Grand Ballon
Grand Ballon from west
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The Grand Ballon (French Grand Ballon ) is with 1424 meters the highest mountain in the Vosges. The mountain is also known under the name Sulzer or Gebweiler Ballon (French Ballon de Guebwiller ) to the nearest town Guebwiller (German Gebweiler ) eight kilometers east. The mountain is located in the Regional Natural Park of Ballons des Vosges.
The famous Vosges ridge road route of Crètes leads to the east around the top and overcomes in 1343 meters altitude the pass between the landmark and the Hartmannswillerkopf (French Vieil Armand ).
Climate
The Grand Ballon is the coldest place in Alsace and has the highest wind speeds. The lowest measured temperature was -30.2 ° C on 10 February 1956, the highest 27 ° C on 13 August 2003. Snow cover in winter is usually over a meter, often 1.50 m. The temperature difference between the Rhine level fluctuates measured at Mulhouse between 7 ° C and 10 ° C, in summer about it.
Tourism
The mountain has to offer slopes for alpine slopes and cross-country skiing. Located at 1,100 meters above sea level there is a guest house, at 1342 meters, a restaurant and a hotel at 1351 meters. From the summit, one has first views of the Rhine valley with Mulhouse, Basel, Freiburg and Colmar, in addition to the Black Forest and the Jura mountains, and under favorable weather conditions over the Alps from the Säntis to Mont Blanc. The best viewing conditions prevail in winter at high pressure and temperature inversion.
The summit of Grand Ballon is accessible from the Vosges ridge road from three ways with a walk of about 15 minutes. Downhill trails lead among other things to the Lac du Ballon.
Others
In 1927 a memorial was for the Blue Devils (French Diables bleus ), a mountain infantry battalion in World War I, built and inaugurated by Raymond Poincaré. It was destroyed in September 1940 by the Germans and made by the sculptor Bouret again in October 1960.
At the top is since 1997 a radar station that serves the civil aviation while approaching the airport of Strasbourg and Basel- Mulhouse. The station is completely surrounded by a viewing platform with orientation boards and was designed by Claude Vasconi. The center of the radome is on 1435.5 m.
Within the Ballon d' system and the Great Ballon has a meaning. Over it goes from Ballon d'Alsace seen from the Sun on May 1, the Feitertag Beltane the Celtic god Belenus on.