Le Hohwald is a commune

Communes of France

The commune is the lowest level of administrative division in the French Republic. French communes are roughly equivalent to incorporated municipalities or villages in the United States or Gemeinden in Germany...

 in the Bas-Rhin

Bas-Rhin

Bas-Rhin is a department of France. The name means "Lower Rhine". It is the more populous and densely populated of the two departments of the Alsace region, with 1,079,013 inhabitants in 2006.- History :...

 department in Alsace

Alsace

Alsace is the fifth-smallest of the 27 regions of France in land area , and the smallest in metropolitan France. It is also the seventh-most densely populated region in France and third most densely populated region in metropolitan France, with ca. 220 inhabitants per km²...

 in north-eastern France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

.

Climate

Le Hohwald is a hill village, with altitude above sea level in the commune ranging from 450 meters to nearly 1100 meters, positioned some fifty kilometres to the west-wouth-west of Strasbourg

Strasbourg

Strasbourg is the capital and principal city of the Alsace region in eastern France and is the official seat of the European Parliament. Located close to the border with Germany, it is the capital of the Bas-Rhin département. The city and the region of Alsace are historically German-speaking,...

 and some ten kilometres to the south-west of Mont Sainte-Odile

Mont Sainte-Odile

Mont Sainte-Odile is a 760 m peak of the Vosges Mountains in Alsace in France. The mountain is named for Saint Odile...

. Its position in the lee of mountains protects it from north winds and from many of the frequent fogs and mists that are a feature of the climate elsewhere in Alsace

Alsace

Alsace is the fifth-smallest of the 27 regions of France in land area , and the smallest in metropolitan France. It is also the seventh-most densely populated region in France and third most densely populated region in metropolitan France, with ca. 220 inhabitants per km²...

, and supports claims of an unexpectedly benign climate all the year round.

Economy

The tourist business is important to the local economy with more than 120 km of marked paths for walkers in the surrounding forests, other sport and recreational activities advertised including fishing and skiing, and numerous hotels, pensions and restaurants in and around the village.

Visitor attractions

The arboretum started as an experimental plantation of Douglas Fir established in 1885. Today the range of trees is more remarkable, including a rare sequoia

Metasequoia

Metasequoia is a fast-growing, deciduous tree, and the sole living species, Metasequoia glyptostroboides, is one of three species of conifers known as redwoods. It is native to the Sichuan-Hubei region of China. Although the least tall of the redwoods, it grows to at least 200 feet in height...

 discovered in 1960 and a snake-tailed spruce

Spruce

A spruce is a tree of the genus Picea , a genus of about 35 species of coniferous evergreen trees in the Family Pinaceae, found in the northern temperate and boreal regions of the earth. Spruces are large trees, from tall when mature, and can be distinguished by their whorled branches and conical...

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Visitors to the village will also encounter an unusual range of art works, including 17 sculptures representing animals and philosophical concepts.

At the upper exit to the village a fountain dedicated to the fate of Haïdi Hautval, supported by an inscription in no fewer than eleven languages, recalls a locally famous figure from history.