On the initiative of Véronique Mattéoli, Honorary President of the Lyceum Club of Paris, members of the clubs of Paris, Basel, Berlin and Troyes – some of whom have been linked by a twinning arrangement for many years – gathered for a three-day meeting at Mont Sainte-Odile in Alsace. We were treated to an insightful guided tour of this special place of power and women’s convent by Father Philippe Jeannin, during which we were also able to admire some of the precious illuminated manuscripts in the library and took a short walk to the 7th-century ‘pagan wall’.
On the second day, we visited the Spindler wood workshop in St. Léonard/Boersch, which produces unique works of art using wood marquetry. We then went to the neighbouring village of Klingenthal to visit the ‘Manufacture d’Armes Blanches’ arms factory, where sabres, daggers and precious cutlery for the nobility were once produced for the kings of France.
Our next stop was Séléstat for a light lunch and a visit to the extraordinary Humanist Library, a UNESCO Memory of the World site which houses, amongst other things, the complete library of Beatus Rhenanus. It is incredible that this precious collection survived both world wars unscathed. To round off the day, we enjoyed a refreshing wine tasting at the Pettermann winery in Dambach-la-Ville.
On the third day, we all took the bus to Mulhouse, where we enjoyed an interesting guided tour of the ‘Musée Impressions sur Étoffes’, with its tempting fabrics and clothes – a real feast for the eyes. On the way back to Basel, from where our Parisian friends took the TGV back to Paris, we made the obligatory stop in Goxwiller at the Fortwenger gingerbread factory to stock up on sweets.
It was a wonderful trip for all of us to some of the lesser-known sights in this part of Alsace, and we had plenty of opportunity to chat and make new friends. Well done, Véronique, for this brilliant idea!
