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Alsatian Belchen

Ballon d'Alsace
Ballon dAlsace.JPG
Highest point
Elevation 1,247 m (4,091 ft)
Prominence 520 metres (1,710 ft) 
Isolation 17 kilometres (11 mi)
Coordinates 47°49′20″N 6°50′43″E / 47.82222°N 6.84528°E / 47.82222; 6.84528Coordinates: 47°49′20″N 6°50′43″E / 47.82222°N 6.84528°E / 47.82222; 6.84528
Geography
Ballon d'Alsace is located in France
Ballon d'Alsace
Ballon d'Alsace
Parent range Vosges

The Ballon d'Alsace German: Elsässer Belchen (el. 1247 m.), sometimes also called the Alsatian Belchen to distinguish it from other mountains named "Belchen", is a mountain at the border of Alsace, Lorraine, and Franche-Comté. From its top, views include the Vosges, the Rhine valley, the Black Forest, and the Alps.

A road leads over a pass near the peak at the Col du Ballon d'Alsace, 1,171 m (3,842 ft). The pass is noted as the site of the first official mountain climb in the Tour de France on 11 July 1905, the first rider to the top of the climb being René Pottier and the stage being won by Hippolyte Aucouturier. Stage 9 of the 2005 Tour crossed this pass on the centenary of the original climb.

Ballon d'Alsace features Alpine and Cross Country skiing tracks.

The mountain is part of the so-called Belchen System, a group of mountains with the name "Belchen" (in German) that may have been part of a Celtic sun calendar.

Statue of Jeanne d'Arc at Ballon d'Alsace

Deminers monument at Ballon d'Alsace


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Wikipedia

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