Stambach is little hamlet located in the Zorn Valley, between Saverne and Lutzelbourg, which was formerly a railway station. The station of this period still exists but today no trains stop there. From a "railway" point of view, there is today only an automated level crossing in Stambach.

This first postcard shows the hamlet at the end of the 19th century. The quality of the photography is not so good and the postcard is a reprint of an elder one. Those two facts do not help to give the final document a good quality. In spite of this, you can see the railway, the station (in the background on the right), and a little pond. The house on the left is a farm or a sawmill which destination will soon change.

At the beginning of the 20th century, the farm became an inn (Wirtschaft in german), kept by a man called "Distel". At that time, the place hasn't much changed yet. You can still see the barn, facing the inn, and some rough timbers in front of it. They come from the surroundings forests and have been dispatched there because there was a sawmill in Stambach. In the background, on the heights, you can see the Haut-Barr castle.

A few years later, Mister Distel has sold his inn to Mister J.Heitz. It is surely he who will transform the little hamlet in a holiday place for fresh air cures and in a walking destination for the people of Saverne,

The first step was to pull down the previously seen barn, which permitted to clear the space around the inn. The semi-industrial site will make room to a tourist place. The inn building has already been converted: a sign has been placed on the façade and another one on the roof, probably in order to be seen by the passengers of the trains. On both sides of the inn, along the road, gardens or terraces have been created, encircled with a low wall and a gate. We are no more in a "Wirtschaft" but in a "Gasthof", which in german literally means "a place were guests are welcomed".

The inn becomes a walking destination. Notice the persons sitting down at the terrace's tables during a beautiful and sunny day. The probably came here with the train. Some cyclists joined them sportively via the road and everybody poses for the photography.

Second step achieved by Mr Heitz: his inn becomes a hotel-restaurant, and has been supplied with the telephone. On this card you can see the terrace, created in the garden in the shadow of the trees, the entrance of this garden under an arbour, and an overall picture of the place. Notice on it the truck (delivery van?) parked on the road in front of the garden, and on the view right the little barouche.

The business of Mr Heitz was quite good, then he was able to enlarge (or to rebuild) his hotel in order to make this great hotel as we can see it on this postcard. This is the aspect which the building still has today.

On this view, you can see the train which goes across the hamlet with three visible wagons. Another curiosity: in the foreground and on the right, you can see two carts which served to transport rough timbers. We are located at the entrance of a little valley through which the timbers were transported to the trains. Those transported then the timbers to the sawmills of the valley. Today, the timbers are transported with special trucks directly from the forests to the sawmills.