Altwiller

Altwiller Àltwiller
Commune
The Protestant Church The Protestant Church
Coat of arms of Altwiller Coat of arms
Country	France
Region	Alsace-Champagne-Ardenne-Lorraine
Department	Bas-Rhin
Arrondissement	Saverne
Canton	Ingwiller
Government
• Mayor (2020–2026)	Aimé Schreiner
Area1	16.22 km2 (6.26 sq mi)
Population (Jan. 2018)2
INSEE/Postal code	67009 / 67260
Elevation	215–266 m (705–873 ft)
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries. 2 Population without double counting: residents of multiple communes (e.g., students and military personnel) only counted once.

Altwiller (French pronunciation: [altvilɛʁ]; German: Altweiler) is a commune in the Bas-Rhin department in the Grand Est region of northeastern France.

Geography

Altwiller is located some 20 km south of Sarreguemines on the German border and some 50 km north-east of Nancy. The commune is accessed by the D23 road running east from Vibersviller to the village then continuing east to Harskirchen. The D153 road also runs through the southern portion of the commune as it runs from the D39 road in the south-west north-east to Harskirchen. The western and northern borders of the commune are also the borders between the Bas-Rhin and Moselle departments. As well as Altwiller village there is also the hamlet of Chateau Bonnefontaine in the south of the commune.

The Canal des Houllietes de la Satre passes along the southern border of the commune. The Rose stream passes near the village flowing west from Moselle to the Albe river partly forming the northern border of the commune. The northern part of the commune is farmland while the southern part is mainly forested.

History

Fragments of vases and other Gallo-Roman pieces have been found at Bonnefontaine. The site is located on the salt route. In addition to the two annexes of Neuweyershof and the Bonnefontaine domain the village had in its vicinity a hamlet called Honkesen-Huntzen which has now disappeared.

Altwiller was deserted in the 15th century and rebuilt a little later in 1559 mainly by Huguenots from Lorraine. It was partially destroyed again in 1635 by the Croatians then became the property of Sarrewerden then of Nassau-Saarbrücken with the capital of the Bailiwick of Harskirchen. The village returned to France in 1793.

Heraldry

Arms of Altwiller

Blazon: Azure, a lion party per fess Or and Argent..

Administration

List of Successive Mayors of Altwiller

This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

From	To	Name	Party	Position
1989	2001	Arthur Scwartz		Brigadier-General, Legion of Honour, Commander of National Order of Merit
2001	2008	Gilbert Schmidt
2008	2014	Alain Lieb
2014	2026	Aimé Schreiner

Demography

The inhabitants of the commune are known as Altwillerois or Altwilleroises in French.

Historical population
Year Pop. ±% p.a. 1793 603 —     1800 698 +2.11% 1806 702 +0.10% 1821 777 +0.68% 1831 796 +0.24% 1836 821 +0.62% 1841 844 +0.55% 1846 795 −1.19% 1851 809 +0.35% 1856 752 −1.45% 1861 756 +0.11% 1866 773 +0.45% 1872 782 +0.19% 1875 775 −0.30% 1880 753 −0.57% 1885 728 −0.67% 1890 767 +1.05% 1895 751 −0.42%	Year Pop. ±% p.a. 1900 712 −1.06% 1905 661 −1.48% 1910 657 −0.12% 1921 641 −0.22% 1926 549 −3.05% 1931 529 −0.74% 1936 509 −0.77% 1946 487 −0.44% 1954 505 +0.45% 1962 474 −0.79% 1968 456 −0.64% 1975 416 −1.30% 1982 414 −0.07% 1990 415 +0.03% 1999 399 −0.44% 2007 412 +0.40% 2012 418 +0.29% 2017 395 −1.13%
Source: EHESS and INSEE

Culture and heritage

Civil heritage

The commune has many buildings and structures that are registered as historical monuments:

• A House at Bonnefontaine (1908)
• A Farmhouse at Bonnefontaine (18th century)
• A Farmhouse at Neuweyerhof (1) (1761)
• A Farmhouse at Neuweyerhof (2) (1761)
• A Farmhouse at 63 Rue des Lilas (1850)
• A Farmhouse at 103 Rue Principale (1900)
• A Farmhouse at 107 Rue Principale (1776)
• A Farmhouse at 112 Rue Principale (1848)
• A Farmhouse at 113 Rue Principale (18th century)
• A Farmhouse at 114 Rue Principale (1813)
• A Farmhouse at 5 Rue Principale (1776)
• A Flour Mill at 51 Rue Principale (1724). From the end of the 17th to the 20th century the mill was run by a single family of millers.
• A House and Shop at 88 Rue Principale (1934)
• A Farmhouse at 89 Rue Principale (1838)
• A School at 93 Rue Principale (1843)
• A Farmhouse at 20 Rue de la Rose (1826)
• A Farmhouse at 22 Rue de la Rose (18th century)
• A Farmhouse at 26 Rue de la Rose (1862)
• A Farmhouse at 31 Rue de la Rose (1898)
• A Farmhouse at 36 Rue de la Rose (1875)
• A Farmhouse at 41 Rue de la Rose (1909)
• A Carpenter's House at 43 Rue de la Rose (1775)
• The Domain of Bonnefontaine at Bonnefontaine (19th century)
• The Chateau of Bonnefontaine (1818). The mineral water spring discovered in 1603 was appetizing, diuretic and purgative. This gave the idea in 1816 to a banker from Basel to build a thermal spa with castle, park and dance hall. The castle was built between 1818 and 1822 but the operation ended in failure due to lack of customers. He sold the estate in 1836. The latest occupants of the castle are the Schlumberger family - owners since 1878.
• The Chateau of Bonnefontaine Park (1818)
• The Canal des Houillères Lock 16 (19th century)
• A School at Neuweyerhof (19th century)
• Houses and Farms

Religious heritage

The commune has several religious buildings and structures that are registered as historical monuments:

• The Protestant Church (1723). There are several items in the church that are registered as historical objects:
  • The Organ (1868)
  • The Furniture in the Church
  • A Communion Ewer (18th century)
  • A Baptismal Ewer (1894)
• The Protestant Presbytery (1730)
• The Lutheran Presbytery (16th century)
• The Cemetery at RD 23. (19th century) The movable items in the cemetery are registered as historical objects.

See also

• Communes of the Bas-Rhin department

External links

• Altwiller on the old National Geographic Institute website
• Altwiller on Géoportail, National Geographic Institute (IGN) website
• Aiweiller on the 1750 Cassini Map