Selestat Tour
Tours in Selestat
A rich heritage to be discovered!
To visit Selestat means discovering the third largest city in Alsace for its rich architectural heritage, after Strasbourg and Colmar.
Located in the “Grand Est” region, Sélestat is one of the 202 cities in France with the specific label “art and history”. These cities are committed to keep and sustain the architectural quality as well as the living conditions by enhancing the beautiful environment. Strasbourg, Mulhouse and Selestat are the three cities in Alsace to be labeled.
Located below the Haut-Koenigsbourg castle and the Alsatian vineyards, the city of Selestat will seduce you with its half-timbered houses, its superb buildings from the Alsatian Renaissance period as well as other “must-sees”, often unknown to the Alsatians themselves.
Let’s go on a tour in this Alsatian city which will reveal its historical treasures as we stroll along!
Tour of the picturesque city center of Selestat
The mysterious “lady” with a secret charm
Tour duration: 2h
During this tour in the city center of Selestat, we will walk through the streets in search of typical buildings of the Alsatian Renaissance.
We will also discover the churches of “Saint Foy” and “SaintGeorges” which have survived the centuries to surprise us with their beauty and their somewhat incredible history, including the story of the “Mona Lisa” of Selestat.
One of the oldest districts of the city will welcome us for a surprise tasting as well as a return on the traces of the witches of the 17th century.
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The Humanist Library of Selestat
A heritage listed as a UNESCO Memory of the World register.
Tour duration: 1h
One of the highlights of a tour to Selestat is to enter “the book cathedral” that is the Humanist Library of Selestat.
Restored and redesigned by the architect Rudy Riccioti (also the architect of the Museum of European and Mediterranean Civilizations, the MUCEM in Marseille), the Humanist Library, a true vessel of stone and glass, houses the one and only library of a humanist that has remained intact on French soil.
This humanist, lover of the “Belles Lettres” and books, is known as Beatus Rhenanus. He was born in Selestat and was, for 17 years, the director of the publications of Erasmus, the prince of the Humanists.
The tour, which lasts about an hour, will take us into the intimacy of Beatus Rhenanus and the books that fascinated and shaped him.
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The House of Bread
The association of flavours and scents of yesteryear
Tour duration: 1h
This tour in the headquarters of the old bakers’ guild of Selestat, will take us back into the history of bread and bakery specialties.
The building, located near the “Hotel d’Ebersmunster” and the Humanist Library, was the headquarters of the Selestat bakers’ guild, whose first known “rules and regulations” date back to 1462.
The museum of the House of Bread contains treasures of the history of baking in Alsace, like molds dating from the 18th century such as the swaddled infant.
A tasting of “bredeles” (Alsatian cookies) will end the visit in beauty. During Christmas time, in the whole month of December, the House of Bread of Selestat offers you a unique speciality, the flaky tree. This specialty pays tribute to the oldest written mention of the Christmas tree dating from 1521 and coming from Selestat.
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