Champ du Feu, Mountain peak in Bas-Rhin, France.
Champ du Feu is the highest point of Bas-Rhin, reaching 1,098 metres in the Vosges. Its summit plateau holds alpine lawns and peat bogs on granite bedrock. A 23-metre stone observation tower built by the Club Vosgien in 1898 rises from the top, with a flared base pierced by an arched opening, a shaft banded by shallow courses, and a circular viewing gallery; it has been closed for safety reasons.
The mountain became accessible to visitors in the late 1800s when hiking clubs and local communities began developing the summit area. The observation tower erected by Club Vosgien in 1898 marked a turning point in bringing organized access to this peak.
The name is a French rendering of the German Hochfeld, "high field", a reminder that this Romance-speaking valley lies in historically Germanic Lower Alsace. The old Roman road across the ridge was recorded in 1059 as Strata and in 1382 as Rottenwegescheide, "the red path that separates", because it marked the border between Obernai's territory and the Ban de la Roche. A 16th-century boundary stone bearing the arms of Obernai and Rathsamhausen still stands near the Rothlach pass.
The summit is crossed by the D214 between the Col d'Urbeis and Klingenthal, and by the long-distance hiking routes GR 5 and GR 531. The ski area, the only one in Bas-Rhin, opened in 1959 and has 13 alpine runs, cross-country trails and 9 ski lifts. The 23 m observation tower built in 1898 by Club Vosgien was long closed for safety and has been under renovation since 2019.
The summit hosts raised peat bogs and mountain grasslands that have adapted to the high elevation, creating habitats rarely seen in the region. These natural environments coexist with ski infrastructure, making it an unexpected combination for this area.
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