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Fouday | |
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.JPG) The town hall in Fouday | |
.svg) Coat of arms | |
 Location of Fouday | |
  Fouday  Fouday | |
| Coordinates:48°25′18″N7°11′12″E / 48.4217°N 7.1867°E /48.4217; 7.1867 | |
| Country | France |
| Region | Grand Est |
| Department | Bas-Rhin |
| Arrondissement | Molsheim |
| Canton | Mutzig |
| Intercommunality | CC de la Vallée de la Bruche |
| Government | |
| • Mayor(2020–2026) | Maurice Guidat[1] |
Area 1 | 2.05 km2 (0.79 sq mi) |
| Population (2023)[2] | 333 |
| • Density | 162/km2 (421/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+01:00 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+02:00 (CEST) |
| INSEE/Postal code | 67144 /67130 |
| Elevation | 380–680 m (1,250–2,230 ft) |
| 1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries. | |
Fouday (French pronunciation:[fudɛ]ⓘ;German:Urbach;Alsatian:Fouda) is acommune in theBas-Rhindepartment inGrand Est in north-easternFrance.[3]
At the start of 1975 Fouday was merged with the neighboring settlements ofWaldersbach,Belmont andBellefosse: the resulting aggregation was calledBan-de-la-Roche, recalling the historical territoryBan de la Roche. The Vosgean mountain village recovered its independence at the start of 1992; it has been incorporated into various administrative structures in recent decades and is currently one of 26 communes included in theCommunauté de communes de la Vallée de la Bruche [fr].
Fouday lies in theBruche valley, on the right bank, at the river's confluence with the little river Chirgoutte (or Schirgoutte) surrounded by pastures and forests, and dominated by Mont Saint-Jean.
The village is served by theNational Road (Route nationale) 420 which connectsStrasbourg withSaint-Dié. The town is also traversed by therailway line - here just a single track - that connects these two urban centres. The mountain topography of the region keeps the road and railway running in close parallel along the Bruche Valley.
Fouday was part of the ancient lordship ofBan de la Roche along with the surrounding settlements of Waldersbach, Solbach, Belmont and Bellefosse.
The first surviving written record of the village dates from the fourteenth century, when it appeared in the records as Urbach. However, the village clearly existed by the end of the twelfth century, since the church building dates from that time.
During the late medieval period, the village church was a stage along the pilgrim route toMont Sainte-Odile inLorraine across theVosges Mountains to the west. Evidence for this comes from the fifteenth century depiction of St. James in the old choir of the church. The church also contains a carved head ofJohn the Baptist recalling theBaptist's demise: the carved head is the subject of a local pilgrimage tradition which still survives.
Despite the endurance of the pilgrimage tradition, the village joined theProtestant Reformation at the time of Pastor Marmet during the 1570s. Effectively all the villages within the Ban de la Roche became Protestantwhen the lands were sold by theRathsamhausen family to the GermanCount Palatine, George John ofVeldenz in the sixteenth century.
The village was the birthplace ofTommy Fallot (1844–1904), a Lutheran pastor who is considered the founder ofSocial Christianity in France.[4]
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