FC Soufflenheim Flea Market

A flea market in the potters' village

The FC Soufflenheim Flea Market is one of the highlights of spring for bargain hunters in Northern Alsace. Organised by volunteers from Soufflenheim Football Club, this event is traditionally held around 15 Grand'rue and in the village streets. Private and professional exhibitors set up their stalls in the morning, offering a wide variety of items: antique furniture, crockery, glassware, trinkets, light fixtures, books, postcards, vinyl records, clothing, antique toys, tools, and of course traditional Soufflenheim pottery and ceramics that make the village's fame. The refreshment stand and food service, run by club volunteers, offer drinks and snacks throughout the day. Proceeds from this flea market directly contribute to financing the teams, equipment and youth training of FC Soufflenheim, illustrating the importance of association events in the life of Alsatian amateur football clubs.

Soufflenheim, Alsatian pottery capital

Soufflenheim is a commune of around 5,000 inhabitants located in the north of Bas-Rhin, on the edge of the Haguenau forest, famous worldwide as the pottery capital of Alsace. The history of pottery in Soufflenheim dates back to the Middle Ages, and in 1142 Emperor Frederick Barbarossa granted the commune's potters the right to extract clay freely from the Haguenau forest, a privilege that still exists today. The village is now home to around fifteen traditional pottery workshops that perpetuate the ancestral know-how of glazed earthenware: kouglof moulds, terrines, baeckeoffe dishes, bowls and decorative objects with colourful patterns that make up the identity of this unique craft. The commune is also known for its Saint-Michel church, its preserved rural heritage and its location at the heart of the Haguenau-Drusenheim-Roeschwoog triangle, at the gateway to the Rhine plain and the forest.