The best hikes from bus stations around Etang De Diefenbach

On November 28, 1944, the Americans liberated Hombourg-Haut. The 319th Infantry Division of General George Patton's Third Army was the only one to intervene in this town. Twelve headstones recount the days leading up to the arrival of American troops.

This memorial was erected in memory of the 17,000 dead from Alsace and Moselle, forcibly incorporated into the Wehrmacht or other German military formations by the occupier during the annexation of our eastern provinces to the Third Reich from 1940 to 1945, abandoned by the Vichy government, in defiance of all legality. These victims were young men and women born between 1906 and 1928, mobilized from October 16, 1942, to January 12, 1945, under threat of family deportation in the event of desertion. Consumed in the Red Army in 1943, as "escapees" or as "unwilling" Wehrmacht prisoners of war, they were dragged from camp to camp, immediately converted into "underfed forced laborers." A large number of them were gathered very early on at the sinister Tambow camp, known as the "French camp" due to the size of the French Community at certain times. Tyranny, malnutrition, arbitrary punishments, excessive workload, deteriorating collective morale, epidemics, the harsh climate, inadequate clothing, overcrowding, and poor hygiene—all these factors quickly took their toll on the captive population. The loss of life at the Tambow camp is estimated at approximately 50 to 60 percent. Between 1944 and 1945, 68,000 prisoners of war of all nationalities passed through, among whom the "French contingent" was the most exploited. Few endured this regime of psychological persecution, meager rations, and forced labor for which they were ill-suited. Almost all survivors reported incurable after-effects. Six Lazarets and two rudimentary "Hospitals," antechambers of death, delivered their cargo of corpses every night, early in the morning, then dumped pell-mell into the mass graves dug by their comrades in the forest around the camp. This memorial is intended to be a place of contemplation and reflection in tribute to the dead who perished needlessly, sacrificing their young lives without reproach, knowing that their remains would never be repatriated. Most were delivered to the inhospitable Russian land, in complete anonymity. Thousands of families thus lost all trace of their sons, their husbands, their fathers who died neither for Germany nor for Russia, but in the fervent expectation and hope of returning to France, their homeland." The survivors of these Russian camps, originally from Alsace and Moselle, have devoutly preserved the memory of these dark hours and of their abandoned comrades, whom they consider "Martyrs." Don't forget them!

Parish church of Saint-Jacques-le-Majeur, the choir of the church would occupy the choir of an older church built in 1717 in place of a chapel dedicated to Saint James and already mentioned before the Thirty Years' War. This church was served in 1720 by a resident vicar. The current church dates from the early 18th century, built in 1730, enlarged in 1826 and 1870; neo-baroque style bell tower built from 1870 to 1873 according to the plans of the architect Schatz of Sarreguemines. The church of Seingbouse, formerly attached to the parish of Béning-lès-Saint-Avold, was erected as a parish in 1802 following the Concordat of 1801. It was restored and decorated under the direction of Abbot Victor Pétry (1846-1927) from 1887 to 1908. The church is a stop on the Way of Saint James. At the foot of the stairs leading to the church, on the left, is the sculpture of a scallop shell (Pecten maximus).

Beautiful hike combining villages, forests and ponds on mostly tarmacked or gravel paths.

A pleasant setting for a stroll between the water and the forest. The lake is a kilometer and a half long.

An old bunker from the Magniol Line that has been preserved. Well worth seeing.

The beauty and strength of nature

"This pedunculate oak was named after Joseph Ehrlich, who loves the forest, where he has been working for more than 40 years. In 1993, the oak had a height of 26m and a circumference of 333cm. Age was estimated at 250 years in 1993. "