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Medieval Alsace - Architecture and art around the Upper Rhine in France and Germany
8
days
from
US$4,870
Book today with a deposit from
US$731
5th - 12th September 2027
Tour highlights
- Cross the modern France–Germany border to see one shared medieval culture whole – Strasbourg, Colmar and Freiburg together, as they were before the border existed.
- Strasbourg Cathedral, one of the greatest monuments of Gothic architecture in Europe.
- Grünewald’s Issenheim altarpiece and Schongauer’s 'Virgin of the Rose Garden' – among the great survivals of late medieval art.
- Vineyards, rolling farmland and wooded hills between the towns.
- Stay throughout in a beautifully restored 16th-century inn in the heart of Strasbourg.
It is one of the oddities of modern Europe that Alsace belongs to France: historically, culturally and linguistically, the region has always had as much in common with its German neighbour across the Rhine. This tour takes that hybridity as its subject, crossing the modern border freely so that Strasbourg, Colmar and Freiburg can be seen as one shared artistic culture – stylistic variations read as regional inflections, not national differences.
For centuries the Rhine was not a border but a highway – the meeting place for goods, peoples and ideas from both banks. The region was settled by Teutonic tribes in the 5th century. In the Middle Ages, most of it formed part of the German duchy of Swabia, itself owing allegiance to the Holy Roman Empire; two imperial families, the Hohenstaufen and the Habsburgs, held their principal domains here, on both sides of the Rhine. Strasbourg, Colmar and Freiburg were among the greatest of the independent free cities of the Rhineland, the economic powerhouse of transalpine Europe.
Only in modern history has the river become a disputed frontier: France’s acquisition of the left bank in 1648 paid no heed to language, religion or culture, and Alsace reverted to Germany for 47 years after the Franco-Prussian War of 1871.
The legacy of that shared culture is one of the richest concentrations of Romanesque and Gothic art anywhere in Europe – from Strasbourg Cathedral to Grünewald’s Issenheim altarpiece in Colmar – and this week is built to see it as a whole.
Option to combine with 'The Rhine: Empire, Reformation & Romanticism', 12–19 September 2027.
Itinerary
Travel by Eurostar at c. 10.30am from London St Pancras to Paris, and continue by ICE (high-speed train) to Strasbourg, arriving in time for an introductory talk and dinner. All seven nights are spent in Strasbourg.
Strasbourg has been a major intellectual and cultural centre of Europe since the High Middle Ages, and is now seat of the European parliament. The cathedral, constructed and adorned over several centuries, is one of the greatest monuments of Gothic art and architecture in Europe. Visit also the cathedral museum and the church of St Thomas (extravagant tomb of Maréchal de Saxe) and enjoy the picturesque streets and canals.
Colmar is an attractive medieval town with richly ornamented half-timbered and stone buildings lining the streets and canals. The Gothic church of St Martin contains the Virgin of the Rose Garden, an altarpiece by Schongauer (1473). The Musée d’Unterlinden has an outstanding collection of 15th- and 16th-century pictures, chief of which is Grünewald’s Issenheim altarpiece, the most searing of all images of the Crucifixion.
A day of small places. Molsheim has a Jesuit church and a Carthusian monastery. The chapel of St Ulrich in Avolsheim was built in the 10th century and contains 13th-century frescoes. In Obernai, visit the church of St Pierre with its 16th-century windows. Rosheim possesses a number of unspoilt medieval houses and the 12th-century church of St Pierre et Paul. In the heart of wine-producing countryside, Obernai is partly surrounded by fine ramparts.
Kaysersberg is a medieval village that has kept its houses, castle, bridge and a church with a finely carved altarpiece largely intact. In the afternoon drive south through the lovely hill scenery of the Massif du Ballon d’Alsace. Nestling in wooded hills, the Romanesque abbey at Murbach was the most important in the region, and its Romanesque church is correspondingly magnificent.
Cross the Rhine to Germany. The parish churches at Breisach and Niederrotweil each have a most beautiful late Gothic altarpiece carved by the so-called Master HL with an extraordinary swirling design. Freiburg im Breisgau’s old town has survived largely intact. At its centre is the minster, a magnificent Gothic construction with the tallest spire completed in the Middle Ages. The excellent city museum has recently reopened after major restoration.
Free morning followed by an afternoon visit to the former collegiate church of St-Pierre-le-Jeune with its 14th-century frescoes.
Leave Strasbourg at c. 10.45am by TGV train for Paris and continue by Eurostar to London St Pancras, arriving c. 4.30pm.
For those joining ‘The Rhine: Empire, Reformation & Romanticism’: take a transfer from Strasbourg to Basel, where the cruise begins this evening.
Expert speaker
Dr Richard Plant
Architectural historian and lecturer specialising in the Middle Ages with a strong interest in the modern. He studied at Cambridge, followed by the Courtauld, where he obtained his PhD. He was Deputy Academic Director at Christie’s Education and has published on English and German architecture.
More tours led by Dr Richard Plant
Practicalities
Price, per person. Two sharing: A$7,580 or A$6,810 without trains. Single occupancy: A$8,890 or A$8,120 without trains.
Coach travel; hotel accommodation; breakfasts, 1 lunch and 5 dinners with wine, water, coffee; all admissions; all tips; all taxes; the services of the lecturer and tour manager.
Hôtel Cour du Corbeau, Strasbourg: beautifully restored 4-star hotel, located close to the cathedral and the Palais Rohan. Rooms maintain many of the original features of the building, though décor is contemporary.
There is a fair amount of walking and standing around within the towns. Many town centres are only accessible on foot, and paving may be cobbled or uneven. You need to be able to lift your luggage on and off the train and wheel it within stations. Average distance by coach per day: 55 miles.
Typically between 10 and 24 participants.
Before booking, please refer to Travel.State.Gov to ensure you are happy with the travel advice for the destination(s) you are visiting. As a British company we follow the advice of the UK Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office.
Dates & prices
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2027
Date
Speaker
Price
Date:
5th - 12th September 2027
Speaker:
Dr Richard Plant
Price:
from US$4,870
(Based on two sharing)Combine with
We are happy to advise on combining this itinerary with another tour or event. Please contact us for information about linking accommodation and transport.
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