35 minutes north of Strasbourg, after crossing the forest of Haguenau , the traveler is in " Overseas forest."
This region bordering German Palatinate is located in the Regional Natural Park of the Northern Vosges . Pleasantly hilly , affluent with rich vegetation , it offers a varied agriculture , in addition to vines that adorn the hills and hardwood forests that cover the slopes of the Vosges .
The architecture preserved half-timbered houses flowering from spring to beginning of winter and the strong attachment of the inhabitants to their folklore make this area a paradise of Alsace .
But the real curiosity is the oil history of this part of Alsace , especially the town of MERCKWILLER - pechelbronn that housed a refinery until 1970.
This story begins in the late Middle - Age , during which the inhabitants had noticed that the boars were rolling in puddles of bitumen from shale to get rid of vermin.
The virtues of this product to not only cure toothache , gout but also grease the wheels of the carriages were gradually promoted the industrial development of the sector .
In 1734 took place the first tests refining , immediately followed by a mining operation to extract the sand.
From 1885 to 1955, the oil is extracted by drilling, but profitability is no longer assured when you can carry the crude extract fabulous deposits of the Middle - East.
The activity dies slowly, but the experience will spread around the world thanks to the men who left school drilling pechelbronn , who traveled all the oil fields in the world.
Still remain 2 or 3 wells back lean production, although individuals who have invested in the rehabilitation of abandoned wells today are rubbing their hands , we understand why !
The closure of the refinery and well heard well trained placing on the market of a very large workforce , by against highly skilled .
Of large German companies wishing to enter the French market after the 2nd World War, seized the opportunity to witness the exceptional qualification of workers and engineers, the tenacity that characterizes the Alsatians , but also their cultural bilingualism .
The story is not finished : statements made in temperatures during drilling soil showed a warmer than normal over with soil depths .
EDF , together with its Italian counterpart and receiving EU funds, has drilled over 5000 meters to inject the water on hot rocks, recover to 250 ° C and rotating a generator of 20 MW.
According to experts, could install such a plant every 40 kilometers, parallel to the Rhine.
Such experiments clearly show that there are other resources than fossil fuels , and most likely worldwide .
This region bordering German Palatinate is located in the Regional Natural Park of the Northern Vosges . Pleasantly hilly , affluent with rich vegetation , it offers a varied agriculture , in addition to vines that adorn the hills and hardwood forests that cover the slopes of the Vosges .
The architecture preserved half-timbered houses flowering from spring to beginning of winter and the strong attachment of the inhabitants to their folklore make this area a paradise of Alsace .
But the real curiosity is the oil history of this part of Alsace , especially the town of MERCKWILLER - pechelbronn that housed a refinery until 1970.
This story begins in the late Middle - Age , during which the inhabitants had noticed that the boars were rolling in puddles of bitumen from shale to get rid of vermin.
The virtues of this product to not only cure toothache , gout but also grease the wheels of the carriages were gradually promoted the industrial development of the sector .
In 1734 took place the first tests refining , immediately followed by a mining operation to extract the sand.
From 1885 to 1955, the oil is extracted by drilling, but profitability is no longer assured when you can carry the crude extract fabulous deposits of the Middle - East.
The activity dies slowly, but the experience will spread around the world thanks to the men who left school drilling pechelbronn , who traveled all the oil fields in the world.
Still remain 2 or 3 wells back lean production, although individuals who have invested in the rehabilitation of abandoned wells today are rubbing their hands , we understand why !
The closure of the refinery and well heard well trained placing on the market of a very large workforce , by against highly skilled .
Of large German companies wishing to enter the French market after the 2nd World War, seized the opportunity to witness the exceptional qualification of workers and engineers, the tenacity that characterizes the Alsatians , but also their cultural bilingualism .
The story is not finished : statements made in temperatures during drilling soil showed a warmer than normal over with soil depths .
EDF , together with its Italian counterpart and receiving EU funds, has drilled over 5000 meters to inject the water on hot rocks, recover to 250 ° C and rotating a generator of 20 MW.
According to experts, could install such a plant every 40 kilometers, parallel to the Rhine.
Such experiments clearly show that there are other resources than fossil fuels , and most likely worldwide .