Kientzheim, a Village on the Wine Route in the Alsace

Dear Mark and Amy,

It's too hot to venture outside just for the heck of it.  I did get out right after a leisurely breakfast to visit the marché to get fruit and vegetables to make salads for our Centre's simple BBQ potluck dinner this evening.  We're likely eating in the cool basement, where there used to be a small church when we first lived in Paris (1988-89), which is possibly about the time the Bloughs had moved into the Centre.

So I took a look at my photos from Kientzheim, a village of 819 (and not rising).  The residents seem to be doing well financially because the wine industry is booming, but I don't know how many workers are required out in the fields these days.  For instance, I saw little tractors going through the vineyards with vertical arms which trimmed stray shoots.  This used to be done by hand, I'm sure.  The other sources of income include lumber from their forests in the Vosges mountains, hunting of game, and tourists.  The Weiss River is quite close by and once powered their mill, etc.

We arrived around 6:00 p.m., so there was little traffic and most of the stores had closed for the day.  We parked just outside the village, which is typical of the region, and entered through the ancient gate which has the village's German name.

The banner is in celebration of the 70th anniversary of the refounding of the St Stephen's brotherhood of Alsace.  Basically, this means that about two years after Germany left the Alsace (after being defeated in World War II), the local vintners were once again able to organize and promote their own wines.  Germany had forced them to grow only certain types of grapes for a number of years.

The next two photos are related, so I thought I would show the peaceful cat first, and then display it in context. 

Thanks to a helpful comment from Veronica, I now know that this is a painting of St Veronica holding the cloth with which she wiped Jesus' face.  Let me quote from her email:

". . . this as a depiction of St Veronica! She was said to wipe the face of Jesus as he carried his cross, and the image of his face stayed on the cloth, which of course became known as the Veil of Veronica. The Latin word for "true" "authentic" is 'vera', hence the root of the name Veronica as "true image"."

This unusual fountain on the side of a house was not operating when I walked by, but I liked its humour.

Remember how the neighbourhood in which Dad and Mom lived insisted that everybody plant certain colours of certain flowers (and we thought it was over-the-top)?  I am almost ready to believe that some of these Alsatian villages have similar rules about their flower boxes because everybody seems to be planting the same flowers of the same colours.  It does look nice, but a little variety wouldn't hurt from time to time.

The village church, Église Notre-Dame-des-Doulours, is still used and is well preserved.   You can see a series of vertical stone slabs under the church windows.  Those are former tombstones from the time of Napoléon (the sign is in French and German).

 

I thought I might translate one of the stones at random--each is similar, including the skeleton at the bottom.  It was then fashionable to remind people through this type of art that death is coming.

Here / reposes Madame / Peyer-Imhoff /
born Gourcun [?] de Kerven /
at Morlaic, December 2 / 1747 /
and died the 28th of October / 1832 /
Pray / for the repose of her soul.

The pews in this church are utterly simple, but just look at the wood used to construct them--solid French oak.  Long thick planks, nearly freed of knots.  And this is true of not only the seats, but also the backs and kneeling planks (which cannot be raised).  I had to wonder if this lumber came from the city's land holdings in the mountains.

This poster indicates that it has been reported that more than 180 miraculous events have taken place because of pilgrimages honouring Notre-Dame de Kienztheim, (Our Lady of Kienztheim).

A mountain stream runs through the village, which is itself on the side of a mountain.  This main street was designed so that a little stream of water could go in this specially built trough.  The running water was very calming.  I've seen this in several villages.

This five sides of this fountain honour the important types of grapes.  Although the Gewurtztramminer is a bit sweet for me, that was the side with the best lighting.  The figures above the fountain seem to be well into the sauce. 

 

I rarely saw opened basement windows in these old houses.  I have no idea if they actually have cellars or if they have moisture problems from 'rising damp' as it is called in England.

Likely not the best way to remember the nation's WW II hero.

 

Here we see that guys water plants differently than do the gals.  This girl is using a watering can, which is very useful and proper.  The guy, on the other hand, is using his big water gun, which is not quite as efficient, but likely the only way their mother could get him to help with this daily chore.

Time and again, we saw these old wine wagons being used to hold flowers.  You can't see, but the wagons then had special pieces of wood which could be put in place so that the wine barrels could be rolled either up or down.  I can't imagine how heavy they would have been when filled.

I missed out on the excitement with the terrorist in Paris yesterday.  In fact, I didn't know about it until supper time.  I was on the other side of the river, far from harm's way.  I'm glad to see that these events to do deter people from visiting the city and its points of interest.

All for now, with love from us both,
Evan