The Col de Saverne (Pass of Saverne or Saverne Pass, ) is a natural

pass Pass, PASS, The Pass or Passed may refer to: Places * Pass, County Meath, a townland in Ireland * Pass, Poland, a village in Poland * Pass, an alternate term for a number of straits: see List of straits * Mountain pass, a lower place in a moun ...

in the north of the

Vosges mountains The Vosges ( , ; german: Vogesen ; Franconian and gsw, Vogese) are a range of low mountains in Eastern France, near its border with Germany. Together with the Palatine Forest to the north on the German side of the border, they form a single ...

, near

Saverne Saverne (french: Saverne, ; Alsatian: ; german: Zabern ) is a commune in the Bas-Rhin department in Grand Est in north-eastern France. It is situated on the Rhine-Marne canal at the foot of a pass over the Vosges Mountains, and 45 km (2 ...

, which permits travel between the

départements A department (, ) is an administrative or political division in several countries. Departments are the first-level divisions of 11 countries, nine in the Americas and two in Africa. An additional 10 countries use departments as second-level div ...

Bas-Rhin Bas-Rhin (; Alsatian: ''Unterelsàss'', ' or '; traditional german: links=no, Niederrhein; en, Lower Rhine) is a department in Alsace which is a part of the Grand Est super-region of France. The name means 'Lower Rhine', referring to its low ...

and Moselle, and therefore between

Alsace Alsace (, ; ; Low Alemannic German/ gsw-FR, Elsàss ; german: Elsass ; la, Alsatia) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in eastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine next to Germany and Switzerland. In 2020, it had ...

and

Lorraine Lorraine , also , , ; Lorrain: ''Louréne''; Lorraine Franconian: ''Lottringe''; german: Lothringen ; lb, Loutrengen; nl, Lotharingen is a cultural and historical region in Northeastern France, now located in the administrative region of Gra ...

.
Transport routes that traverse the Saverne Pass include national highway RN 4 and

A4 autoroute The A4 Autoroute, also known as autoroute de l'Est (), is a French '' autoroute'' that travels between the cities of Paris and Strasbourg. It forms parts of European routes E25 and E50. It is France's second longest after the A10 autoroute. ...

A4, the Paris-Strasbourg railway, as well as the Marne-Rhine Canal. The area is noted for its

botanical garden A botanical garden or botanic gardenThe terms ''botanic'' and ''botanical'' and ''garden'' or ''gardens'' are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word ''botanic'' is generally reserved for the earlier, more traditional gardens, an ...

s, especially the Jardin Botanique de Saverne and the Roseraie de Saverne. The ''Saverne Gap'' () is a gorgelike passage that cuts through the Vosges from Arzviller to Saverne, following the course of the Zorn River for most of its length. The passage is barely 100 yards wide at some points.Clarke and Smith, ''Riviera to the Rhine'', p. 366, Washington: Government Printing Office, 1993. It figured prominently into the advance of the U.S. XV Corps against German forces in the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

. The rapid traversal of the Saverne Gap resulted in a breakthrough by the French 2nd Armored Division, which subsequently liberated Strasbourg on November 23, 1944.

Notes

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