Andlau

Andlau
Àndlöi

Coat of arms
Andlau

Coordinates: 48°23′14″N 7°25′07″E / 48.3872°N 7.4186°E / 48.3872; 7.4186Coordinates: 48°23′14″N 7°25′07″E / 48.3872°N 7.4186°E / 48.3872; 7.4186
Country France
Region Grand Est
Department Bas-Rhin
Arrondissement Sélestat-Erstein
Canton Barr
Intercommunality Barr-Bernstein
Government
  Mayor (20082020) Fabien Bonnet
Area1 23.69 km2 (9.15 sq mi)
Population (2009)2 1,833
  Density 77/km2 (200/sq mi)
Time zone CET (UTC+1)
  Summer (DST) CEST (UTC+2)
INSEE/Postal code 67010 / 67140
Elevation 205–795 m (673–2,608 ft)

1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

2 Population without double counting: residents of multiple communes (e.g., students and military personnel) only counted once.

Andlau is a French commune in the Bas-Rhin department in the Alsace region of northeastern France.

The village owes its origin to Andlau Abbey which was founded in 880 by Richardis, the empress of Charles the Fat.[1] Andlau has been a wine-growing centre and traveler destination since its earliest days.

The inhabitants of the commune are known as Andlaviens or Andlaviennes[2]

The commune has been awarded two flowers by the National Council of Towns and Villages in Bloom in the Competition of cities and villages in Bloom.[3]

Geography

Andlau is located some 40 km south by south-west of Strasbourg and 20 km north of Selestat. It is a small town in the Canton of Barr located in the valley of the Andlau river in the foothills of the Vosges Mountains. The surroundings of Andlau town are entirely the Vosges, including a summit, the Stosskopf, which attains a height of 700 metres. The surrounding communes include Mittelbergheim to the north-east, Eichhoffen to the east, Bernardvillé to the south, Le Hohwald to the north-west and Barr. The commune has an area of 23.69 km² and its highest point is towards the northern tip of Niederberg and rises to 807 metres.

Access to the commune is by the D62 road from Exit 13 on the A35 autoroute which goes west to the town. There is also the D425 from just north of Eichhoffen going west to the village then continuing west to Le Hohwald.

West of the town the commune is entirely forested with an extensive network of forest roads. East of the town there is a small area of farmland.

Watercourses

The Andlau River: a small river which rises in the Vosges Mountains near the Champ du Feu which is a mountain situated at the eastern end of the Ban-de-la-Roche. It flows from west to east through Andlau, Eichhoffen, Saint-Pierre, Stotzheim, Zellwiller, Hindisheim, Lipsheim, and Fegersheim then empties into the Ill downstream of Ill commune. Further upstream the waters of the Valff and the Kirneck used to power 60 mills and other factories until the 19th century. Its course is about 45 km.

Toponymy

Origins of the name

Andlau is a distortion of the word Andelaha from Andelaw or Andlaw. Andelaha could come from the original name of the river of which there are traces in old maps drawn in the 15th and 16th centuries. The Andlau River is 42.8 km long and flows from the Champ du Feu to the Ill and is the origin of the name of the town. On 30 July 1857 Andlau was called Andlau-au-Val to distinguish it from that of Andelot in Haute-Marne. At the beginning of the 20th century the name became Andlau.

Neighbouring communes and villages

History

An area occupied since Gallo-Roman times

The village undoubtedly already existed in Gallo-Roman times. The village developed around the abbey of nuns founded in 880 AD by Richarde de Souabe, daughter of the Count of Alsace who was known as Erchangar. Sainte Richarde[4] later the wife of Emperor Charles the Fat who was grandson of Louis the Pious.

The foundation of the abbey

The abbey was initially placed in Saint-Sauveur following the rule of Saint Benedict and received the protection of the Pope. It was allowed to raise money until 1004. It was endowed with substantial assets and subsequently received many privileges . The Emperor Charles IV, in confirming it in 1347, declared the abbey free of all charges and contributions and granted to the abbess Adelaide de Geroldseck, and her successors, the title of Princess of the Empire. The exact date of its secularization is not known but it is believed that it took place between the 12th and 14th centuries. In addition to the charter from Emperor Charles IV many other anterior and posterior diplomas were granted to the abbey to confirm the privileges it had already obtained or to give it new ones. The recipients were required to demonstrate sixteen Quarters of nobility without misalliance and the most illustrious families of Alsace and Germany vied for the honour of admitting their girls. They were not subject to a vow and could, when they wished, return to their families and even marry.

This abbey received almost from its inception an illustration that greatly contributed to its prosperity and its status. It is known that the Emperor Charles the Fat was too weak to govern the vast empire that had been reunited under him by the death of his two brothers left in the care of the Empress Richarde, his wife. She had to advise Liutward, Bishop of Vercelli. Courtiers, jealous of the authority of the bishop and the confidence that was accorded him by the Empress, long meditated his ruin and found a way to turn the heart of the weak monarch to jealousy which piety, talents, the eminent qualities of his wife, and twenty-five years of constantly happy marriage were powerless to stop. Liutward was expelled from the court and the repudiated Empress retired to the monastery of Andlau. The legend of Saint Richarde was that she suffered the ordeal of fire and, dressed in a shirt coated with wax, was set fire in four places, she was not burned by the flames which were miraculously extinguished. In any case it was in this monastery that the wife of Charles the Fat ended her days in prayer and good works. She also found a source of consolation in letters in which she wrote with great distinction several beautiful poems which have been preserved until now where she writes of her resignation and the purity of her soul. She died before the end of the 9th century and was buried in a side chapel of the Andlau church. A century and a half later she was canonized by Pope Leo IX who was in Alsace, his homeland, and came to bless Andlau's new church built by the Abbess Mathilde, sister of Emperor Henry III.

Andlau family

The first references to the house of Andlau are in the 12th century which makes this family one of the oldest lines in France. The Andlau line forms 0.5% of the French nobility and their origins date back to the late Middle Ages so are considered old nobility – distinguished nobility or ancient nobility. The nobles of Andlau may have given their name to the town. According to some sources, the Andlau family arrived in Alsace in Roman times with another family: the Dandolo of Venice. This family had founded the castle of Bas-d'Andlau.

Another version attributes the creation of the town to a man named Balthasard d'Andolo, a native of Bologna. He would have followed Charlemagne who was heading north in the 8th century. It would then be located in the valley of Eleon and could be the origin of the foundation of the noble lineage of the Andlau family who gave their name to Andlau. Balthasard and his son founded a small monastery in the valley near the Andlau river. This theory would therefore go against the version that it was Sainte Richarde who founded the abbey.

Another proposal speaks of a knight of Andlau who helped Richarde to find a location where the bear was scratching the ground. The Andlau family acceded to the status of knights from the 9th century. They gave their name to the town and thus made bequests to the abbey. But one can also argue that the family took the name of the town which later gave them their coat-of-arms. The first character, Gunther d'Andalau, was cited in 1141 and became abbot of Saint-Blaise. The lords of Andlau won renown during the Battle of Sempach on 9 July 1386, during which the Earl of Andlau lost four of his sons. It was particularly affected by the Thirty Years' War.

The Andlau family are related to many characters in the history of France, such as Claude-Adrien Helvetius, Jacques Necker, Germaine de Staël, Jean Le Marois, Hardouin-Gustave Andlau, and Albert de Mun.

The village formed around the abbey

Gradually a small town formed around the abbey that the abbess gave in fief in 1364 to the Andlau noble family, one of the most illustrious of Alsace, whose history is mentioned for the first time in 1141 when Ganthier Andlau was abbot of Saint-Blaise. Nine years later Othon, Count of Andlau (Otto de Andelaha) appeared as a witness to a diploma from the Emperor Conrad III in favour of the Abbey of Saint-Blaise. This family has produced many distinguished men which proves the high esteem which it enjoyed under an ancient privilege which was renewed by Charles V in 1550: the eldest son bore the title of hereditary knight of the Holy Roman Empire.

Andlau as a pilgrimage town

A pilgrimage was dedicated early in its history to the Virgin Mary in the crypt of the church where the canons met every day to pray. The 14th century tower which is often confused Spesbourg Castle - is attested to belong to the nobles of Dicka. Between the 13th and 14th centuries four castles were built in Andlau. One of these was the castle of Wibelsberg-Crax of which there are a few remnants. Built between 1232 and 1249 it was first demolished by Eberhard d'Andlau then rebuilt from 1293. It was called Crax Castle but was finally demolished in 1298 by order of the Bishop of Strasbourg. The lords of Andlau fortified the town in the 15th century. In 1695 the Forest Ranger of Andlau, Frantz Ettighoffen, killed one of the last bears in the Vosges Mountains. In the middle of the 19th century Andlau had more than eighteen mills. The town is surrounded by forests and vineyards.

Heraldry

Blazon:

Gules, a cross of Or.[5]

Administration

Andlau and its Vineyards
Church of Saint-Peter-and-Saint-Paul (11th-18th centuries)
Sainte-Richarde fountain (1876)
Statue of Sainte Richarde made by an artist from Tyrol
The Abbey crypt of Saint-Pierre-et-Saint-Paul(11th century)
Statues of Saint Fabien and Saint Sébastien (17th-18th centuries) in the crypt of the Church of Saint-Peter-and-Saint-Paul

List of Successive Mayors[6]

From To Name Party Position
1882 1902 Emile Wach
1902 1914 A. Bohn
1914 1918 Victor Alfred Kientz
1918 1919 Alex Bohn
1919 1921 Jules Wach
1921 1940 Jérôme Meyer
1941 1942 Paul Bass
1943 1944 Charles Enaux
1945 1946 Charles Roth (interim after Liberation)
1946 1947 Jules Traeger
1947 1950 Alphonse Moritz
1950 1971 Auguste Gresser
1971 1989 Pierre Allenbach
1989 1994 Emile Caffiau
1994 1995 Lucien Vogt
1995 2008 Maurice Laugner
2008 2020 Fabien Bonnet

(Not all data is known)

Twinning

Andlau has twinning associations with:[7]

Demography

In 2009 the commune had 1,833 inhabitants. The evolution of the number of inhabitants is known through the population censuses conducted in the commune since 1793. From the 21st century, a census of communes with fewer than 10,000 inhabitants is held every five years, unlike larger towns that have a sample survey every year.[Note 1]

Population Change (See database)
1793 1800 1806 1821 1831 1836 1841 1846 1851
2,012 2,184 1,990 1,956 2,179 2,257 2,193 2,107 2,110
1856 1861 1866 1872 1876 1881 1886 1891 1896
2,062 2,018 2,007 2,008 1,906 1,892 1,776 1,704 1,706
1901 1906 1911 1921 1926 1931 1936 1946 1954
1,731 1,735 1,789 1,510 1,515 1,559 1,493 1,453 1,553
1962 1968 1975 1982 1990 1999 2006 2009 -
1,529 1,584 1,919 1,744 1,632 1,654 1,788 1,833 -

Sources : Ldh/EHESS/Cassini until 1962, INSEE database from 1968 (population without double counting and municipal population from 2006)

Culture and heritage

The commune has a very large number of buildings and structures that are registered as historical monuments. For a complete list with descriptions (in French) click here. Below are listed some of the most prominent historical monuments.

Civil heritage

Castle ruin Haut-Andlau
Castle ruin Spesbourg

Religious heritage

Notable people linked to the commune

Sources

The article was drawn largely from Alsace ancient and modern: topographical, historical, and statistical dictionary of Haut-Rhin and Bas-Rhin, published in 1865. The text has been modified since.

Bibliography

See also

Notes

  1. At the beginning of the 21st century, the methods of identification have been modified by law No. 2002-276 of 27 February 2002 , the so-called "law of local democracy" and in particular Title V "census operations" which allow, after a transitional period running from 2004 to 2008, the annual publication of the legal population of the different French administrative districts. For communes with a population greater than 10,000 inhabitants, a sample survey is conducted annually, the entire territory of these communes is taken into account at the end of the period of five years. The first "legal population" after 1999 under this new law came into force on 1 January 2009 and was based on the census of 2006.

References

  1. Andlau official website (French)
  2. Inhabitants of Bas-Rhin (French)
  3. Andlau in the Competition for Towns and Villages in Bloom Archived December 10, 2014, at the Wayback Machine. (French)
  4. Died in 896 or 897 AD, Richarde de Souabe was buried in the precincts of the church as was the custom
  5. Blazons of the communes of Bas-Rhin, Jean-Paul de Gassowski, consulted on 24 May 2009 (French)
  6. List of Mayors of France
  7. National Commission for Decentralised cooperation (French)
  8. Ministry of Culture, Mérimée IA00115043 Tile Factory (French)
  9. Ministry of Culture, Mérimée IA00115014 Agricultural Warehouse / Abbey Shop (French)
  10. Ministry of Culture, Mérimée IA00115011 Commandery of Teutonic Knights (French)
  11. Ministry of Culture, Palissy IM67005826 Wood Panelling (French)
  12. Ministry of Culture, Palissy IM67005825 Altar, altar seating, Retable, and Painting (French)
  13. Ministry of Culture, Palissy IM67005824 Tombstone of a Commander (French)
  14. Ministry of Culture, Palissy IM67005823 Tombstone of Johann Von Rinderbach (French)
  15. Ministry of Culture, Mérimée PA00084589 Hotel d'Andlau (French)
  16. Ministry of Culture, Mérimée IA00115015 Hotel d'Andlau (French)
  17. Ministry of Culture, Mérimée PA00084592 Sainte Richarde Well (French)
  18. Ministry of Culture, Mérimée IA00115050 Chateau of Upper Andlau (French)
  19. Ministry of Culture, Mérimée IA00115051 Chateau of Spesbourg (French)
  20. Ministry of Culture, Mérimée IA00115049 Chateau of Crax (French)
  21. Ministry of Culture, Mérimée IA00115007 Andlau Town (French)
  22. Ministry of Culture, Palissy PM67001198 Bouquet in a Pewter Jug (French)
  23. Ministry of Culture, Palissy PM67001197 Roses in a blue and white Jug (French)
  24. Ministry of Culture, Palissy PM67001196 Bouquet in a Chinese Vase (French)
  25. Ministry of Culture, Palissy PM67001195 Sunflowers (French)
  26. Ministry of Culture, Mérimée IA00115010 Church of Saint Pierre and Paul (French)
  27. Ministry of Culture, Mérimée PA00084587 Church of Saint Pierre and Paul (French)
  28. Ministry of Culture, Mérimée IA00115009 Parish Church of Saint Fabien (French)
  29. Ministry of Culture, Mérimée IA00115046 Parish Church of Saint André (French)
  30. Ministry of Culture, Palissy PM67001194 Main Altar (French)
  31. Ministry of Culture, Palissy PM67000572 2 Altars, 2 Retables, 2 Paintings (French)
  32. Ministry of Culture, Palissy IM67005807 Mural Painting: Annunciation, Ascending to Calvary, Arrest of Christ (French)
  33. Ministry of Culture, Palissy IM67005806 2 Altars, 2 Retables, 2 Paintings (French)
  34. Ministry of Culture, Palissy IM67005805 Altar, altar seating, Tabernacle (French)
  35. Ministry of Culture, Palissy IM67005804 Cross: Christ on the Cross (French)
  36. Ministry of Culture, Palissy IM67005803 Painting: Saint André (French)
  37. Ministry of Culture, Palissy IM67005801 Pulpit (French)
  38. Ministry of Culture, Palissy IM67005800 Tomb of Charles Rouge (French)
  39. Ministry of Culture, Palissy IM67005799 Cemetery Cross: Christ on the Cross (2) (French)
  40. Ministry of Culture, Palissy IM67005798 Cemetery Cross: Christ on the Cross (1) (French)

External links

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