Attractions and Places To See around Kirweiler - Top 20

The first evidence of a brewery in Hochfelden dates back to the year 870, when a brewery belonging to the monks of the Wissembourg Abbey is mentioned in Hochhuzen, the old name of Hochfelden. In 1640, Jean Klein founded a brewery in Hochfelden on the site where the current Meteor brewery is located. Its name was Brasserie de la Couronne (Crown Brewery). In 1844, this brewery was bought by the brewer Martin Metzger from Strasbourg and later passed on to his son Alfred. His only child, daughter Marie-Louise Metzger, married Louis Haag in 1898, who came from a family of brewers who had been brewing beer in the village of Ingwiller, 20 km away, since 1795. The brewery was then called "Metzger and Haag". After the death of his father-in-law, Louis Haag took over the brewery completely, ran it with his sons Frédéric and Alfred and called it "Louis Haag, Metzger et compagnie". In 1925, the brewery was finally given the name "Meteor". The Meteor brewery was the first brewery in Europe to offer "Pils" outside the Czech Republic (with the permission of the Czech authorities). In the 1950s, the brewery continued to develop and finally exceeded the 200,000 hectoliter mark in 1966. In 1975, Michel Haag became director of the brewery, which reached the 400,000 hectoliter mark in 1990. The 500,000 hectoliter mark was exceeded in 2004. The beer is sold in France, Australia, Switzerland, Italy, Great Britain, the USA and Japan. In 2019, Meteor achieved a turnover of €47,885,400.00 with 100 to 199 employees. In 2019, the brewery opened a large beer bar Brasserie Le Meteor in Strasbourg

Sights: The former abbey church of St. Peter and Paul, founded around 720, belonged to one of the oldest monasteries on the Upper Rhine. In its early years, this was led by Saint Pirminius, among others. The church is one of the most artistically valuable and stylistically diverse in Alsace. It has a Carolingian crypt (8th century), Romanesque chapels (11th century), a choir and a transept in the transitional style to Gothic (late 12th century), a purely Gothic nave (13th century) and a classicist façade with a tower (1768). The remains of the monastery building (chapter house, one wing of the cloister) are of Gothic style (13th century). The furnishings are very rich (medieval gravestones and the Adelphus carpets from around 1470 with depictions of the life and miraculous work of St. Adelphus of Metz in the chapels; baptismal font, pulpit, Adelphus shrine, organ, Holy Sepulchre in the nave). The portals and rose windows are also remarkably designed and decorated. Archaeological remains of other buildings of the monastery complex can be seen to the north of the church. The now Protestant church of St. Adelphus was built between 1200 and 1225 in the transitional style from Romanesque to Gothic. It impresses with its powerful west facade and its simple interior. The choir of the church, which until then contained the reliquary and the Adelphus carpets depicting the life of St. Adelphus of Metz, was demolished in the 19th century and replaced by a flat wall. The Herrenstein Castle (ruin) was built at the beginning of the 13th century by the Counts of Dagsburg. In the 16th century it was converted into a fortress by the Alsatian military architect Daniel Specklin. Former synagogue, built in 1875, and Jewish cemetery, established in 1877

The castle complex is located on a spur on the Daubenschlag rock (French: Rocher du Daubenschlag). All that is visible here are the foundations of a large castle. Behind the clearly visible moat there is a strong shield wall, against which a large square keep (base area 11 × 11 meters) leans in the middle. In the middle of the castle complex there are still remains of a palace.

Collegiate until the 16th century, currently a Protestant church, it was built by the Benedictine abbey, outside the monastic enclosure, to house the relics of Saint-Adelphe and thus acquire the dual vocation of parish church and pilgrimage church. This building in late Romanesque style, largely built at the beginning of the 13th century, was deprived of its choir in the 19th century. The church is open every day from April 1 to October 31, from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. in summer and until 5 p.m. in winter

We visited Villa Meteor on a hot day. A nice tour at our own pace, during which we learned something. Plus a nice tasting under the parasol before the return journey by bike ;-)

Villa Meteor is an essential brewing tourist stop in Alsace! It was necessary to do so to honor the oldest brewery in France still in operation! In a fabulous site, live a unique and fun experience around the production of beer and the history of the Meteor brewery. Through various testimonies, videos, demonstrations and presentations, come and discover the history of the brewery from 1640 to the present day, share the secrets of beer production, learn about tasting and enter the great Meteor family.

Great Trail S2 down to Buckelmühle; Please be considerate of the hikers

beautiful and typically Alsatian place