The entrance to the "Favorite Village of the French 2020", Hunspach, in Alsace. - T. Gagnepain / 20 Minutes

  • The commune of Hunspach, in the Bas-Rhin, was elected "The favorite village of the French", Wednesday evening on France 3.
  • If the village, located 50 minutes from Strasbourg and 10 minutes from the German border, has won, it owes much to its half-timbered houses. They are all white, with oak beams.

Tourists were already walking through the village streets on Thursday. “There is an authenticity that emerges. It is very calm and very beautiful, ”appreciated this Breton couple. “It's surprising that it stayed that way when we see the number of villages that have become tourist factories. "

At the entrance, a sign announces it. Hunspach (pronounced "Hounchpare") is classified "among the most beautiful villages in France". Since Wednesday evening and the program broadcast on France 3, it has even been "the favorite village of the French 2020". It is written on the golden plate that the mayor, Bertrand Wahl, came to present to the schoolchildren of the town this Thursday morning.

"We are going to put it on a pedestrian circuit but not anywhere, I want it in evidence. I was also told to fix it with four different screws, to avoid theft, ”says the councilor, obviously very proud the day after this coronation… unexpected. Well almost.

The mayor of Hunspach, Bertrand Wahl, with the president of the association for the history of Hunspach and the surrounding area, Béatrice Kehrli. - T. Gagnepain / 20 minutes

Beside him, Béatrice Kehrli admits, she knew the result of the vote which gathered 700,000 votes. "But nothing had to be said, it was hard," laughs the president of the history association of Hunspach and the surrounding area. "But the mayor knew nothing. He discovered it with the 150 or so people who came to the village hall on Tuesday evening, before going live, in duplex, with the host Stéphane Bern.

White facades… because it's cheaper

"It's been three years since they contacted us to participate," reveals the councilor, in office since 2014 and re-elected in the first round this year. "But there were conditions to be respected such as having no work, no scaffolding on a facade ... When they came to shoot in early June for two days, a resident who was doing renovations played the game, he lowered the crane! "

It was out of the question that the craft would distort the village, which was largely made up of half-timbered houses. All white, with oak beams. "Why is there no color on the facades as we see elsewhere in Alsace? Because the Protestant village depended on a lord who wanted people to save money, ”explains Béatrice Kehrli. “Pigments were too expensive. "

In Hunspach, the half-timbered houses are all white. - T. Gagnepain / 20 Minutes

Everywhere, the vast constructions, mostly farm buildings, have kept this uniformity which gives a certain cachet to the place. It is not the few tourists passing through this morning who will say the opposite. “There is an authenticity that emerges. It is very peaceful and very beautiful, ”appreciates this Breton couple. “It's surprising that it stayed that way when we see the number of villages that have become tourist factories. "

"The place has so far been preserved"

This is precisely what many of the 653 inhabitants listed on January 1 already fear. "The place has so far been preserved, it has to stay like that," advocates Monique, born in the town then left before coming back for her retirement. “The last time I visited Kaysersberg, I had to stick together. As long as it never happens here. "

"We must not lose our souls and make the village a commercial object victim of its success," says Elvire Fischer, who runs the bakery, one of the few shops in the town with the restaurant. “But it's still a great satisfaction to have won. It is a recognition. For once, we are more visible than the villages of the Wine Route. "

Born in the town, Monique returned there to retire. - T. Gagnepain / 20 Minutes

From being as crowded as Riquewihr, Ribeauvillé or Colmar, there is still a long way to go for Hunspach. Last year, 2,000 visitors came to the municipal tourist office. "I also had 1,000 people on guided tours," adds Béatrice Kehrli, showing the chalet which is about to open in the square, opposite the school. "It will be a tourist reception office," said Mayor Bertrand Wahl. "You see, we are preparing for their arrival! "

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  • The favorite village of the French
  • Strasbourg
  • Tourism
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