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Bouxwiller Buxwiller | |
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 The church and surroundings in Bouxwiller | |
 Coat of arms | |
Location of Bouxwiller  | |
  Bouxwiller  Bouxwiller | |
| Coordinates:48°49′34″N7°29′01″E / 48.8261°N 7.4836°E /48.8261; 7.4836 | |
| Country | France |
| Region | Grand Est |
| Department | Bas-Rhin |
| Arrondissement | Saverne |
| Canton | Bouxwiller |
| Government | |
| • Mayor(2020–2026) | Patrick Michel[1] |
Area 1 | 25.59 km2 (9.88 sq mi) |
| Population (2022)[2] | 3,706 |
| • Density | 140/km2 (380/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+01:00 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+02:00 (CEST) |
| INSEE/Postal code | 67061 /67330 |
| Elevation | 177–322 m (581–1,056 ft) |
| 1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries. | |
Bouxwiller (French pronunciation:[buksvilɛʁ]ⓘ;[3]German:Buchsweiler,[ˈbʊksˌvaɪ̯lɐ];Alemannic German:Buxwiller, orBusswiller) is acommune in theBas-Rhindepartment,Alsace,Grand Est, northeasternFrance. Likely meaning "Bucco's land", Bouxwiller is the capital of the Bouxwillercanton and is located within the Savernearrondissement about 34 kilometres (21 mi) northwest ofStrasbourg.
The earliest known mention of Bouxwiller dates to 724 AD. In the 13th century, the town came into possession of the Lichtenberg family, who constructed theChâteau de Bouxwiller here in the early 14th century. Bouxwiller was the capital of the County ofHanau-Lichtenberg, and residence of the Counts of Hanau-Lichtenberg, throughout its existence from 1480 to 1736. The Château de Bouxwiller was pillaged during theFrench Revolution and its remnants were gone by the early 19th century. In 1973, the villages of Griesbach-le-Bastberg, Imbsheim, and Riedheim were incorporated into the commune of Bouxwiller.
Puxuvilare is the earliest spelling of the town, as mentioned in 724. In 737,Buxwilari andBuxovillare were used. Eventually,Buchsweiler became the standard German spelling.[4] The spelling of the town isBusswiller inAlsatian.[5]
The current spelling of the town's name dates to theFrench Revolution. In 1792, the German spellingBuchsweiler—sometimes seen asBouxweiler—was officially replaced with its French equivalentBouxwiller, then Bouxviller in 1793.[6][5] During theGerman annexation of Alsace from 1871 to 1918 andGerman annexation between 1940 and 1944, the town reverted to its German spelling Buchsweiler.[7]
The name of the town is composed of two elements: Boux- and -willer. The suffix -willer is the French spelling of the German -weiler, which derives from the MedievalOld High German suffix -willer, which in turn is derived from theLow Latin wordvillare and means "agricultural land". The first element of the name, Boux-, is likely representative of the Germanic nameBucco, as toponyms incorporating the suffix -willer was typically combined with a personal name as the first element. The letter 'X' represents the letters 'ks', of which the 's' is theSaxon genitive that frequently appeared in toponyms in the region in the late Middle Ages.[a] Thus, a probable meaning of the town's name is "Bucco's land".[5] An alternativefolk etymology of the town name is that the name is a combination ofBuchs-, the German word forBuxus (boxwood), and -willer, thus meaning "land of boxwood".[4][5] However, this origin is improbable considering the use ofPuxuvilare in 724, since the Latin suffix -villare was not associated with vegetation.[5]
Tiles and pottery shards indicate the presence of Romans onBastberg Hill, where the remains of alaconicum (Roman bath) were discovered in 1739. The earliest written mention of Bouxwiller was in 724, when Radolph and Eloïn gave the property of their respective mothers located inPuxuvilare to theWissembourg Abbey.[8]
Bouxwiller came into the possession of the knights ofLichtenberg around 1260.Rudolf I of Germany elevated Bouxwiller to the rank of city to attract the allegiance of the Lichtenberg family; this status was renewed byAlbert I of Germany in 1301. This status allowed Bouxwiller to have acity wall and host a market, among other new sources of revenue. In 1312, the city was described as anoppidum, then meaning a fortified city. The Lichtenberg family built a moated castle in Bouxwiller—theChâteau de Bouxwiller—which was first mentioned in 1329, although it incorporated achapel that was mentioned in 1315, when it hosted funeral services for John the First of Lichtenberg.[9]: 13–22 The chapel also contained anepitaph and the tomb of John, Count of Werd and Landgrave of Lower Alsace, who died in 1376.[10]: 351
Count Jacob of Lichtenberg died in 1480 without issue, leaving his territory to be divided among his nieces. The Bailiwick of Bouxwiller was inherited by Anne of Lichtenberg and her husbandPhilipp I of Hanau-Babbenhausen (later Philipp I, Count of Hanau-Lichtenberg) to become a part of the County ofHanau-Lichtenberg. Bouxwiller was the capital of the County of Hanau-Lichtenberg and residence of the Counts of Hanau-Lichtenberg throughout its existence from 1480 to 1736.[4][11][12][13] After being looted during theGerman Peasants' War, the castle was renovated in the mid-sixteenth century byPhilipp IV of Hanau-Lichtenberg and expanded with two new wings and lavish gardens.[4] In June 1683, French KingLouis XIV and his sonLouis the Grand Dauphin made a stop in Bouxwiller and three years later, the city came under French control.[4]
In 1736, the County of Hanau-Lichtenberg was transferred toLandgrave Louis IX of Hesse-Darmstadt, officially becoming a part of theLandgraviate of Hesse-Darmstadt.[4] The Château de Bouxwiller became the residence of Louis IX's neglected wifeCountess Caroline of Zweibrücken.[4] During theFrench Revolution, the château was confiscated by the state and was pillaged in November 1793 by revolutionaries.[14][15] The last remnants of the château were gone by the early 19th century.[4][12][15] The medieval fortified city's two gates were razed in 1830.[4]
In 1787, there were about 400–500 households in Bouxwiller, of which there were 40–50 Catholic families, 40 Jewish families, and over 300 families of theAugsburg Confession of theLutheran Church.[10]: 351 Mining brought prosperity to the commune in the nineteenth century, but ended in 1957.[11]
In 1973, the villages of Griesbach-le-Bastberg, Imbsheim, and Riedheim were incorporated into the commune of Bouxwiller.[16]
The presence of a Jewish population in the city is documented in 1322. The Hanau-Lichtenberg administration was tolerant of the Jews, allowing the presence of ayeshiva (religious school) andbeth din (Jewish court), which lasted from the 1760s until the French Revolution, and the establishment of two Jewish cemeteries in the commune in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. In 1725, a census of the Jews in the city counted 31 families and five widows. A largesynagogue was built in Bouxwiller in 1844. It was defaced and damaged during the Second World War and the building now houses theJudeo-Alsatian Museum of Bouxwiller, dedicated to thehistory of Jews in Alsace.[17]
Bouxwiller is situated 34 kilometres (21 mi) northwest ofStrasbourg.[18] It is the capital of the Bouxwiller canton and is located within the Saverne arrondissement.[19] It is bordered by the communes ofObersoultzbach,Niedersoultzbach,Uttwiller,Obermodern,Kirrwiller,Bosselshausen,Printzheim,Hattmatt,Neuwiller-lès-Saverne, andWeiterswiller.[20]
Bouxwiller covers an area of 25.6 square kilometres (9.9 sq mi) at an altitude of 221 metres (725 ft). The commune is not crossed by any significant rivers, but contains several large streams that drain into the riverModer. Among the large streams are the Wappachgraben, Embsbaechel, Oberholtz, Griesbaechel, Schnurgraben, and the Wallbach.[20]
Bouxwiller has aCfboceanic climate in theKöppen climate classification with an annual average temperature of 9.5 °C (49.1 °F) and annual average precipitation of 675 millimetres (26.6 in).[21]
A railway fromSaverne was opened on 15 October 1877,[22] with the railroad station in Bouxwiller opening the following year. The line was extended toHaguenau in 1881 andIngwiller in 1889. Service between Bouxwiller and Ingwiller ended in 1953; the remaining line served passenger trains until 1970 and freight trains until 1989. The rail line has since been removed and its right-of-way now forms a cycle path, while the Bouxwiller train station has been remodeled and houses artisanal shops.[23][24][25]
| Year | Pop. | ±% p.a. |
|---|---|---|
| 1968 | 3,717 | — |
| 1975 | 3,706 | −0.04% |
| 1982 | 3,655 | −0.20% |
| 1990 | 3,693 | +0.13% |
| 1999 | 3,683 | −0.03% |
| 2007 | 3,968 | +0.94% |
| 2012 | 4,017 | +0.25% |
| 2017 | 3,963 | −0.27% |
| Source: INSEE[26] | ||
En 1793, la Convention nationale confisque le château de Bouxwiller, chef-lieu de la principauté de Hanau.
Places adjacent to Bouxwiller, Bas-Rhin | |
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