Betschdorf | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Town hall | |
.svg) Coat of arms | |
 Location of Betschdorf | |
  Betschdorf  Betschdorf | |
| Coordinates:48°53′58″N7°54′24″E / 48.8994°N 7.9067°E /48.8994; 7.9067 | |
| Country | France |
| Region | Grand Est |
| Department | Bas-Rhin |
| Arrondissement | Haguenau-Wissembourg |
| Canton | Wissembourg |
| Government | |
| • Mayor(2020–2026) | Adrien Weiss[1] |
Area 1 | 28.11 km2 (10.85 sq mi) |
| Population (2022)[2] | 4,212 |
| • Density | 149.8/km2 (388.1/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+01:00 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+02:00 (CEST) |
| INSEE/Postal code | 67339 /67660 |
| Elevation | 114–210 m (374–689 ft) |
| 1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries. | |
Betschdorf (French pronunciation:[bɛtʃdɔʁf]ⓘ) is acommune in theBas-Rhindepartment inGrand Est in northeasternFrance.[3]
It is located about 45 km north-northeast ofStrasbourg on the northern edge of theForêt deHaguenau, the largest undivided forest in France. Betschdorf is a center of craftpottery manufacture, especiallysalt-glazedstoneware.
The vicinity has been inhabited sinceNeolithic times. In 1912,stelae dedicated to the Roman godsMars andDiana were discovered in themunicipal forest.
A document dated 733 refers to a place calledBatenondovilla near modern Betschdorf. The 7th-9th centuryTraditiones Wizenburgenses, chronicles of theBenedictinemonastery of Wissembourg, mention a donation by Helphant ofBatanesheim, grandson ofBattacho.
Mention of twin villages begins in the early 14th century. A 1363 document is the first to use the namesOberbetschdorf andNiederbetschdorf (Upper and Lower Betschdorf). The two villages formed part of a district called the Hattgau, which became property of the count ofHanau in 1480. His successors, the counts of Hanau-Lichtenberg, retained property rights after the area fell under French control via the 1648Treaty of Westphalia, and were inherited by thelandgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt in 1736. The area remained largely German-speaking andLutheran underBourbon rule.
The development of Betschdorf as a pottery making center dates from the period 1706–1717, when immigrants from the Rhineland began making stoneware in Oberbetschdorf. TheFrench Revolution caused an exodus of potters to Germany, but theFirst Empire brought a return and a business boom. During this period the potters formed a business district along theRue de Potiers (Potters' Street).
The two Betschdorfs passed into German hands after theFranco-Prussian War. French markets dried up, and once again the pottery business went into decline. Back in France afterWorld War I, the housewares pottery business ran into stiff competition from high-volume industrial producers. Local potters began a transition to more highly decorated art pottery, still in the city's traditional blue and gray colors. This is their primary market today.
In 1971, following an act of the French Parliament to provide incentives for the merger of communes, the communes of Oberbetschdorf and Niederbetschdorf merged to form the new commune Betschdorf, ending nearly 750 years of separate existence. The following year, the nearby communes of Kuhlendorf, Reimerswiller and Schwabwiller were merged into Betschdorf.[4]
| Year | Pop. | ±% p.a. |
|---|---|---|
| 1968 | 2,848 | — |
| 1975 | 3,038 | +0.93% |
| 1982 | 3,371 | +1.50% |
| 1990 | 3,628 | +0.92% |
| 1999 | 3,727 | +0.30% |
| 2007 | 3,971 | +0.80% |
| 2012 | 4,100 | +0.64% |
| 2017 | 4,161 | +0.30% |
| Source: INSEE[5] | ||
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