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Key figures

Origin and history

The Grand Ballon, also called Belchen in German or Ballon de Guebwiller, is the highest peak of the Vosges Mountains, culminating at 1,424 metres. Located in the Haut-Rhin, 8 km from Guebwiller and 25 km from Mulhouse, it marks the border between several municipalities, including Soultz and Goldbach-Altenbach. Its toponym "Ballon" would come from a Celtic or preceltic root meaning "forest", although its rounded shape also influenced its name. The site is managed jointly by the communities of Guebwiller and the Vallée de Saint-Amarin.

The summit has been a strategic place since the twentieth century. In 1927, a monument to the Blue Devils (Alpine Hunters of the First World War) was erected there by sculptors André Vermare and Paul Moreau-Vauthier, inaugurated by Raymond Poincaré. Destroyed in 1940 during the German invasion, it was restored in 1960 by Pierre Bouret. Today, the Grand Balloon also houses a civilian aerial radar (since 1998) and an orientation table with 360° view, in clear weather to Mont Blanc.

Naturally, the Grand Ballon is a biodiversity hotspot with over 230 plant species listed, 20 of which are protected. Its landscapes vary between subalpine beech forests, gentian moors, and calamagrostide meadows, home to rare orchids and alpine ferns. The mountain climate, with temperatures that could fall to -31°C and a record snowfall of 3.70 m in 2006, makes it a popular site for skiing, hiking (GR 5) and weather observation.

The summit is also a place of memory, close to the battlefield of the Old Armand (10 km to the southeast), the scene of violent fighting during the First World War. Its geological history is marked by a tertiary uprising linked to the formation of the Alps, while its porphyroid granite bears witness to the geological history of the Vosges. Finally, its tourist and scientific role (weather stations, amateur radio stations) makes it a symbol of the Alsatian heritage, between preserved nature and military history.

The flora of the Grand Balloon includes emblematic species such as the martagon lily, the mountain lily or the European troll, while its fauna, although less documented in the sources, benefits from a protected natural inventory. The site is classified in ZNIEFF (Natural Area of Ecological, Wildlife and Floristic Interest) and is subject to a biotope protection order, stressing its ecological importance in the Vosges massif.

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