An echo of tougher times.

Ribeauvillé is an an ancient and beautiful settlement in Alsace, near to the French German border.

During the second world war the village saw heavy fighting as the Germans retreated towards the Rhine, eventually being liberated by the Americans in December 1944. The damage must have been awful but the village has been carefully restored to its former glory.

You can read an account of the fighting by an American soldier who was there.