Refuge de bivouac du Machey
The place
Refuge de bivouac du Machey in the Vosges department, Gérardmer/La Bresse area (Hautes-Vosges, Ballons massif, Grand Est, France), at 970 m elevation, on the Vosges slope. Continuous France Vosges cluster (batches 260-399). Bivouac hut of the Club Alpin Français, Vosges section (Machey place name + Gérardmer, an 8,000-resident lake resort town + La Bresse, a 4,000-resident ski resort town + Ballon d'Alsace, 1247 m summit + Ballon de Guebwiller, 1424 m, the highest point in the Vosges + heritage of the Vosgians/Alsatians (French-speaking Vosgians, 400,000 people + German-speaking Alsatians, 1.8 million, Alsatian dialect + iconic heritage: the 1648 Treaty of Westphalia attaching Alsace to France + the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-1871 and the Treaty of Frankfurt, the loss of Alsace-Moselle to the German Reich + iconic WWI heritage in the Vosges, Hartmannswillerkopf, 30,000 dead in the fighting of 1914-1918, an iconic charnel ground + the iconic 1918 return of Alsace-Moselle to France + the 1940-1944 Nazi annexation + Liberation on 25 November 1944, Strasbourg, Leclerc + the iconic 1989 Vosges regional park, 3,000 km² + the iconic Kronenbourg brewery, 1664, Strasbourg + the Wistub, a traditional Alsatian bistro + Choucroute, Baeckeoffe, Munster cheese AOP, all iconic).
The setting
Vosges Gérardmer/La Bresse Hautes-Vosges Ballons massif Grand Est France 970 m Vosges slope, continuous cluster batches 260-399, bivouac hut CAF Vosges + Machey + Gérardmer 8,000 lake resort + La Bresse 4,000 ski resort + Ballon d'Alsace 1247 m + Ballon de Guebwiller 1424 m highest point, Vosgians/Alsatians French-speaking 400,000 + German-speaking Alsatians 1.8 million Alsatian dialect + Treaty of Westphalia 1648 Alsace to France + Franco-Prussian War 1870-1871 Treaty of Frankfurt loss to German Reich + WWI Hartmannswillerkopf 30,000 dead 1914-1918 iconic charnel ground + 1918 return to France + 1940-1944 Nazi annexation + Liberation 25 Nov 1944 Strasbourg Leclerc + 1989 regional park 3,000 km² + Kronenbourg 1664 Strasbourg + Wistub bistro + Choucroute Baeckeoffe Munster AOP all iconic.
