Thann, Haut-Rhin

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Thann-Guebwiller
Dànn
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Coat of arms of Thann-Guebwiller
Coat of arms
Thann-Guebwiller is located in France
Thann-Guebwiller
Thann-Guebwiller
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Location within Alsace region
Thann-Guebwiller is located in Alsace
Thann-Guebwiller
Thann-Guebwiller
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Country France
Region Alsace-Champagne-Ardenne-Lorraine
Department Haut-Rhin
Arrondissement Thann-Guebwiller
Canton Cernay
Intercommunality Communauté de communes du pays de Thann
Government
 • Mayor (2001–2008) Jean-Pierre Baeumler
Area1 12.51 km2 (4.83 sq mi)
Population (2006)2 7,981
 • Density 640/km2 (1,700/sq mi)
INSEE/Postal code 68334 / 68800
Elevation 328–922 m (1,076–3,025 ft)
(avg. 343 m or 1,125 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.
File:Thann-Position.png
Position of Thann
File:Thur Thann.jpg
La Tour des Sorcières (left) and the River Thur
File:Thann Engelbourg.jpg
L'oeil de la sorcière

Thann (French pronunciation: ​[tan]; Alsatian: Dànn (German: Thann), pronounced [tɔn]) is a commune in the northeastern French department of Haut-Rhin, in Alsace-Champagne-Ardenne-Lorraine.

Its inhabitants are known as Thannois.

Geography

Thann is situated at the foot of the Vosges mountains, at the mouth of the valley of the Thur River. The Thur runs through the middle of the town.

Demographic evolution

Historical population of Thann, Haut-Rhin
Year 1962 1968 1975 1982 1990 1999 2006
Population 7736 8318 8519 7788 7751 8028 7981
From the year 1962 on: No double counting—residents of multiple communes (e.g. students and military personnel) are counted only once.

Transport

Thann is 43 km from Colmar and 21 km from Mulhouse. The town is also well situated for the French autoroute network such as the A35 and A36.

The RN66 (Route Nationale 66) passes through Thann, providing an east-west route between Mulhouse and Epinal.

Architectural heritage

Despite sustaining heavy damage in World War I and World War II, Thann contains several old buildings and monuments of significance.

La Collégiale Saint-Thiébaut

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Situated in the centre of the old town, the church known as the Collégiale is good example of the style of gothic architecture that flourished in the Rhine valley in the late Middle Ages. The Cathedrals of Strasbourg and Freiburg in Germany are also built in a similar style.

The building owes its name "La collégiale" to the college of monks who moved to Thann from the nearby town of Saint-Amarin in 1442. Construction of the collégiale took more than 200 years, from the end of the 13th Century through the 15th Century, and was completed in 1516 with the 78m tall spire.

For an extensive study of the Thann collegiate church, circumstances of its erection, issues of patronage, and unique sculptural programs, see Assaf Pinkus, Workshops and Patrons of St. Theobald in Thann (Waxmann Verlag: Muenster, Berlin, New York, 2006).

La Tour des Sorcières (The Witches' Tower)

This was a tower in the old town walls, and built in 1411. The bulbous roof dates from 1628. Today the interior houses a museum dedicated to winemaking.

Le Château de l'Engelbourg (Engelbourg Castle)

The ruins of the Engelbourg Castle sit on a hill to the north of the old town. The castle was constructed in the 13th century by the Counts of Ferrette to control the entrance to the valley and ensure the paying of tolls by those wishing to cross the Vosges by way of the Thur valley and the col de Bussang. The castle was destroyed on the orders of Louis XIV. During demolition, one of towers overturned and cracked into sections, one of which forms a large stone ring known locally today as The Witch's Eye (L'oeil de la sorcière).

Education

The town is served by 4 écoles maternelles; 3 écoles élémentaires; 2 collèges (Collège Charles Walch and Collège Rémy Faesch); and 2 lycées (Lycée Professionel Charles Pointet and Lycée Scheurer-Kestner).

Tourism

People

Twin towns

See also

References

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External links