Wimmenau Wìmmenau | |
|---|---|
 Église Saint-André (Church of Saint Andrew), erected in 1681. | |
 Coat of arms | |
 Location of Wimmenau | |
  Wimmenau  Wimmenau | |
| Coordinates:48°54′47″N7°25′26″E / 48.9131°N 7.4239°E /48.9131; 7.4239 | |
| Country | France |
| Region | Grand Est |
| Department | Bas-Rhin |
| Arrondissement | Saverne |
| Canton | Ingwiller |
| Intercommunality | Hanau-La Petite Pierre |
| Government | |
| • Mayor(2020–2026) | Gilbert Sand[1] |
Area 1 | 20.76 km2 (8.02 sq mi) |
| Population (2023)[2] | 1,070 |
| • Density | 51.5/km2 (133/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+01:00 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+02:00 (CEST) |
| INSEE/Postal code | 67535 /67290 |
| Elevation | 197–413 m (646–1,355 ft) (avg. 205 m or 673 ft) |
| Website | www |
| 1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries. | |
Wimmenau (French pronunciation:[viməno] or[vimənau][3]) is acommune in theBas-Rhindepartment inGrand Est in north-eastern France.
Wimmenau is located at the crossroads of an ancientCeltic road fromHaguenau toSarre-Union and an ancientRoman road fromStrasbourg toSaarbrücken. It was mentioned for the first time in 836 (asWimmenawe). In 1365, during theHundred Years War, a hill near the village was used by English soldiers to monitor the Sparsbach and Moder Valleys and named "Englishberg".[4]
The village was levelled during theThirty Years War (1618–1648), except for the bell-tower of the Church of Saint Andrew, and was resettled by Swiss immigrants from theBern area in the mid-seventeenth century.[5][4] From 1637-1655, there was not a singlebourgeois (inhabitant paying the citizen tax) in the town, which had 30bourgeois before the war.[6][a] As with most of the Alsace region, Wimmenau came under the rule of France in 1680.[4] The lack of farmland led to the emigration of many of the commune's inhabitants to the United States and Argentina during the nineteenth century.[4] Alsace became part of the German Empire through theTreaty of Frankfurt in 1871, but was returned to France by theTreaty of Versailles in 1919. The town came under German administration again duringWorld War II until it was liberated by American troops on 5–6 December 1944.[4]
The town contains twonational heritage sites (monuments historique). The Church of Saint Andrew (Église Saint-André), also known as the Protestant Church (Église protestante), was designated as amonument historique in 1995. Its bell-tower andchancel dates to the 12th century and was equipped with a ribbed vault in the 15th century. The church'snave—main building—was rebuilt after 1681 and expanded in 1878.[7] A house built in 1669 (with additions in 1718) by the Scherer[b] brothers—Swiss immigrants—with an adjacent oil mill dating to 1837 was added in 1984.[8] The Scherer house, oil mill, and a few additional outbuildings form a complex which house historical artifacts related to rural life in the area.[5]
The commune lies along theModer River; other waterways in the commune are the Rothbach and Rosteig Streams. It is entirely within theNorthern Vosges Regional Nature Park. It lies between 197 and 413 m elevation; the average elevation is 205 m.[9]
Wimmenau experiences an average of 1635 hours of sunshine a year (the average for France is 1900 hours).[9]
| Year | Pop. | ±% p.a. |
|---|---|---|
| 1968 | 860 | — |
| 1975 | 864 | +0.07% |
| 1982 | 900 | +0.58% |
| 1990 | 1,012 | +1.48% |
| 1999 | 1,050 | +0.41% |
| 2007 | 1,130 | +0.92% |
| 2012 | 1,133 | +0.05% |
| 2017 | 1,081 | −0.94% |
| Source: INSEE[10] | ||
Inhabitants are known asWimmenauviens (males) or Wimmenauviennes (females). The hamlet of Kohlhuette is divided between the communes of Wimmenau andWingen-sur-Moder.
| Sex | 0-14 | 15-29 | 30-44 | 45-59 | 60-74 | 75-89 | 90+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Males (percentage) | 16.9 | 13.0 | 19.6 | 23.7 | 18.8 | 7.7 | 0.2 |
| Females (percentage) | 14.2 | 11.7 | 19.5 | 24.8 | 18.0 | 11.4 | 0.4 |
Wimmenau lies along route D919—namedRoute Principale (Main Road) while passing through the town—connects the town of Wimmenau with Wingen-sur-Moder to the northwest and Ingwiller to the southeast. Route D12 connects the town of Wimmenau with the hamlet of Kohlhuette. Route D157 connects the town of Wimmenau with Reipertswiller.[11]
The town of Wimmenau lies along the Mommenheim-Sarreguemines rail line, which connects the cities ofStrasbourg, France toSaarbrücken, Germany.[12] The rail line was built during German rule by theGeneral Division of the Imperial Railways in Alsace-Lorraine; the section through Wimmenau opened 1 May 1895.[13]TER Grand Est, aTrain Express Régional operated bySNCF, operates on this line. There is no railway station in Wimmenau; TER Grand Est serves Wimmenau with bus service connecting to rail service at Wingen-sur-Moder and Ingwiller.[14]
PoliticianPhilippe Richert grew up in Wimmenau. He has served as senator for Bas-Rhin (1992–2010) and is the current president of theAlsace Regional Council (2010–present).[15]
In Wimmenau, a village with 30 bourgeois before the war, there were none from 1637 to 1655. (French: A Wimmenau, village qui comptait 30 bourgeois avant la guerre, il n'y a plus, depuis 1637 à 1655, un seul habitant.)
Le 01/05/1895, mise en service de la ligne de 69 km entre Mommenheim, Karlhausen et Sarralbe, par la Compagnie Alsace-Lorraine.
[He] grew up in a modest, working-class family in Wimmenau
Media related toWimmenau at Wikimedia CommonsPlaces adjacent to Wimmenau | |
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