Travel Guide Ferrette

The gateway to the Jura and a strategic point at the heart of the Sundgau region, Ferrette is a real gem in the Alsatian Jura, with narrow streets that seem to tumble down from the top of the village. The houses seem to extend from the rocks on which they cling, telling the story of a prestigious past. Dominated by the imposing ruins of its two castles, the medieval town, former capital of the Sundgau region, belonged to the great and powerful house of the Counts of Ferrette, then to the Habsburgs until the end of the Thirty Years' War. In 1648, the Treaty of Westphalia granted all Habsburg property on the left bank of the Rhine, including the County of Ferrette, to Louis XIV. In 1659, he offered the estate and title to his minister, Cardinal Mazarin. Around 1775, the Duchess de Mazarin married Prince Honoré IV of Monaco. Since then, the Grimaldis have legitimately held the title of Count of Ferrette. Ferrette is the ideal starting point for numerous discovery walks in the wooded hills of the surrounding area, on trails marked out by the Club Vosgien. You can explore the castle ruins and enjoy a magnificent 360° panorama of the Jura, Vosges and Black Forest, or immerse yourself in the legend of the grotte aux nains. Every year, the medieval past resurfaces in Ferrette. For a weekend, minstrels, troubadours, knights and other mysterious characters take over the town. It's a great opportunity to enjoy the very special atmosphere of this pretty village.