The town of Ungersheim is home to the largest open-air museum in France: the Ecomuseum of Alsace. Ready to take a leap back in time and visit a village from another century?
The town of Ungersheim is home to the largest open-air museum in France: the Ecomuseum of Alsace. Ready to take a leap back in time and visit a village from another century?
In the 1970s, a group of architecture students wanted to preserve the heritage of their region from destruction.
To do so, they decided to implement an ambitious safeguarding project. In 1980, a first house was saved from demolition and rebuilt on a plot of land in the commune of Ungersheim. This was the beginning of the Eco-museum of Alsace.
Today, more than 70 buildings from all over Alsace make it possible to perfectly reconstitute a village of the 20th century.
For example, you can visit an old sawmill, a school or an old farmhouse. Thanks to donations from Alsatians, the buildings are indeed fitted out with real collection objects dating from the mid-19th century to the 1950s.
In addition to the preservation of the objects and buildings, the museum aims to protect the know-how and traditions of the craftsmen:
Thanks to the demonstrations given on site, rediscover forgotten trades and techniques.
Throughout the year, the village lives to the rhythm of the seasons and various events such as the harvest festivals or the folk music festival. More than a museum, the ecomuseum offers you an incredible experience: that of sharing the life of the former inhabitants of the Alsatian countryside.
In July 2024, more than 10,000 votes helped the museum win the Heritage and Local Tourism Grand Prix, a title that will enable it to finance major conservation work on the winegrower's house built in 1706 by a team of itinerant carpenters.
Transferred to the Alsace Ecomuseum in 1994, this building, originally located in the center of the commune of Wettolsheim, illustrates the economic and sociological evolution of the Alsatian winegrowing region, with its various architectural features: Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque influenced facade, sculpted half-timbered window frames, short decorative timbers....
Saved from demolition by the Museum, and now dedicated to the trades and traditions of winegrowing (each year, the house hosts an old-fashioned grape harvest), the building competed for the Heritage Foundation prize in order to obtain the funds required for several repair and consolidation projects.
Part of the work will be carried out by the on-site Le Gabion training center, which offers vocational training in heritage restoration. Visitors will be able to see the work in progress for the duration of the project.
Don't wait any longer and find here all the information about the museum.
Marie de Comme des Français
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Want to continue your dive into the past? Discover other preserved or rehabilitated sites:
Credit photo : Steeve_Josch / Visit Alsace
