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WISSEMBOURG , 60km north of Strasbourg and right on the German border, is a small town of cobbled and higgledy-piggledy prettiness, largely given over to moneyed German weekenders. The townspeople have a curious linguistic anomaly; they speak an ancient dialect derived from Frankish, unlike their fellow Alsatians whose language is closer to modern German. At the end of rue Nationale, the town's main commercial street, stands the imposing Gothic church of St-Paul-et-St-Pierre , with a Romanesque belfry and some fine twelfth- and thirteenth-century stained glass, once attached to the town's abbey. Beneath the apse, the meandering River Lauter flows under the Pont du Sel beside the town's most striking secular building and first hospital, the Maison du Sel (1450). A few minutes' walk away, on the northern edge of the town, another fine old building, with beautifully carved woodwork round its windows, contains the town's folk museum, the Musee Westercamp , 3 rue du Musee (Mon, Wed & Thurs 2-6pm, Fri & Sat 9am-noon & 2-6pm, Sun & hols 10am-noon & 2-6pm; closed Jan & Feb; 15F/?2.29). Along the southern edge of town, following the riverbank from the Tour des Husgenossen in the western corner, a long section of the medieval walls survives intact, built - like the houses - in the local red sandstone. Nearby WOERTH , 25km southwest along the D27, has a museum dedicated to an important engagement in the 1870 Franco-Prussian War, reconstructed here with the aid of 4000 lead soldiers (April-Oct daily except Tues 2-5pm; July & Aug daily except Tues 10am-noon & 2-6pm; Nov-March Sat & Sun 2-5pm; closed Jan; tel 03.88.09.30.21; 15F/?2.29). Those with a sweet tooth can indulge at the Restaurant Sans Alcool (tel 03.88.09.30.79; closed Mon), noted for its desserts and ice creams - it's moderately priced, with a lunchtime menu at 40F/?6.10, and the quality of cooking compensates for the ban on tobacco and alcohol.
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