Rising in the Vosges Mountains in eastern France, the Moselle flows generally north through the French region of Lorraine and the German Land (state) of Rheinland-Pfalz. Once in Germany it follows a deep meandering gorge between the Hunsrück and Eifel Mountains before joining the Rhine at Deutsches Eck (‘German corner’) in Koblenz.
The great attraction to a cyclist of following a river from its source is that, once you have reached the start, it’s all downhill. From the easily reached source near the Col de Bussang, the Moselle cycle route descends over 650m to the Rhine at Koblenz, 512km distant. The cycling is straightforward, with much of the route following well-surfaced cycle tracks, often along the riverbank or canal towpaths. On those occasions where roads are used, these are usually quiet country routes. All three of the countries passed through – France, Luxembourg and Germany – are highly cycle-friendly, and motorists will generally give you plenty of room. This route is suitable both for experienced long-distance cyclists, and for those who have not done much cycle touring and wish to start with a straightforward, easily followed route.
The route mostly follows French and German national cycle trails, with a high standard of waymarking for most of the journey. This guide breaks the route into 14 stages, averaging just over 36km per stage. A fit cyclist, covering two stages per day, should be able to complete the trip in a week. In addition, there are two variants and two excursions that visit attractive locations just off the main route. Allowing two weeks would enable these to be included, provide more time for sightseeing and allow the route to be cycled at a leisurely pace. You can break the journey at almost any point, as there are many places to stay along the way. These are suitable for all budgets, varying from 13 Hostelling International youth hostels through B&Bs, guesthouses and hotels. If you don’t mind the extra weight of camping gear, there are many official campsites.
The Moselle offers variety: from the delights of French cuisine to the pleasures of German Riesling; from rolling foothills and wide valleys in Lorraine to the narrow meandering gorge in Rheinland-Pfalz; from great historic cities like Nancy, Metz and Trier to pretty villages on the Boucles de la Moselle and spread out along the gorge; from Roman fortifications to 20th-century defence lines; and from two of Europe’s largest countries to Luxembourg, one of its smallest.
The sheer beauty of the route running through the narrow Moselle gorge between Trier and Cochem is rightly regarded as one of Europe’s great tourist attractions, evidenced by the large number of cyclists you will find along this section. Fortunately there is infrastructure, in the form of accommodation, restaurants, campsites and asphalt cycle tracks, to cope with it. The rest of the river is much less well-known, although no less attractive to the cycle tourist. Apart from two easily bypassed sections of rough canal towpath north and south of Nancy and a quiet country road between Remiremont and Épinal, asphalt cycle tracks have been provided along almost the whole route. While there are fewer places to stay overnight before the route reaches Trier, demand is consequently smaller and no problems should be found obtaining accommodation, food and beverages.
Huge quantities of wine are produced along the German part of the Moselle gorge, but this is not the only beverage you will find along the way. Quality wine is also produced around Toul on the Boucles de la Moselle and the Luxembourg side of the gorge is a large producer, particularly famous for its Crémant sparkling wine. Lorraine has a growing number of local micro-breweries, producing a wide variety of styles of beer. In Lorraine too, golden Mirabelle plums are used to make fruit schnapps and in the Saar valley viez, a local form of cider, is produced. Be sure to sample these local beverages, but do so in the evening: cycling and alcohol do not mix!
The steepest part of the Moselle Gorge between Brem and Eller (Stage 13)
Background
Geographically, the Moselle has three distinct sections:
Haute-Moselle (Upper Moselle, Stages 1–4) is the non-navigable part of the river running through the limestone Vosges foothills from the source to Neuves-Maisons, south of Nancy. Below Épinal, the river is followed by the Canal des Vosges.
Moselle canalisée (Middle Moselle, Stages 5–8) is the navigable, partly straightened section through a broad, partly industrialised valley from Nancy to the Franco–German–Luxembourg border.
Moseltal (Moselle Gorge, Stages 9–14) is the lower part of the river where it has cut a tight, meandering gorge between the Hunsrück and Eifel Mountains. This is the section famous for the production of Mosel wine.
Nowadays the point where the Moselle reaches the Hunsrück is the national border between the French region of Lorraine, the German state of Rheinland-Pfalz and the small independent Duchy of Luxembourg. But historically, political control has seldom replicated geography. Indeed the history of the Moselle basin for the past 500 years has been of control passing back and forward between two often bellicose nations.
The Holy Roman Empire
In medieval times Lorraine, Trier and Luxembourg were three semi-independent states and members of the mainly Germanic Holy Roman Empire (HRE), along with a plethora of other small independent states across what is now Germany. These states each had their own government structures led by a ruler with a title such as prince, duke, margrave (‘marquis’) or, in some places – like Trier – bishop. The titular leader of the HRE was the Holy Roman Emperor. When it became necessary to appoint a new emperor, these various rulers would gather together in conclave and elect one of their number as emperor. As a result they became known jointly as Electors, an early, although very limited, form of democracy. Over time the larger, stronger states came to dominate these arrangements and the Habsburg rulers of Austria more or less assumed the title of Holy Roman Emperor, while at the same time the central unifying influence and power of the HRE declined.
Trier’s Porta Nigra Roman gate (Stage 9)
Growth of French influence
To the west of the HRE was France, a country that grew steadily, first by ejecting the English from their territories in continental Europe and then by assimilating other smaller states. As France spread east so it started to come into conflict with the Empire. The first parts of Lorraine (the three bishoprics of Metz, Toul and Verdun) were annexed in 1552 but the main turning point came during the Thirty Years’ War (1618–1648). While this was in essence a religious struggle for power between catholic and protestant elements within the HRE, many neighbouring states, including France, were drawn into the conflict. In 1641 the French captured the whole of Lorraine, only to withdraw again in 1648 under the terms of the Treaty of Westphalia, which ended the war. This treaty also confirmed French rule over the three bishoprics, which then became the French province of les Trois-Évêchés.
The French returned in 1670, during the reign of Louis XIV, this time going on to invade Trier and the Rhineland too. They withdrew again in 1697. During this period of French control the Duke of Lorraine, Charles V, sought refuge in Austria, where his son Leopold was brought up in the Habsburg court. Return to full independence was short-lived. In 1736, at the end of the war of the Polish Succession, Francis Stephen, who had succeeded his father Leopold as Duke, was deposed and replaced by a French-nominated successor. This was Stanislas, former king of Poland, whose daughter was married to Louis XV, and who commissioned the beautiful palaces and squares that make up the centre of Nancy. Incidentally, Francis Stephen did not do too badly out of this arrangement: created Duke of Tuscany by the Habsburgs, he went on to marry Maria Theresa, become Archduke of Austria and Holy Roman Emperor! During Stanislas’s rule, French influence over Lorraine steadily grew and, on his death in 1766, control passed directly to the French crown. Shortly after, during the French Revolutionary Wars (1789–1799), Lorraine was reorganised into four French départements (counties) of Moselle (north), Meurthe (centre), Meuse (west) and Vosges (south).
During