History
of Schoppenwihr
Around 1750, Schoppenwihr was a large isolated farm with a large Alsatian renaissance house.
Little by little a park was created around it: the nicest trees were kept, perspectives opened towards the most beautiful views of the Vosges mountains and a small river diverted to create three lakes.
One hundred years later, the landscape was completely redesigned by Julius Niepraschk: Lakes were enlarged, the perspectives on the Vosges were transformed into large meadows.
The main house was completely redesigned as a romantic water "schloss".
The large avenue of plane trees was created and rare and exotic trees were planted: Chinese Ginkgo, Japanese Sophora, Lebanon Cedars, Taxodiums, Liquidambars, American Red, Purple Beeches, a hundred yews, and as many Buxus. By 1900, the mature park is splendid. Behind the House, stands a large vegetable and flower garden; It is the golden age of Schoppenwihr.
In 1930, the landscaper, Achille Duchêne was entrusted with the task of embellishing the property; he will focus on the "empty" spaces that he considers essential to the success of a
big park. He cut down a lot of trees, enlarged the ponds, the lawns and added a water mirror to the east of the Château.
15 years later, the park became the stage of the most violent combats in the pocket of Colmar.
The castle and the Farm are destroyed. The park, in the spring of 1945, looks like a lunar landscape: the trees have suffered a lot, some 200-year-old oaks are reduced to the state of
sticks without branches, their trunks ripped open by shells and grapeshot.....Schoppenwihr is
in ruins.
Today, the trees seem to have regained an extraordinary size and vigour, the large lawns of Duchêne have been restored, and a rock garden has been created in the castle ruins. The walker can admire the four main perspectives of the park; the view from Haut Koenigsbourg to the north, the Mirror to the west, the Grand Gazon to the east and the large Allée des Platanes to the south.
This alley of plane trees, planted around 1850, leads to the main courtyard. Some remarkable trees are: a Himalayan Pine, a female Ginkgo Biloba, and a Sophora Japonica which is covered with white flowers in August.
The walk continues to the east, with the Grand Etang and its romantic islands, including the famous Ile des Demoiselles where the remains of a small temple of love remain. You can admire a magnificent view of the three castles of Ribeauvillé.
Finally, on the north bank of the pond stands one of the oldest Taxodiums in Europe, which has the particularity of breathing through roots that come out of the ground like sugar loaves.