Col du Louschbach

Col du Louschbach
Elevation978 m (3,209 ft)
Traversed byD148
LocationHaut-Rhin / Vosges, France
RangeVosges Mountains
Coordinates48°08′11″N 7°03′41″E / 48.13639°N 7.06139°E / 48.13639; 7.06139
Col du Louschbach
Location of Col du Louschbach

The Col du Louschbach (French pronunciation: [kɔl dy luʃbax]) is a secondary mountain pass in the Vosges Massif. It is a crossing point on the Route des Crêtes (D 148).

Toponymy

Louschbach is a dialectal toponym of Germanic origin derived from the Lorraine vernacular. Its oldest recorded written form is Luxpach (1580). It is composed of lux, meaning ‘lynx’ in Lorraine, and pach, meaning ‘stream’, that is, ‘the lynx’s stream’.[1]

Geography

Located at an elevation of 978 m, the pass links Le Valtin in the Vosges to Le Bonhomme in the Haut-Rhin. It links the upper Lorraine valley of the Meurthe, from the Rudlin near Le Valtin, with the upper Alsatian valley of the Weiss — more precisely one of its tributaries, the Béhine, which flows through the commune of Le Bonhomme. It intersects the Route des Crêtes between the Col du Bonhomme and the Col du Calvaire.[2]

History

It was the scene of fighting during the Second World War.[3]

References

  1. ^ Marichal, Paul (1870-1943) Auteur du texte (1941). Dictionnaire topographique du département des Vosges : comprenant les noms de lieu anciens et modernes / rédigé par Paul Marichal,...{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  2. ^ IGN maps available on Géoportail
  3. ^ Pommois, Lise (1993-01-01). Des Vosges à Colmar: Le val d'Orbey dans la tourmente : hiver 1944-1945 (in French). FeniXX. ISBN 978-2-307-30853-9.

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