Alsace, Lorraine, Champagne, the Great Eastern is defended by the Alsatian fortress of Haut-Koenigsbourg whose haughty silhouette stands on the crest of the Vosges mountains. Refined gardens adorn the plain of Champagne, as the Chateau de la Motte Tilly. Magnificent Gothic religious buildings and mark these heavily forested areas, such as the cathedral of Reims where the kings of France were crowned.