Bellefosse (; german: Schöngrund) 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, ...

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 It superseded three former administrat ...

in northeastern

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

, historically and culturally part of

Alsace Alsace (, ; ; Low Alemannic German/ gsw-FR, Elsàss ; german: Elsass ; la, Alsatia) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in eastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine next to Germany and Switzerland. In 2020, it had ...

Geography

The village is located on a mountain terrace on the west slope of the in the . It is dominated by the ruins of the

Château de la Roche The Château de la Roche is a ruined castle in the ''commune'' of Bellefosse in the Bas-Rhin ''département'' in Alsace, France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It als ...

towering above it.

Toponymy

*1434: ''Belfus'' *1534: ''Belfuss'' *1578: ''Belfos'' *1584: ''Belfuß'' *1782: ''Belfus'' *1793: ''Bellefosse'' *1915-1918: ''Schöngrund'' Originating from the Celtic words ''bill'' (small) and ''fois'' (place).

History

Bellefosse is part of the old Ban de la Roche fief. The village's name was formalized as ''Belfus'' in 1434. It was composed of 25 houses in 1578, under the name of ''belfos'' then. On 1 April 1974, it fused with

Waldersbach Waldersbach is a commune in the Bas-Rhin department in Grand Est in north-eastern France. Population People * Jean-Frédéric Oberlin lived here until his death in 1820. * Anne Knight, an early British feminist and abolitionist, died here ...

and

Belmont Belmont may refer to: People * Belmont (surname) Places * Belmont Abbey (disambiguation) * Belmont Historic District (disambiguation) * Belmont Hotel (disambiguation) * Belmont Park (disambiguation) * Belmont Plantation (disambiguation) * Belmon ...

to form the commune of Ban-de-Roche, in reference to the historical fief, Fouday was added to the commune in 1975. On 1 January 1992, the commune of Bellefosse was reestablished.

Coat of Arms

The heraldics of Bellefosse are blazoned: "Azure with one golden chevron followed by three silver cramps set in pale."

Geography

Toponymy

History

Coat of Arms

Population

See also