountains contain great mineral wealth, of which the most important are iron, copper, lead, silver ores, marble and gypsum chips, hard and brown coal, in some places salt and oil sources.

Castles of the Northern Vosges

Falkenstein(Deutsch. Falkenstein) - or "Rock of the Falcons" was built in the 12th century. It burned down in the 16th century, then was restored and partially destroyed again during the Thirty Years' War. It was completely demolished in 1680.

Windstein(Deutsch. windstein) - these are two castles - old and new - located at a distance of 500 meters from each other. New Windstein was built in 1340. Both castles were destroyed by Montclar in 1676.

Wazigenstein(Deutsch. wasigenstein) - these are also two castles - large and small - built in the 18th century. At the pink sandstone rocks, according to legend, there was a duel between the king of the Visigoths, Valtharius, and the king of the Burgundians, Gunther. One of the poems "Songs of the Nibelungs" tells about this.

Wasenburg(Deutsch. Wasenbourg) - was built in the XIII century by the Strasbourg Bishop Jean Lichtenberg.