Jerry's Alsace–Saarland Heritage Research (source summary)
This is a researched, heavily-cited travel-and-genealogy report covering the corridor that links the trip's Champagne and Alsace anchors through Jerry's German and Swiss-Alsatian roots. It is organized as four geographic "areas" plus logistics and seasonal flags. See Jerry's Family History (Ulcek / Fiedler).
The four areas
1. Orscholz & Freudenburg (Saarschleife pocket) — the Maas and Fox/Fuchs family villages, above the Saar Loop (source: jerry-alsace.md). 2. Trier & the Mosel/Saar Riesling country — the archival hub for the whole corridor and world-class Riesling (source: jerry-alsace.md). 3. Sankt Ingbert (Saarland) — the Becker-name town, home of the historic Becker brewery and Beckerturm (source: jerry-alsace.md). 4. Sainte-Marie-aux-Mines (Val d'Argent) / Val d'Argent (Alsace) — the documented cradle of Bernese-Anabaptist resettlement and the most plausible landing zone for the "Wohlust" branch (source: jerry-alsace.md).
Headline findings
- The trip works best as a north→south corridor: Champagne → Saarschleife (2–3 nights) → Trier (2 nights) → optional Sankt Ingbert/Saarbrücken → Alsace around Sélestat/Ribeauvillé (2–3 nights). A rental car is effectively required for the rural Saarland/Mosel villages and individual wineries; trains link only the bigger hubs (source: jerry-alsace.md). See Bernese-Anabaptist Resettlement in Alsace (the "Wohlust" research question).
- "Wohlust" is a confirmed null result as a literal surname — absent from the Register of Swiss Surnames and distribution databases; almost certainly a corrupted/Americanized spelling of a genuine Emmental name (Wüthrich, Wermuth, Wyss, Wittwer, or Wohlgemuth) (source: jerry-alsace.md). This qualifies the literal-Wohlust claim in Freyburg & the Saale-Unstrut (Leißling / Naumburg); see Bernese-Anabaptist Resettlement in Alsace (the "Wohlust" research question) for the full reasoning and research path.
- The Alsace landing zone is identified: Sainte-Marie-aux-Mines (Val d'Argent) / Val d'Argent (Haut-Rhin), with the Sundgau, Montbéliard, and Lorraine as secondary dispersal zones after Louis XIV's 1712 expulsion (source: jerry-alsace.md).
- Timing is favorable for late September–October: tail of the Mosel/Saar Riesling harvest plus Alsace harvest-festival season. The fixed anchor is the Barr Fête des Vendanges, 2–4 October 2026 (73rd edition, confirmed); the Saarweinfest in Saarburg is 5–7 September 2026, just before the window (source: jerry-alsace.md). See Alsace Festivals.
Staged recommendations (from the report)
- Before booking: lock the corridor order north→south; reserve a rental car; pre-book the two special-occasion anchors that sell out — Buchnas Landhotel Saarschleife (Orscholz) and BECKER'S Hotel (Trier, with the two-Michelin-star dinner, Wed–Sat only); email the three archives now with the names Maas, Fuchs, Becker (source: jerry-alsace.md).
- Shape the itinerary to hit Barr the first weekend of October; book winery visits 2–4 weeks ahead.
- Genealogy: do the Swiss step first (Eggiwil registers), confirm the true surname, then pivot to the Alsace archives. On the ground, Sainte-Marie-aux-Mines is the highest-probability heritage stop even before documentary proof (source: jerry-alsace.md).
Related pages
