Alteckendorf (; sometimes spelled ''Alt Eckendorf''; gsw-FR, Àltackedorf) is a commune in the

Bas-Rhin Bas-Rhin (; Alsatian: ''Unterelsàss'', ' or '; traditional german: links=no, Niederrhein; en, Lower Rhine) is a department in Alsace which is a part of the Grand Est super-region of France. The name means 'Lower Rhine', referring to its low ...

department Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military *Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...

in the

Grand Est Grand Est (; gsw-FR, Grossa Oschta; Moselle Franconian/ lb, Grouss Osten; Rhine Franconian: ''Groß Oschte''; german: Großer Osten ; en, "Great East") is an administrative region in Northeastern France. It superseded three former administrat ...

region of northeastern France. The inhabitants of the commune are known as ''Alteckendorfois'' or ''Alteckendorfoises''.

Geography

Alteckendorf is about 30 km north-west of

Strasbourg Strasbourg (, , ; german: Straßburg ; gsw, label=Bas Rhin Alsatian, Strossburi , gsw, label=Haut Rhin Alsatian, Strossburig ) is the prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est region of eastern France and the official seat of the Eu ...

and 20 km east of Saverne. Covering an area of 572 hectares, the commune is located on the plain of Alsace and more specifically in the area of some

loess Loess (, ; from german: Löss ) is a clastic, predominantly silt-sized sediment that is formed by the accumulation of wind-blown dust. Ten percent of Earth's land area is covered by loess or similar deposits. Loess is a periglacial or aeolian ...

hills behind Kochersberg and between the

Vosges Mountains The Vosges ( , ; german: Vogesen ; Franconian and gsw, Vogese) are a range of low mountains in Eastern France, near its border with Germany. Together with the Palatine Forest to the north on the German side of the border, they form a single ...

and Germany. The town is located 177 metres above sea level and is watered by the ''Landgraben'' stream, a tributary of the Zorn. It is surrounded by the ''Koppenberg'' (256 metres), ''Englischberg'' (288 metres), and ''Schyrberg'' (250 metres) hills. To the north of the town is the Alteckendorf forest. The

Sarreguemines Sarreguemines (; German: ''Saargemünd'' , Lorraine Franconian: ''Saargemìnn'') is a commune in the Moselle department of the Grand Est administrative region in north-eastern France. It is the seat of an arrondissement and a canton. As of t ...

-Strasbourg railway runs through the commune with a station on the south-east edge of the village. Neighbouring localities within a radius of 5 kilometres include Minversheim, Ettendorf, Huttendorf, Ringendorf, Lixhausen, Bossendorf, Hochfelden and Schwindratzheim. Alteckendorf is approximately an hour by car from Strasbourg and is near the famous militarily historical town of

Haguenau Haguenau (; Alsatian: or ; and historically in English: ''Hagenaw'') is a commune in the Bas-Rhin department of France, of which it is a sub-prefecture. It is second in size in the Bas-Rhin only to Strasbourg, some to the south. To the ...

Neighbouring communes and villages

Communications

Road network

The entire road network (local roads, streets and local roads) occupy 9 hectares out of the 572 hectares of the commune.p. 63, Communal Notice The town is crossed from west to east (Main Street) by the D69 which connects

Kirrwiller Kirrwiller (; german: Kirweiler; Alsatian: ''Kìrrwiller'') is a commune in the Bas-Rhin département in Grand Est in north-eastern France.Mommenheim. This road crosses the D25 at Altdorf linking

Ettendorf Ettendorf () is a commune in the Bas-Rhin department in Grand Est in north-eastern France. See also * Communes of the Bas-Rhin department The following is a list of the 514 communes of the Bas-Rhin department of France. The communes cooper ...

to Hochfelden. This latter approach road is extended by several county roads. The nearest entrance to the Autoroute de L'Est (

A4 autoroute The A4 Autoroute, also known as autoroute de l'Est (), is a French ''Controlled-access highway, autoroute'' that travels between the cities of Paris and Strasbourg. It forms parts of European routes European route E25, E25 and European route E5 ...

) is via the D32 through the toll-gate at Schwindratzheim. There is parking there for car-pooling.

Public transport

The

–Strasbourg railway line has passed through the commune since 1895 and occupies a total of ten hectares. The railway station located at Eckendorf is now disused. This building was purchased by the municipality in 1982 and transformed in 1984 into a multipurpose hall.p. 63, Elements of Comfort Now the nearest

SNCF The Société nationale des chemins de fer français (; abbreviated as SNCF ; French for "National society of French railroads") is France's national state-owned railway company. Founded in 1938, it operates the country's national rail traffi ...

station is at Mommenheim accessible from Alteckendorf by a bus connection on the

TER Grand Est TER Grand Est or TER Fluo is the regional rail network serving the region of Grand Est, northeastern France. It is operated by the French national railway company SNCF. It was formed in 2016 from the previous TER networks TER Alsace, TER Lorra ...

service from

Buswiller Buswiller (; ) is a commune in the Bas-Rhin department in Grand Est in north-eastern France. See also * Communes of the Bas-Rhin department The following is a list of the 514 communes of the Bas-Rhin department of France. The communes coop ...

to Mommenheim. School buses to the College at Hochfelden and to the Bouxwiller High School are available during school terms.

Climate

The type of climate prevailing in Alteckendorf is a degraded oceanic climate with a relatively large amplitude of temperature. Thus snowfall is fairly common in winter while some summer days can be hot and stuffy. Situated between two mountain ranges (the

Vosges The Vosges ( , ; german: Vogesen ; Franconian and gsw, Vogese) are a range of low mountains in Eastern France, near its border with Germany. Together with the Palatine Forest to the north on the German side of the border, they form a single ...

and the

Black Forest The Black Forest (german: Schwarzwald ) is a large forested mountain range in the state of Baden-Württemberg in southwest Germany, bounded by the Rhine Valley to the west and south and close to the borders with France and Switzerland. It is t ...

) the village has little exposure to wind. Similarly, rainfall is relatively scarce and irregular compared to other French regions, with natural protection against the prevailing westerly winds from the Vosges (

foehn effect A Foehn or Föhn (, , ), is a type of dry, relatively warm, downslope wind that occurs in the lee (downwind side) of a mountain range. It is a rain shadow wind that results from the subsequent adiabatic warming of air that has dropped most of ...

). The town is often subject to violent storms in spring and summer. The most devastating occurred on 18 and 30 May 2008 when floods and mudslides invaded homes.

Hydrology

The communal territory of Alteckendorf is not crossed by streams of significant importance. There however two streams: the ''Minversheimerbach'' and ''Schweingraben''. The ''Minversheimerbach'' has its source in the north in the commune of

. It flows south through Ettendorf then through Alteckendorf and Minversheim. At Mommenheim, this modest stream empties into the river

Zorn Zorn is a family name of German origin meaning "wrath". Historically, it was predominantly strong in German influenced cities such as Strasbourg, Kempten, Innsbruck, and Würzburg. Today, the surname Zorn can be frequently found in Bavaria, Baden- ...

. The ''Schweingraben'' or ''Schweinbachgraben'' (in English: "the pigs' stream") is a river that marks part of the eastern border of Alteckendorf. This stream has its source north of the village in the territory of

Grassendorf Grassendorf (; gsw-FR, Gràssedorf) is a commune in the Bas-Rhin department in Grand Est in north-eastern France. History Following the Thirty Years War which badly depleted population levels in much of Alsace, a large number of immigrants arr ...

. It flows south to join the ''Minversheimerbach'' southwest of Minversheim.

Vegetation

The entire commune has been dedicated to agriculture for many centuries. The first written references date back to the 8th century when the abbey of Wissembourg declared themselves the owners of Alteckendorf. The landscape is entirely shaped by the hand of man and there is little room for wilderness. The oldest map describing the territory dates back to the year 1760. Of a total of 1051.06 arpents, 635.70 arpents are devoted to

arable land Arable land (from the la, arabilis, "able to be ploughed") is any land capable of being ploughed and used to grow crops.''Oxford English Dictionary'', "arable, ''adj''. and ''n.''" Oxford University Press (Oxford), 2013. Alternatively, for the ...

, 125.72 arpents of

meadow A meadow ( ) is an open habitat, or field, vegetated by grasses, herbs, and other non-woody plants. Trees or shrubs may sparsely populate meadows, as long as these areas maintain an open character. Meadows may be naturally occurring or artifi ...

s, 118.78 arpents of

pasture Pasture (from the Latin ''pastus'', past participle of ''pascere'', "to feed") is land used for grazing. Pasture lands in the narrow sense are enclosed tracts of farmland, grazed by domesticated livestock, such as horses, cattle, sheep, or swine ...

s, 84.40 arpents of vineyards, 48.20 arpents of forest, and 38.26 arpents of orchards and houses.

Urbanism, a merger of two village communities

Toponymy

The present village of Alteckendorf is the result of the merger of two distinct communities. The village of ''Eckendorf'' is mentioned in the year 742 under the name ''Echanhaime''. Subsequently, the name was again mentioned in 744 with various spellings such as: ''Ecchenheim'' (744), ''Ecchenheimomarca'' (in 764 and 792), and ''Ecchenthorf'', ''Ekkendorf'', ''Ekindorf''.p. 12. Es waren zwei Dörfer (German) The Abbey of Wissembourg was listed as the landowner from 752 to 787. In 1120, the monastery at Mauermünster-Sindelsberg was named as the landowner. In 1146 it was recorded that the knight Simon de Frundsberg ceded his possessions at ''Ekindork'' for "16½ lötig Silberstücke" to the Abbey of Stürzelbronn. In 1194, the monastery at Neuburg was the landowner of ''Eckendorf''.idem ''Altdorf'' does not appear until later in history with a completely different name: perhaps ''Mazonivilare'', because it is recorded in a document of 752 that Sigfrid, son of Sigismund gave up his property of "Villa Ecchenheimo et Mazonivilare". No mention of the village occurs later; it was undoubtedly destroyed during a war and when the inhabitants returned they named the place ''Altdorf'' (old village).p. 12. Es waren zwei Dörfer The name ''Altdorf'' does not appear until 1331. The name ''Oberaltdorf'' was also used to distinguish this village from the nearby hamlet of Niederaltdorf. The name Eckendorf is formed from ''Eck(e)'' meaning "corner" or "locality" followed by the appellative ''Dorf'' meaning "village" that is to say "local village" according to Ernest Negro. The name of the

hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...

of ''Oberaltdorf'' can be translated as "high old village". The two villages were united in 1777 and called ''Alt und Eckendorf'' then throughout the 19th century ''Alt-Eckendorf'' and finally since the beginning of the 20th century ''Alteckendorf''. Even today two localities on the cadastral map located one kilometre north of ''Eckendorf'' bear the names ''Weilerhöltzel'' and ''Weilerberg''. ''Weiler'' is the German word for "hamlet" (in German the spelling is ''willer'') and comes from the Latin word ''villare'' meaning "farm" derived from ''

villa rustica Villa rustica () was the term used by the ancient Romans to denote a farmhouse or villa set in the countryside and with an agricultural section, which applies to the vast majority of Roman villas. In some cases they were at the centre of a large ...

''. It must be assumed that these places once existed although now deserted and forgotten. The year 1777 is generally advanced as that of the union of the two villages. The parish chronicle reports that, to mark the event, a celebration was held midway between the two locations. This merger however was part of a broader movement both before and after that date so rather than a union it was more a gradual process of fusion.

History of the fusion process

Alteckendorf was once part of the Bailiwick of

Pfaffenhoffen Pfaffenhoffen (; ; Alsatian: ''Pfàffoffe'') is a former commune in the Bas-Rhin department in Grand Est in north-eastern France. On 1 January 2016, it was merged into the new commune Val-de-Moder.Louis XIV , house = Bourbon , father = Louis XIII , mother = Anne of Austria , birth_date = , birth_place = Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France , death_date = , death_place = Palace of Vers ...

at the expense of the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire was a Polity, political entity in Western Europe, Western, Central Europe, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its Dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, dissolution i ...

. Like the rest of Alsace, the village again became German between 1871 and 1918 and between 1940 and 1944. Originally affiliated to the Parish of Minversheim, in 1474 Eckendorf and Altdorf formed an independent parish, first Catholic then Lutheran from 1545. In 1577 both villages were assigned a common seal. This seal showed Saint Martin, patron saint of the chapel of Altdorf. This unique seal shows that Eckendorf and Altdorf were already linked administratively and the Lord of Hanau-Lichtenberg was represented in the two villages with a single ''

Schultheiß In medieval Germany, the ''Schultheiß'' () was the head of a municipality (akin to today's office of mayor), a ''Vogt'' or an executive official of the ruler. As official (''villicus'') it was his duty to order his assigned village or county (' ...

'', the custodian of the seal of the two communities. The ''Schultheiß'' exercised judicial authority in the ''Gericht'', a village court consisting of seven Schoeffen ( aldermen). The sentences and fines were imposed based on the ''Dorfordnung'', village regulations which were at first an oral then a written codification of customs and usage from the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

. In 1662 a unique ''terrier'' was written which listed all the landowners of the two villages. This was the ''Oberalt und Eckendorffer Generalbannerneuerungsprotocoll'' established by the ''Schultheiß'' Dieboldthansen Dieboldt with five aldermen of the village court. This paper demonstrates that both villages had only one communal territory at least a century before the union of 1777. After the annexation of Alsace to France by Louis XIV a Protestant could not be the ''Schultheiß''. Also within the

Lutheran Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched th ...

county of Hanau-Lichtenberg, the ''Schultheiß''s were replaced by ''Stabhalter'' which was simply a name change. From 19 March 1769 to 31 March 1790 this post was held by Johann Richert at Alteckendorf. This ''Stabhalter'' was in charge eight years before the celebration of the union of 1777 and for the next thirteen years. As an aside it can be argued that the Napoleonic prefectural authority did continue the local political career of Stabhalter Johann Richert by naming him Mayor of Alteckendorf from 1800 to 1813. What then is the significance of the year 1777? Before the Revolution the rural population of Alsace was divided roughly into two categories: Schirmer (

peasant A peasant is a pre-industrial agricultural laborer or a farmer with limited land-ownership, especially one living in the Middle Ages under feudalism and paying rent, tax, fees, or services to a landlord. In Europe, three classes of peasants ...

s) and Bürger (

bourgeois The bourgeoisie ( , ) is a social class, equivalent to the middle or upper middle class. They are distinguished from, and traditionally contrasted with, the proletariat by their affluence, and their great cultural and financial capital. They ...

). Each year, the citizens of Eckendorf elected a Bürgermeister (chief bourgeois) responsible for financing the bourgeois community and for taxes that the latter had to pay. The citizens of Altdorf did the same. It was this function that was merged in 1777. Before that date and since time immemorial the two village communities each had their own Bürgermeister even though they had a single village court headed by a ''Schultheiß'' from one of these two bourgeois communities appointed by the Lord of the manor.

The geographical merger

The merger of the two communities endorsed in the year 1777 was not challenged in 1790 when the administrative reorganization of the Revolution took place. The two villages remained linked in a single new municipality. However, the cadastral plan of 1828, like its preceding land plan in 1760, still showed two distinct villages. Eckendorf is separated from Altdorf by meadows but localities are connected by a path then called the ''Laubweg''.

The Laubweg Path

The German word ''Laubweg'' is composed of the word ''Weg'' meaning "path" and the word ''Laub'' which means "foliage", ''die Laube'' translates as "the tree". The ''Laubweg'' refers to the pre-revolutionary concept of village justice mentioned above. The court of ''Gericht'' led by the ''Schultheiß'' sat, in the 14th and 15th centuries, in a house open to all the winds to ensure publicity of its discussions. This house called ''die Laube'' was better than the public square located in the shade of the village linden trees which was used previously for debates. Today, the old building of the former town hall of ''Bischwiller'' is called ''die Laub''. The plan of the territory of Alteckendorf in 1760 indicated a building erected midway between the two towns not far from the current Rue Mercier (the ancient Herrenweg) ''the path of the Lords'' leading to Pfaffenhoffen, the chief town of the Bailiwick on which Alteckendorf depended. There can be seen the building of the ''Laub Alteckendorf''. The cadastral map of 1828 shows construction in the same place. It is unclear if this is the same building.

The end of duplicate communal buildings

If the cadastral map of 1828 does not provide certainty as to the existence or not of ''Laub Alteckendorf'' at that date, it does nevertheless indicate that the commune of Alteckendorf had several duplicate buildings in Eckendorf and Altdorf. Two churches, two schools and two police stations. Although the two churches still exist in 2010, in 1835 other buildings were grouped into a single building. One school for 150 students, a house for the teacher, the offices of the Town Hall and the police. This construction, which was razed in 1999 to make way for a more modern school, was at the supposed site of the old ''Laub''. The construction of the single school/town hall was the real starting point for the construction of other buildings along the ''Laubweg''. At the beginning of the 20th century this intermediate zone was completely occupied by farms of varying size. During the annexation of Alsace-Lorraine by

Imperial Germany The German Empire (),Herbert Tuttle wrote in September 1881 that the term "Reich" does not literally connote an empire as has been commonly assumed by English-speaking people. The term literally denotes an empire – particularly a hereditary ...

, the ''Laubweg'' took the names of ''Dorfgasse'' or ''Hauptstrasse''. It is this last name that continues today through its translations to French (Rue Principal) and Alsatian (''Hauptstross''). After the Second World War the mayor, for the sake of economy, suggested an idea to raze the two churches which were the property of the commune, and replace them by a single building. This proposal was quickly aborted.

The habitat

The oldest farms are the half-timbered houses that were built in the traditional Alsatian architectural style. The frame of the building is wooden with a filling of mud, the foundations being stone. These mixed farms all have more or less the same basic plan. They are composed of several buildings around a courtyard. The main house, with or without a first floor, is oriented towards the street (with rare exceptions). On the other side of the court are the stables and cowsheds with a barn in the back. The yard is separated from the street by a large gate. Visible from the street are the names of the builders with the date of construction on the buildings or the gates. No construction dates back before the 18th century. Farms rebuilt at the beginning of the 19th century are all within Eckendorf and Oberaltdorf. Those built in the middle of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries are located along the main street. From the last third of the 19th century the builders gradually abandoned wood and mud in favour of baked bricks, the traditional plan, however, was preserved. In 1999 there were 265 lodgings but ten were vacant and three were second homes; 80% were houses and 14% were apartments; 88.1% are 4 rooms or more and 77% are owner-occupied. Between 2008 and 2010 two new districts were created. These subdivisions called ''Clos Saint Georges'' in Eckendorf and ''les Vergers'' in Altdorf consist of forty dwellings. The municipality, having bought in 2009 two former farms at Eckendorf next to the subdivision of ''Clos Saint Georges'', decided to turn them into a set of eight rental lodgings with a multi-service store.

History

Middle Ages and Renaissance

Before 744 the two villages were imperial possessions. In the 18th Century they were in the possession of Landgraf von Werd in his capacity as the Abbot of the fief of Wissembourg. The first mention of a church in the two villages was in 1313 when Rudolf von Hüttendorf, son of Burckhard, knight of Hüttendorf was installed as rector of the church.

Possession of the lords of Lichtenberg

In the year 1331, the two villages were fiefs of Ludwig von Onovilsheim. The following year, in 1332, they came as a legacy to Hanemann II and to Ludemann III, both Lords of Lichtenberg. After this succession the two squires received with

Brumath Brumath (, gsw, Bröömt) is a Communes of France, commune in the Bas-Rhin Departments of France, department in Grand Est in north-eastern France. History Brumath occupies the site of the Roman ''Brocomagus''. Princess Maria Christina of Saxon ...

and the Castle of Grand Arnsberg a series of villages including Altdorf and Eckendorf. This possession was shared between the children of Ludemann III. Simon received among others Altdorf and Eckendorf.p. 13 Lichtenbergisches Gut After the Lords of Lichtenberg had entered into possession of the two villages, they settled in the Eckendorf castle, a feudal lordship that took the name Eckendorf. From 1334 there are the names of Hans von Eckendorf but also Blass, Fritsch, Ludwig, and Götze. This last was Priest and Canon in Saint-Étienne of Strasbourg in 1365. In 1356 Knight Ludwig von Eckendorf took an oath of citizenship in Strasbourg. In 1384 Ludwig received Lord Ottemann at Ochsenstein, at the fiefs of Furchhausen,

Wolschheim Wolschheim (; gsw-als, Wolsche) is a commune in the Bas-Rhin department in Grand Est in north-eastern France. Population See also * Communes of the Bas-Rhin department The following is a list of the 514 communes of the Bas-Rhin departmen ...

Dettwiller Dettwiller (; ) is a commune in the Bas-Rhin department in Grand Est in north-eastern France. Dettwiller was historically known for shoe production. An Adidas factory was in operation between the 1960s into the 1980s. See also * Communes of th ...

, Hegeney, and Hochfelden. On 12 September 1390 Ludwig von Eckendorf participated in a tournament at Strasbourg. In the middle of the 14th century the nobles of Eckendorf lived in Strasbourg.p. 13 Lichtenbergisches Gut and p. 91 ''The Noble family of Eckendorf'' (German) In the year 1365 Knight Hans Zuckmantel the elder was confirmed in his fief at Eckendorf. He succeeded Ludwig von Eckendorf and Otto von Hochfelden, son of Ottemann. These last possessed between them the castle of Eckendorf and the rights to

tithe A tithe (; from Old English: ''teogoþa'' "tenth") is a one-tenth part of something, paid as a contribution to a religious organization or compulsory tax to government. Today, tithes are normally voluntary and paid in cash or cheques or more r ...

at Eckendorf. Hans Zuckmantel was originally from

Silesia Silesia (, also , ) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at around 8,000,000. Silesia is split ...

. He was a knight in the castle of

with the nobles of Weitersheim with whom he shared arms. Hans Zuckmantel, knight of Brumath, son of Knight Wilhelm obtained, by marrying the daughter of the Knight Nicklaus von Grostein suzerainty over the village of

Wintzenheim Wintzenheim (; ) is a commune in the Haut-Rhin ''département'' in Grand Est in north-eastern France. Its inhabitants are called ''Wintzenheimois''. Geography Wintzenheim is a town of 7,853 inhabitants (2019)p. 92 The Noble Family of Eckendorf (German) File:Ecusson Alteckendorf.jpg, 1577 Seal of Altdorf and Eckendorf communities File: Blason Ville fr Alteckendorf (Bas-Rhin).svg , Coat of Arms currently used by the municipality File: Blason_ville_fr_Alteckendorf_Bas-Rhin.svg , Simplified coat of arms but not used In 1577, the village communities of Eckendorff and Aldorff were granted a seal with the description: ''Sankt Martin zu fuss, seinen Mantel teilend, mit dem Armen nackt am Rande of Weges sitzend eine zur Seite, Kirchlein und mit Augen Gottes auf einem Hügel zur anderen Seite das ganze in Gold auf blauem Grund''. This seal is currently held by the Museum of Bouxwiller. The Armorial of Louis XIV, took back the seal and revealed a new seal, in heraldic language, for the communities and Oberaltorff Exquendorff: ''Azure, Saint Martin cutting his cloak in half to give to a pauper sitting sinister, the saint to dexter of a pile of a church set on a hill, all Or''. However, the heraldic commission created by the prefect of the Bas-Rhin in 1946 changed this blazon by simplifying it to: ''Or, the yoke of Saint Martin Azure''. However, the municipality was not aware of this work and used a shield representing an apple upside down until 1990. Learning of the existence of the 1577 seal, they decided to adopt a design inspired by that shield. The simplified shield created by the heraldic commission was never used by the municipality.

The horrors of the Thirty Years' War

From 1618 to 1648 the

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (80 ...

ravaged Europe. Alsace was in the front line. For this period there is a lack of descriptions or reliable statistics on Alteckendorf and more broadly for the entire County of Hanau-Lichtenberg to which the village belonged. It is therefore difficult to get a clear idea.

The Battle of Pfaffenhoffen, 31 July 1633

Based on information found in the parish records of the surrounding villages, the county seemed to be in a sad state. Bouxwiller, its capital, was inhabited in 1634 by only eight people. In 1639 Printzheim had only three inhabitants;

Ernolsheim-lès-Saverne Ernolsheim-lès-Saverne () is a commune, in the Bas-Rhin department in Grand Est in north-eastern France. See also * Communes of the Bas-Rhin department The following is a list of the 514 communes of the Bas-Rhin department of France. The ...

had no more than five men, two widows, and a child;

Imbsheim Imbsheim is a village and a former commune in the Bas-Rhin department, eastern France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas reg ...

and

Kirrwiller Kirrwiller (; german: Kirweiler; Alsatian: ''Kìrrwiller'') is a commune in the Bas-Rhin département in Grand Est in north-eastern France.Hattmatt Hattmatt () is a commune in the Bas-Rhin department in Grand Est in north-eastern France. The village is located a few kilometres to the northeast of Saverne on the departmental road RD6. Geography The river Zinsel passes through the village. ...

, there were no longer any townsfolk and only three cultivated fields. Rather than conclude that there was a general massacre, it is more reasonable to assume a migration of villagers before the enemy troops. The pastor of

Pfaffenhoffen Pfaffenhoffen (; ; Alsatian: ''Pfàffoffe'') is a former commune in the Bas-Rhin department in Grand Est in north-eastern France. On 1 January 2016, it was merged into the new commune Val-de-Moder.Lichtenberg and he returned on 10 March 1634. He was found to have recorded no baptisms between 15 May 1633 and 10 August 1634. It was during this time that Pfaffenhoffen and its surroundings were the scene of a battle between 31 July and 1 August 1633, between the victorious Swedish Infantry of the Prince of

Birkenfeld Birkenfeld () is a town and the district seat of the Birkenfeld district in southwest Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is also the seat of the like-named ''Verbandsgemeinde''. The town itself has approximately 7,000 inhabitants. Geography ...

and the Lorraine Imperial troops. Another migration occurred between 24 October 1635 and 8 July 1637 when there was also no baptisms registered at Pfaffenhoffen. As discussed below, for several years migrations of the populations of Pfaffenhoffen and Alteckendorf were spread over much the same periods.

The city of Bouxwiller, a haven for Alteckendorfois

At that time, cities were surrounded by walls and were better defended militarily. Alsatian towns served as a refuge for rural populations. Saverne, which was then a populated city of 2,000 inhabitants, during the invasion of Mansfeld in 1622 hosted more than 1,600 refugees from 33 different villages. Strasbourg, a city of 25,000 inhabitants, identified in January 1622, 9,812 refugees who had come from the surrounding villages with their livestock and reserves of wine, flour and cereals. This overcrowding led to plague epidemics that caused 4,388 deaths in that year in Strasbourg. By studying the Lutheran parish records of Bouxwiller between 1618 and 1648 it appears that this small town had also seen a large population of refugees. In the worst years, these fugitives were from twenty to thirty villages. Most of these places are located south and southeast of Bouxwiller and the villages were predominantly

. These were in the immediate surroundings of Kirrwiller and Bosselshausen and in more distant places such as Duntzenheim located more than 13 kilometres away in a direct line. The inhabitants of Catholic villages are also mentioned such as: Lixhausen,

Bossendorf Bossendorf (; gsw-FR, Bossedorf) is a commune in the Bas-Rhin department in Grand Est in north-eastern France. See also * Communes of the Bas-Rhin department The following is a list of the 514 communes of the Bas-Rhin department of France. ...

, and Ettendorf for example. For the inhabitants of Alteckendorf, three peaks can be distinguished of their presence in Bouxwiller. The first flight of April–May 1622 was the result of the invasion by General Mansfeld of Alsace. The hardest period for Alteckendorfois during the conflict seems to have been between 1633 and 1636. Therefore, most of the acts of baptisms and burials of the people of Alteckendorf registered at Bouxwiller were first between May 1633 and April 1634 with 13 baptisms and 19 funerals. Then secondly between October 1635 and November 1636 with 5 baptisms and 38 funerals, including that of the ''Schultheiß'' of Alteckendorf, Hans Ziller, on 12 March 1636.

The long return to normality

This conflict undoubtedly affected Alteckendorf. At a minimum the authority exercised by the lordship of the county which had organized religious life since the introduction of the

Protestant Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...

in 1545 was no longer able to provide a dedicated pastor from 1622 to 1654. At the height of the unrest and the epidemics the parish was served by deacons from Bouxwiller. Georg Burkhard Knoderer was mentioned in 1622 as pastor of Alteckendorf but during this year one of his children was buried in Bouxwiller, a victim of the plague. After the end of the conflict of 1650 to 1654 Alteckendorf is served by Pastor Zinck from the nearby village of

Schwindratzheim Schwindratzheim (; gsw-FR, Schwìngelse) is a commune in the Bas-Rhin department in Grand Est in north-eastern France. See also * Communes of the Bas-Rhin department The following is a list of the 514 communes of the Bas-Rhin department ...

. Then, the county's administration was reorganized and from 1654 to 1658 Pastor Johann Georg Ledermann was appointed to the parish. His successor from 1658 to 1680 was Johann Schmeder. According to historian

Rodolphe Reuss Rodolphe Ernest Reuss (aka Rudolf Reuss in German; 13 October 1841 in Strasbourg – 16 August 1924 in Versailles (city), Versailles) was a French historian from Alsace. He also published under the pseudonym Anton Schweidnitz. Biography R ...

, in 1660 he received 35 Gulden (

florins The Florentine florin was a gold coin struck from 1252 to 1533 with no significant change in its design or metal content standard during that time. It had 54 grains (3.499 grams, 0.113 troy ounce) of nominally pure or 'fine' gold with a purcha ...

), 20 quartauts of

rye Rye (''Secale cereale'') is a grass grown extensively as a grain, a cover crop and a forage crop. It is a member of the wheat tribe (Triticeae) and is closely related to both wheat (''Triticum'') and barley (genus ''Hordeum''). Rye grain is u ...

, 5 quartauts of

wheat Wheat is a grass widely cultivated for its seed, a cereal grain that is a worldwide staple food. The many species of wheat together make up the genus ''Triticum'' ; the most widely grown is common wheat (''T. aestivum''). The archaeologi ...

, two quartauts of oats and half a cask (about 465.5 litres) of wine. For his role as schoolmaster, he received 50 bales of straw, 50 bundles of sticks and for each child a tuition fee of 2

shilling The shilling is a historical coin, and the name of a unit of modern currencies formerly used in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, other British Commonwealth countries and Ireland, where they were generally equivalent to 12 pence o ...

s and 6

pfennig The 'pfennig' (; . 'pfennigs' or ; symbol pf or ₰) or penny is a former German coin or note, which was the official currency from the 9th century until the introduction of the euro in 2002. While a valuable coin during the Middle Ages, i ...

for each term (three terms per year). Local parish registers recorded baptisms, marriages and deaths from 1654 and in 1658 there were two pastors. The ancient books were lost during the conflict. At the end of the war Alteckendorf had a deficit of population. In 1618, before the conflict, the village had 68 households of townsfolk. At the end of hostilities in 1649–50 there were only 16 households remaining. The peasant population was bout 340 people (estimated from 80 households). From the marriage register of the Lutheran parish it appears that the two communities of Eckendorf and Oberaltdorf filled the gap by welcoming more population from 1659 to 1725: mostly consisting of thirty Swiss immigrants, of Protestant origin from the Canton of Berne and four German

Württemberg Württemberg ( ; ) is a historical German territory roughly corresponding to the cultural and linguistic region of Swabia. The main town of the region is Stuttgart. Together with Baden and Hohenzollern, two other historical territories, Würt ...

ers. However, these migrants lived in a place adjoining the village. The village community had not been completely decimated by the conflict. Moreover, ''Oberalt und Bann Eckendorffer General Erneuerungs Protocoll'' (Book of general renewal of ''finage'' (boundaries of the village) for Oberaltdorf and Eckendorf) relates that many fields were no longer cultivated by the owners. These uncultivated lands were assigned to the Swiss immigrants such as Adam Gebweiler, Heinrich Fechter, and Peter Wölling.

The
Ancien Régime ''Ancien'' may refer to * the French word for "ancient, old" ** Société des anciens textes français * the French for "former, senior" Virelai ancien Ancien Régime ** Ancien Régime in France {{disambig ...

The Eckendorf Castle in 1702

The military engineer Guillin in the service of King Louis XIV left a description of a large part of Alsace from a military point of view. His interest was focused on all buildings that may have a use for war or defence (towers, castles, walls and ramparts). Here is his description of Alteckendorf: ''Oberaldorff is a place in the bottom in which there is a small chapel.'' ''Eckendorff is located near the bottom of a small creek with a church that has a non-arched belfry. The cemetery is covered in undergrowth. It is said that there is a good castle on the edge of the creek that forms a square face with sides of width 20 Toises flanked by three towers with battlements. The walls are 15

feet The foot ( : feet) is an anatomical structure found in many vertebrates. It is the terminal portion of a limb which bears weight and allows locomotion. In many animals with feet, the foot is a separate organ at the terminal part of the leg made ...

high on the ground floor and 2 to 3 feet thick in good condition surrounded by a large ditch full of water 30 to 40 feet across and 6 feet deep while the inside of the castle has been burned.''. According to the statements of Guillin, it is clear that the Eckendorf Castle, today gone, was a military building of the Wasserburg type. The body of the castle was a square of 39 metres. Its walls had a thickness of 65 to 95 cm and a height of about 5 metres. There was a gap in the defences probably filled with water from the Landgraben stream. This gap was 10 to 13 metres wide with a depth of 2 metres.

Union of two villages

The villages of Altdorf and Eckendorf, from 1474 were a single parish but they actually merged in 1777. On this occasion a feast was celebrated midway between the two locations, near a spinney called "die Laube".

Censuses, migrations, and statistics

In 1720, 55

fire Fire is the rapid oxidation of a material (the fuel) in the exothermic chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction Product (chemistry), products. At a certain point in the combustion reaction, called the ignition ...

s are listed but in 1750 there were only 51. Historians generally apply a factor of 5 giving an estimate of 500 people in 100 households. The village population can then be estimated at approximately 275 people in 1720 and 255 in 1755. This figure is probably an underestimate, since in the census of 1793, 531 people were counted. One of the probable causes of the decline of the local population was religious and economic immigration to the

New World The term ''New World'' is often used to mean the majority of Earth's Western Hemisphere, specifically the Americas."America." ''The Oxford Companion to the English Language'' (). McArthur, Tom, ed., 1992. New York: Oxford University Press, p. 3 ...

. Among other migrants there was Catharina Ruch born on 16 November 1724 in Alt-Eckendorf. On 18 March 1750 she arrived in Herrnhaag in

Hesse Hesse (, , ) or Hessia (, ; german: Hessen ), officially the State of Hessen (german: links=no, Land Hessen), is a States of Germany, state in Germany. Its capital city is Wiesbaden, and the largest urban area is Frankfurt. Two other major histor ...

where she entered the community of the

Moravian Church The Moravian Church ( cs, Moravská církev), or the Moravian Brethren, formally the (Latin: "Unity of the Brethren"), is one of the oldest Protestantism, Protestant Christian denomination, denominations in Christianity, dating back to the Bohem ...

founded by

Nikolaus Ludwig von Zinzendorf Nikolaus Ludwig, Reichsgraf von Zinzendorf und Pottendorf (26 May 1700 – 9 May 1760) was a German religious and social reformer, bishop of the Moravian Church, founder of the Herrnhuter Brüdergemeine, Christian mission pioneer and a major fig ...

. Then after stops in Holland and England, she arrived on 25 November 1752 in

Bethlehem, Pennsylvania Bethlehem is a city in Northampton and Lehigh Counties in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania, United States. As of the 2020 census, Bethlehem had a total population of 75,781. Of this, 55,639 were in Northampton County and 19, ...

via

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

. After passing through

Nazareth, Pennsylvania Nazareth is a borough in Northampton County, Pennsylvania. The borough's population was 6,053 at the 2020 census. Nazareth is part of the Lehigh Valley metropolitan area, which had a population of 861,899 and was the 68th most populous metropoli ...

she returned to Bethlehem where she founded a family with Johann Krause. Another of these migrants was Johannes Adam Matter born 14 March 1700 at Eckendorf. After being having his case dismissed in 1730 by the court of the Sovereign Council of

Colmar Colmar (, ; Alsatian: ' ; German during 1871–1918 and 1940–1945: ') is a city and commune in the Haut-Rhin department and Grand Est region of north-eastern France. The third-largest commune in Alsace (after Strasbourg and Mulhouse), it is ...

on a tax surplus of 118

florin The Florentine florin was a gold coin struck from 1252 to 1533 with no significant change in its design or metal content standard during that time. It had 54 grains (3.499 grams, 0.113 troy ounce) of nominally pure or 'fine' gold with a purcha ...

s, he moved to

Ingwiller Ingwiller (; ) is a commune in the Bas-Rhin department in Grand Est in north-eastern France. The commune lies within the North-Vosges natural park. History The first known mention of Ingwiller dates from the year 742 a.C. as ''Ingoniunilare' ...

where he married. On 16 and 21 July 1751 his property situated in this locality was seized and sold at auction after his flight to America. He arrived at the port of Philadelphia on 16 September 1751 from the ship ''Edinburgh'' and was required, with twenty members of his family, to swear allegiance to the British king. In 1782, 45% of farmland extent was the property of the villagers. This represented an area of 930 acres out of a total of 2,072 acres. For the collection of the tax of 4% of the produce, five farmers were taxed for operations from 30 to 35 hectares, two from 20 to 30 hectares, five from 10 to 20 hectares and eleven for 2-5 hectares. For 1789 there is a record of the work. This paper identifies three categories of farmers: those who can make available a horse-drawn carriage to the authorities, those who may have an ox-cart, and those who have only themselves. For Alteckendorf, seven farmers had six or more horses, two had five, four had four, and one had three. Eighteen farmers had two cows. In addition, there were 73 labourers available for work. As twelve farmers are taxed for from 10 to 35 hectares and fourteen farmers had from 4 to 10 horses, it is reasonable to assume that the farmer who owned three horses operated at least 10 hectares.

During the Revolution

Pastor Jakob Christian Roehrich was posted to Alteckendorf from 1795 to 1802 and left in the parish archives a testament about the period of the Terror.p. 29, 149, 159. "In our time the most violent persecutions prevailed against worship and ministers of religion. Under the threat of incurring heavy prison sentences and even the death penalty, it was forbidden for the clergy to perform any religious act whatsoever. It was equally forbidden to baptize, to celebrate a wedding to attend the dead, or to bring words of comfort to the sick. Euloge Schneider and his companions, the representatives of a blood thirsty government, were willing to consider any intervention by clergy as an act of hostility to the state or as a

Counter-revolutionary A counter-revolutionary or an anti-revolutionary is anyone who opposes or resists a revolution, particularly one who acts after a revolution in order to try to overturn it or reverse its course, in full or in part. The adjective "counter-revoluti ...

crime falling under the threat of intervention by the guillotine that was paraded across the country. Under the government of

Robespierre Maximilien François Marie Isidore de Robespierre (; 6 May 1758 – 28 July 1794) was a French lawyer and statesman who became one of the best-known, influential and controversial figures of the French Revolution. As a member of the Esta ...

all objects of worship, vases and vestments were removed and the clergy were imprisoned on the basis of the decree of the 1st Thermidor of Year II. This persecution continued even after the fall of Robespierre and until the decree of 3 Ventôse in the Year III which granted the free exercise of all religions. The most difficult times of persecution had lasted so long that a whole year passed before parish life could resume. My predecessor, Michael Mehl, died a year ago on the 3 Ventôse in Year II. I, Jakob Christian Roehrich from Strasbourg was elected master of religion for this parish and accepted the post on 14 Germinal of the Year III (3 April 1795). I continued to record baptisms, deaths, marriages, and confirmations in the parish register. I also tried to complete the record for the years of persecution when it was forbidden to record. So I tried as much as possible to list all clandestine marriages and baptisms by midwives or other citizens." In the autumn of 1799, a report on the state of public opinion indicated that for the canton of Hochfelden, "except for some communes: Alteckendorf Duntzenheim Wickersheim Waltenheim, Wilshausen Hohfrankenheim, Ingenheim, and Melsheim all others comprising the arrondissement are havens for rebel priests, emigrants, deserters, and other bitter enemies of the Republic".

Alteckendorf during the 19th and 20th centuries

Population growth (1793-1836)

Between 1793 and 1836, like other village communities of the plain of Alsace, Alteckendorf saw its population increase sharply. During these forty-three years, the population grew from 531 inhabitants in 1793 to 777 inhabitants in 1836. An increase of 31.66%. Then from 1836 to 1901 the population of Alteckendorf stabilised. The average population during the second period was 750 people. The lowest was reached in 1856 with 712 inhabitants and the highest in 1901 with 786 inhabitants.

The Alsatian agricultural world in crisis (1850-1950)

The 1850s marked the beginning of a long crisis latent in the Alsatian agricultural world. According to geographer Etienne Juillard, the Alsatian countryside was not able to adapt to the

industrial revolution The Industrial Revolution was the transition to new manufacturing processes in Great Britain, continental Europe, and the United States, that occurred during the period from around 1760 to about 1820–1840. This transition included going f ...

and the urban explosion which followed. Agricultural and social structures inherited from 18th century prosperity were not able to modernize and compete with other French or European regions more responsive to the needs of the time. Alsatian rural areas then froze and remained characterized by the smallness of its farms, the smallness of its cultivated land, and a rural population attached to the land and its obsolete productive methods. This inability of rural Alsace to adapt to a new more competitive economic environment was accompanied by a rural exodus which continued until the end of the Second World War. Nevertheless, the Alsatian villages retained high population densities (between 75 and 150 people per square kilometre). While the neighbouring villages such Minversheim, Ettendorf, and

experienced a steady decline in population between 1831 and 1954, Alteckendorf was in a little better demographic situation. Until 1901 the population did not decrease at all but stabilised. The demographic crisis only occurred during the first fifty years of the 20th century. Between 1901 and 1954, the population dropped 23.28% from 786 inhabitants in 1901 to 603 in 1954. Even at the height of the exodus, however, Alteckendorf remained densely populated with 105 inhabitants per square kilometre. Another sign of this crisis in the Alsatian agricultural world was the departure of the rural population to the

. This migration preoccupied the French royal and imperial authorities. Religious officials were charged with taking an inventory on these departures out of France. In 1856 there was a notice in the baptismal register that said that since 1828, for Alteckendorf, nearly a hundred people went to the Americas. During the 19th century the village community remained very homogeneous from a religious point of view. In 1861 734 people consisted of 725 Lutherans, 3 Catholics, and 6 dissidents. Five years later, in 1866, of 760 people surveyed, 748 were Protestants and the remaining 12 were sectarian. People counted as dissidents or sectarian were probably members of the Fröhlichianer religious movement, a new Anabaptist religion introduced in Alteckendorf by Sophie Abert, the daughter of the local Lutheran pastor from 1802 to 1841: Friedrich Christian Schneider. Philippe Auguste Kroh, a Lutheran pastor who served from 1855 to 1886, in one of his reports indicated that Alteckendorf ''was primarily an agricultural town. Few could properly be called poor; some relief funds are distributed to well-off people, the welfare office combines a portion of its revenue. Four

cabaret Cabaret is a form of theatrical entertainment featuring music, song, dance, recitation, or drama. The performance venue might be a pub, a casino, a hotel, a restaurant, or a nightclub with a stage for performances. The audience, often dining or d ...

s in a commune of 760 souls do not promote morality nor economy among the youth.

The end of the agricultural world

The first decade of the 20th century for Alteckendorf marked the height of its population. In 1901, the village was inhabited by 786 people. This figure is a maximum that will never be reached again. In 1907 there were 156 farms with ten having an area less than half a hectare. Forty-eight farms with areas from a half to 2 hectares, 60 from 2 to 5 hectares, and thirty-eight from 5 to 20 hectares. These figures show the preponderance of small farms. In the 1950s, to maintain a modest income, these farms are operated as

polyculture In agriculture, polyculture is the practice of growing more than one crop species in the same space, at the same time. In doing this, polyculture attempts to mimic the diversity of natural ecosystems. Polyculture is the opposite of monoculture, i ...

s. Within one farm diversification is extreme: a handful of breeding calves and piglets, daily sales from a few litres of milk to the cooperative, crops of

tobacco Tobacco is the common name of several plants in the genus '' Nicotiana'' of the family Solanaceae, and the general term for any product prepared from the cured leaves of these plants. More than 70 species of tobacco are known, but the ...

sugar beet A sugar beet is a plant whose root contains a high concentration of sucrose and which is grown commercially for sugar production. In plant breeding, it is known as the Altissima cultivar group of the common beet (''Beta vulgaris''). Together wi ...

cereal A cereal is any Poaceae, grass cultivated for the edible components of its grain (botanically, a type of fruit called a caryopsis), composed of the endosperm, Cereal germ, germ, and bran. Cereal Grain, grain crops are grown in greater quantit ...

s, and

potato The potato is a starchy food, a tuber of the plant ''Solanum tuberosum'' and is a root vegetable native to the Americas. The plant is a perennial in the nightshade family Solanaceae. Wild potato species can be found from the southern Unit ...

es, for harvest. In 1989 there were only 26 farms, three of which had an area of less than 5 hectares. 7 farms have areas from 4 to 10 hectares, 7 from 10 to 20 hectares, 6 from 20 to 40 hectares and 3 over 40 hectares. In 2006, only 2.2% of workers in Alteckendorf were still engaged in agriculture.

The World Wars

At the outbreak of World War I Alsace-Lorraine had been German since the

Treaty of Frankfurt The Treaty of Frankfurt may refer to one of three treaties signed at Frankfurt, as follows: * Treaty of Frankfurt (1489) - Treaty between Maximilian of Austria and the envoys of King Charles VIII of France *Treaty of Frankfurt (1539) - Initiated ...

in 1871. Between 1914 and 1918, 166 Alteckendorfois young men were conscripted into the army of

Kaiser Wilhelm II Wilhelm II (Friedrich Wilhelm Viktor Albert; 27 January 18594 June 1941) was the last German Emperor (german: Kaiser) and List of monarchs of Prussia, King of Prussia, reigning from 15 June 1888 until Abdication of Wilhelm II, his abdication on 9 ...

. Nineteen of them were killed or missing. Eight soldiers were killed on the Russian front, one in

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...

and nine on the French front. On 10 December 1919, after the return of Alsace to France, the Bürgermeister (Mayor) of Alteckendorf Johann Richert, who had been in office since 1893, resigned because he did not speak French. His successor, Mayor George Luke Richert remained in office until 1940. In that year, he was deposed by the occupying Nazi authorities. He was replaced until the end of the war by Michael Fuchs. In 1940, two Alteckendorfois fighting in French uniform were killed in the fighting against the Germans, one near Seltz and one near Rennes. On 25 August 1942, when Alsace was not officially German, the Nazis, who had controlled the region since 1940, mandated the enlistment of young Alsatians into the Wehrmacht. Sixty-eight young Alteckendorfoises were conscripted and forty-three of them were sent to the Russian front. Twenty of these '' Malgré-nous'' were killed. From the point of view of fighting in Alteckendorf, there were two air incidents in 1944. On 21 September 1944 a German train was attacked and bombed near the station by allied aircraft. Ten Germans were injured and three were killed. A week later on 28 September 1944 there was a dogfight in the sky above Alteckendorf at low altitude. Three aircraft crashed to the ground at Hochfelden, Issenhausen, and Obermodern and a villager was shot and wounded in the thigh. On 24 November 1944, the village was liberated by U.S. ground forces. The council set up by the Nazis was dissolved and the Francophile Mayor George Richert Luke remained in office until his death, at the age of 65 on 2 November 1949.

Heraldry

The municipality does not use the simplified official crest and decided to keep the old version so the new one was never used. During part of the 20th century the city used a shield showing an apple upside down which was abandoned in the 1980s.

Administration

Canton and intercommunality

Alteckendorf is one of 53 communes in the

canton of Bouxwiller The canton of Bouxwiller is an administrative division of the Bas-Rhin department, northeastern France. Its borders were modified at the French canton reorganisation which came into effect in March 2015. Its seat is in Bouxwiller. It consists of ...

. The town is part of the community of communes of ''Pays de la Zorn''.

Mayors

List of Successive Mayors of Alteckendorf ;

Mayors In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities ...

from 1940

Taxation

Budget

Accounts of Communes on the Ministry of Finance website

Economy

Economic activity

The town is located in a triangle formed by the cities of Strasbourg, Haguenau, and Saverne which is the main places of employment in the Department of Bas-Rhin. In 2009, the only local shops were a bakery, a butcher, and a restaurant called ''S'Rebstoeckel''. Agriculture has become marginal in terms of employment (2.2% of the workforce). The main business is industrial bodywork heavy industry founded in 1959. Next to that in the construction industry are a tiler, a metal roofer, a carpenter-cabinetmaker, an art Glazier, a locksmith, etc.

Active population

In 2004, the average household income was €16,583 / year (cf. €15,027 / year nationwide). In 2006 out of 739 inhabitants, the working population was 350 people (204 men and 146 women). Only 36 of them worked in the town. The majority (297 individuals) worked in other communes of the department.

Demography

In 2017 the commune had 868 inhabitants.

Distribution of age groups

Percentage Distribution of Age Groups in Alteckendorf and Bas-Rhin Department in 2017 Source: INSEEÉvolution et structure de la population en 2017: Commune d'Alteckendorf (67005)
/ref>

Housing

In 2017 of the 371 dwellings in the town 92.6% were primary residences. Only two units were second homes (0.5%). The dwellings were mainly houses (91.5%) – apartments accounted for only 8.2%. There were 26 vacant dwellings. 85.8% of residents were their own landlord while 11.6% were renting, and 2.7% were housed free of charge. Between 2007 and 2017, 58 units were added. 28.7% of housing units were built before 1945, 31.5% between 1946 and 1990, 17.2% between 1991 and 2005 and 22.7% between 2006 and 2014.

Local life

Language

The majority of the inhabitants can speak and/or understand German and also speak French. The local dialect is known as Alsacien. Alsacien is a dialect of German that has been spoken and developed in the region for over a thousand years.

Facilities and services

*The ''multipurpose hall'' has been in operation since the 1980s. This is the old SNCF train station which became the property of the commune. The building is composed of a large and a small room that are rented to associations and individuals for their festive and cultural events. The management of this site is provided by the Association of Sports and Leisure of Alteckendorf (ASLA), which includes within it all the Alteckendorf associations. *The ''waste sorting station'' is located in the square at the Station. Individuals can drop off their old paper and paperboard, used glass, and plastic bottles. For more bulky waste the community of communes of ''Pays de la Zorn'' has established drop-off centres at Bossendorf and Mutzenhouse. *The municipal stadium or large football field, inaugurated on 27 June 1987, is owned by the commune. The small stage at the back of the stadium is the property of the Alteckendorf Football Club. *The multipurpose hall in the old school is reserved for associations. During elections this place serves as a polling station.

Education

Alteckendorf depends on the Academy of Strasbourg. Since 1983, the municipalities of Minversheim and Alteckendorf have teamed up to provide a better educational environment for students in primary grades and to avoid class closures. Students then go on to Gustave Doré college at Hochfelden. To continue their studies in high school, young Alteckendorfois mainly go to Bouxwiller or Saverne.

Health

A general practitioner resides in Alteckendorf. The nearest pharmacies are in Schwindratzheim, Hochfelden, and Mommenheim. As for hospitals, they are located in Saverne, Haguenau, and Strasbourg.

Associations

In 2008, the associative provisions for a village of fewer than 800 inhabitants was quite diverse. *The friendly ''Corps of firefighters''. The local corps was created in 1888 and has been pooled with that of Ettendorf since 23 October 2008 (18 firefighters with 12 from the area). *The union of ''Arborists of Alteckendorf and surroundings'', created circa 1899 by the teacher Valentin Huss. *The music society ''Alsatia'', founded 9 December 1925 (19 members). *The ''Football Club of Alteckendorf'' (FCA), established on 2 December 1983 (35 licensed seniors for the 2008–09 season), the first team playing in the third departmental division. *The club ''Gymnastics of Alteckendorf'' (GEA), founded in July 1984 (thirty members). *the Club ''Flower of the Ages'' (formerly seniors club). *The ''Country Club Black Angels'' (thirty members). *The parish choir founded in 1995 under the leadership of Pastor Sybille Stohrer (fifteen singers). *the club ''Les Frissons de la Danse'' was created in 2001 (70 members).

Religions

Throughout its history, Alteckendorf has been a predominantly Protestant village. The village passed to Lutheranism in 1545 as did all the County of Hanau-Lichtenberg but the first pastor was not appointed until in 1547. Since the 1970s, the dominance of Lutheranism has been diluted with the arrival of new Catholic residents and the creation of a new Evangelical Free Church. ;The Lutheran parish With churches available, there are services every second Sunday in Altdorf alternating with Eckendorf. The rectory is located at the rear of the church in Eckendorf. The Lutheran parish of Alteckendorf is part of the Consistory of Schwindratzheim and depends on inspections from Bouxwiller. It is a member of the Protestant Church of Augsburg Confession of Alsace and Lorraine (EPCAAL) with about 200,000 members, 235 parishes and 260 pastors (25% women and 75% men). Like all ancient religious communities in Alsace and Moselle, the EPCAAL lives under the Organic Articles, which were promulgated by

Napoleon I Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

in 1802. Pastors are treated as civil servants, they are appointed and paid by the State. ;The Evangelical Church of Alteckendorf The origin of this young church dates back to 1965 when the Swiss Nicolas Kessely began a work of evangelization among young people in the region. Five years later, he moved to Alteckendorf. From there, he organized parties in various places in the area, where dozens of young people gather to study the Bible, pray, and share with others their religious experiences. In 1974, to meet the spiritual longing of believers, it was decided to form a church: "The evangelical church of Alteckendorf" was created. In 1980, the Church was registered as a religious association and adhered to the Evangelical Federation of France. Then in 1983, an Alteckendorf barn is transformed into a space for meetings. Ten years later, the premises had become too small and a new worship hall was built in 1994.

Culture and heritage

Civil heritage

The commune has many buildings that are registered as historical monuments: *A Farmhouse at 14 Rue de l'Eglise (1825) *A Farmhouse at 115 Rue Principale (1818) *A Farmhouse at 12 Rue Principale (19th century) *A Farmhouse at 123 Rue Principale (1826) *A Farmhouse at 126 Rue Principale (1699) *A Farmhouse at 132 Rue Principale (18th century) *A Farmhouse at 141 Rue Principale (19th century) *A Farmhouse at 146 Rue Principale (1699). This Farmhouse contains a Fresco: A cavalryman brandishing his arms which is registered as an historical object. The fresco represents the Pandour of

Baron Franz von der Trenck Baron Franz von der Trenck (German: ''Franz Freiherr von der Trenck'', Croatian: ''Barun Franjo Trenk'') (Reggio di Calabria. January 1, 1711 – Brno. October 4, 1749) was an Austrian soldier. Early life Trenck was born into a military no ...

. During the

War of the Austrian Succession The War of the Austrian Succession () was a European conflict that took place between 1740 and 1748. Fought primarily in Central Europe, the Austrian Netherlands, Italy, the Atlantic and Mediterranean, related conflicts included King George's W ...

the pandours made their camp in the Hochfelden area in 1744 and created a reign of terror there. *A Farmhouse at 148 Rue Principale (1694) *A Farmhouse at 149 Rue Principale (1763) *A Farmhouse at 150 Rue Principale (1753) *A Farmhouse at 18 Rue Principale (1749) *A Farmhouse at 24 Rue Principale (1841) *A Farmhouse at 25 Rue Principale (1798) *A Farmhouse at 27 Rue Principale (1770) *A Farmhouse at 28 Rue Principale (1820) *Houses and Farms

Religious heritage

The commune has two religious buildings that are registered as historical monuments: *The Protestant Church of Saint-Arbogast (14th century). The Church has

fresco Fresco (plural ''frescos'' or ''frescoes'') is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid ("wet") lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plaste ...

es of the Passion of Christ. The oldest part is the tower-choir in Romanesque style which may date from the 14th century for its two lower levels. The last two levels were added in the 18th century after the reconstruction of the

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

in 1765. The keystone of the

choir A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which ...

bears the date of 1667 perhaps indicating the date of restoration. An Organ from 1898 by the Brothers Linck of

with a facade restored in 1928 by Roetinger, transformed in 1954 by Muhleisen, and repaired in 1991. Now the church of Eckendorf can be seen as it was after the reconstruction of the nave in 1765 – the tower has not been raised since and has remained the same through the 20th century. The church has many items that are registered as historical objects: **The Furniture in the Church of Saint Arbogast **A Protestant Chalice with

Paten A paten or diskos is a small plate, used during the Mass. It is generally used during the liturgy itself, while the reserved sacrament are stored in the tabernacle in a ciborium. Western usage In many Western liturgical denominations, the p ...

(1822) **The Organ (1898) **Monumental Paintings (14th century) **A

Pulpit A pulpit is a raised stand for preachers in a Christian church. The origin of the word is the Latin ''pulpitum'' (platform or staging). The traditional pulpit is raised well above the surrounding floor for audibility and visibility, access ...

(18th century) Vitrail eglise Altdorf

*The Protestant Church of Saint-Martin (1775). The Church was completely rebuilt in 1775 to plans by the inspector of bridges and pathways of Lower Alsace, Charles Christiani for a total of 5,885 livres and paid for from another by the third Earl of Hessen-Hanau-Lichtenberg. The original polychrome decoration of the balustrade in the Alsatian folk art style with gray, yellow, and blue tones in harmony with yellow mottling columns were restored in 1976. The

altar An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, churches, and other places of worship. They are used particularly in paga ...

, dated 1776, shows a naive picture of a ewe, the body being too stretched over its legs and holding a banner. The window of the tower-choir represents Christ standing, clothed in red, exiting from his tomb into the clouds, blessing with his right hand and holding a banner with his left hand. The church contains many items that are registered as historical objects: **The Organ (1907) **A Pulpit (18th century) **A Protestant

Altar An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, churches, and other places of worship. They are used particularly in paga ...

(1776) **The Furniture in the Church of Saint Martin *All movable items in the Cemetery are registered as historical objects.

Nicknames and traditions of the past

*''Sürmelichblotzer'' : churned curdled milk *''d'Briechler'': those from the swamp *''Söïkewwel'' : pig trough *Until 1930 every Whit Monday there was a costume Parade called ''Pfingstknechte''.

Notable People linked to the commune

*Jacques Matter born 31 May 1791 at Alteckendorf, the son of a former mayor of the town. Died in 1864. Educator, philosopher and historian. His gifts for the studies were noticed by the local pastor at the time, Jean Frederic Schneider. *Thimothée Guillaume Roehrich born in 1802 at Alteckendorf, died at Strasbourg in 1860. Pastor at the Saint William Temple in Strasbourg, he published a four-volume ''History of the Reformation in Alsace'' . Son of the pastor of Alteckendorf, Jacques Christian Roehrich.Se
His biography written two years after his death
.

Notes and references

Notes

References

{{Authority control Communes of Bas-Rhin Articles which contain graphical timelines