Eguisheim | |
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 Street in Eguisheim | |
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Location of Eguisheim  | |
  Eguisheim  Eguisheim | |
| Coordinates:48°02′37″N7°18′24″E / 48.0436°N 7.3067°E /48.0436; 7.3067 | |
| Country | France |
| Region | Grand Est |
| Department | Haut-Rhin |
| Arrondissement | Colmar-Ribeauvillé |
| Canton | Wintzenheim |
| Government | |
| • Mayor(2020–2026) | Claude Centlivre[1] |
Area 1 | 14.13 km2 (5.46 sq mi) |
| Population (2022)[2] | 1,735 |
| • Density | 120/km2 (320/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+01:00 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+02:00 (CEST) |
| INSEE/Postal code | 68078 /68420 |
| Elevation | 191–764 m (627–2,507 ft) (avg. 210 m or 690 ft) |
| 1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries. | |
Eguisheim (French:[egisaim]ⓘ;[3]German:Egisheim;Alsatian:Egsa) is acommune in theHaut-Rhindepartment inGrand Est in north-easternFrance. It lies in the historical region ofAlsace (German:Elsass). The village lies on the edge of theBallons des Vosges Nature Park, where theVosges meet theUpper Rhine Plain.
Eguisheim is about 7 kilometres (4 mi) fromColmar.
The vineyards around Eguisheim produceAlsace wine of high quality. The village is ranked in the top 20 ofLes Plus Beaux Villages de France. In May 2013 it was voted the 'Village préféré des Français' (Favorite French Village), an annual distinction that passes from town to town throughout France.[4]
Human presence in the area as early as thePaleolithic age is testified by archaeological excavations. Two parts from a human skull (from the frontal and parietal bones) were found in 1865 and given to Charles-Frédéric Faudel, a physician in nearbyColmar, who carefully described the find[5] and noted they were found undisturbed between animal bones, which allowed for a relative dating at a time when the very existence of prehistoric humans was still doubted.[6] The find became known in France in 1867 throughPaul Broca,[7] and subsequently became a topic of discussion in the debate over what would becomepaleoanthropology.[6]Jean Louis Armand de Quatrefages de Bréau andErnest Hamy, in their 1873Crania ethnica, grouped Eguisheim and others with the finds at Neanderthal andNaulette, creating a "race of Canstadt" that was so flexible that almost all fossil remains of humans would fit.[8]
Gustav Schwalbe (who first published on the skull in 1897[9]), in a comparison with other skull fragments including those found inSpy, Belgium, concluded the skull was sufficiently different fromNeanderthal skulls and approached the measurements of modern humans. One reviewer cast some doubt on Schwalbe's comparison and argued that only thecranial vault was substantially different from the others, but this, he said, could have been a normal variation from the mean within a group.[10] Later scholars seem to have accepted the identification of the skull as belonging to a Neanderthal,[11] though Schwalbe again, in 1902, insisted on the difference between the Eguisheim and Neanderthal skulls.[12] In 1904 Schwalbe proposed a species he calledHomo primigenius for what at least one of his contemporaries calledHome neandertalensis, and excluded the Eguisheim skull from that category.[13]
In early historic times it was inhabited by theGaul tribe of theSenones; theRomans conquered the village and developed here the cultivation of wine.[citation needed]
In the early Middle Ages, theDukes of Alsace built a castle here (11th century) around which the current settlement developed.
Eguisheim has a climate that is principallyoceanic being influenced by theAtlantic Ocean, it is warm and temperate. It is rated asCfB on theKöppen-Geiger scale. Because Eguisheim is landinward temperatures in the summer regularly exceed 25 °C (77 °F). January is generally the coldest month, although the temperature occasionally drops below 0 °C, the average temperature is above freezing point. May and June are usually the wettest months of the year (there is rainfall almost every other day). June, July and August are the hottest months with the most sun. September is not extremely wet or hot, making it very suitable for the harvest of grapes.
Eguisheim has two areas which produce wine of exceptional quality, Eichberg (in English: Oak Mountain)[14] and Pfersigberg (in English: Peach Mountain),[15] characterised by the very hardMuschelkalk. Besides the usual-quality wines, Eguisheim producesEdelzwicker, Côte d'Eguisheim (a local high-end variety of Edelzwicker) andGentil, all blends of the "noble" grapes grown locally.
The village is a popular tourist destination, in part because theAlsace "Wine Route" passes the village. The village is close toHusseren-les-Châteaux and is in the middle of vineyards. The village is connected to Husseren-les-Châteaux by the Route du Vin (D14). Around the Route du Vin is a wine trail through the vineyards calledSentier viticole Eguisheim, which tries to explain the different grape varieties and the way wine is made inAlsace.[16]
The area around Eguisheim is popular with hikers and cyclists. There are many marked trails. Popular destinations are Les Trois Châteaux (in Husseren-les-Châteaux) andChâteau de Hagueneck. A little further away areChâteau du Hohlandsbourg andChâteau de Pflixbourg, which can be reached on foot or by car.
The village is also aVillage Cigogne d'Alsace (in Alsatian: Elsässisches Storckadorf), meaning that there arestorks in the village. Eguisheim has a park dedicated to thewhite stork (Ciconia ciconia) which is freely accessible.
Leo IX (1002–1054), pope of theCatholic Church from 12 February 1049 to his death in 1054. Eguisheim was his birthplace on 21 June 1002.[17] At this time Eguisheim was German.
Eguisheim istwinned with
Hautvillers, France
La Louvière, Belgium
Hinterzarten, Germany
Castroville, TexasIt has also friendship agreements with:
Aubusson, FranceBrussels, BelgiumTazewell, Tennessee, USA
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