At the crossroads in Muttersholtz, France.

Since I happen to be traveling in Austria at the moment, I thought I should create a post with a little bit of European flair.  And some history thrown in for good measure, too!  I took this picture of a beautiful old-world building back in 2012, while traveling in the Alsace-Lorraine region of France.  The original settlers of Long Grove emigrated from this small town of Muttersholtz (“Mother’s Wood” in English) in the mid 1800’s, and originally named our town after their ancestral home, which was part of Germany at the time.  Legend has it that they picked our area because the “Long Grove” of trees reminded them of the terrain back home.  The original postmaster in town, a man by the name of Sigwalt, is credited with first registering the name.  However, as time went on the residents desired an English name, so Long Grove was chosen.  Today, the European town of Muttersholtz is a quaint French village, surrounded by mountains.  Many of the restored homes appeared to have originally had attached barns, speaking to the farming ways of old.  It features a central crossroads just like our Village, and some sleepy picturesque buildings, mostly residential.  It did feel like a place that could be a sister city to Long Grove.  We stopped by the Mayor’s office (even though I was only a Trustee at the time) and though I speak no French and they spoke little English, we still managed to communicate.  They had no idea that there is a town in America that used to be known as Muttersholtz.