Chapelle Saint-Ulrich and the Tanners' Quarter
Most visitors walk straight up Grand'Rue and miss the tangle of medieval lanes that branch off to the east — the old tanners' quarter, where the Strengbach stream once powered the leather trade. Here, moss-covered wash-houses, asymmetric half-timbered facades and a tiny Romanesque chapel create the most photogenic and least-crowded corner of the entire town.
The Wash-Houses and the Stream
Three historic lavoirs (public wash-houses) survive along the Strengbach, the most picturesque sitting at the junction of Rue des Tanneurs and Rue de la Fraternité. The stone troughs are still intact, framed by geranium-draped window boxes and the sound of running water — a scene virtually unchanged since the 18th century.
The best time to photograph this quarter is early morning, before 8 a.m., when the light is soft and the lane is empty. A single narrow alley, Ruelle des Tanneurs, is so tight that two people can barely pass — look up at the overhanging upper storeys leaning toward each other.
Chapelle Saint-Ulrich
At the top of the tanners' quarter, a short stepped path leads to the small Chapelle Saint-Ulrich, a Romanesque oratory that predates the town's main church. It is rarely locked and almost never visited, offering a moment of genuine quiet amid carved stone corbels and a single stained-glass lancet window.
The chapel's exterior wall retains a carved relief of a bishop that local historians date to the 12th century — remarkable for surviving the upheavals of the Revolution and two World Wars.
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