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Freundstein Castle (Section 6)

By the end of the 16th century prosperity was returning, with silver mines and wine production generating wealth in the region, but the outbreak of the Thirty Years War in 1618 brought a period of turmoil. The treaty that finally ended this conflict transferred significant parts of Alsace to France, and full integration followed, so that by 1697 the Rhine was declared to be the official French border.

Alsace was to remain a part of France until the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–71, when invading Prussian forces won a major battle near Wissembourg. Alsace was ceded to the German Reich and the ridge of the Vosges became the new Franco–German border. Old frontier stones from this era run alongside the GR5 (Section 5).

Early in World War I, major battles were fought in the Vosges at Le Linge and Hartmannswillerkopf, and trenches have survived to the present day. The GR5 passes close to these old front lines on two occasions (Sections 5 and 6).

World War I lines at Hartmannswillerkopf (Section 6)