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Gertwiller () is a
commune A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to: Administrative-territorial entities * Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township ** Communes of ...
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
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 ...
in north-eastern
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 ...
.INSEE commune file
/ref> Positioned in the heart of the Alsace wine growing region, Gertwiller specialises in the manufacture of
pain d'épices ' or ' () is a French cake or quick bread. Its ingredients, according to ' (1694), were "rye flour, honey and spice A spice is a seed, fruit, root, bark, or other plant substance primarily used for flavoring or coloring food. Spices are di ...
, a traditional sweet spicey confection not dissimilar from ginger bread. The tradition dates at least as far back as the eighteenth century, and by the start of the twentieth century there were at least 8 separate businesses manufacturing the speciality. Pain d'épice from Gertwiller became famous through the nineteenth and twentieth centuries and can be found at almost every village market or fête in the region. Although the breads are normally oval in shape, for lovers it is possible to buy heart shaped loaves. In its time Gertwiller has received the title of French capital of pain d'épice, in succession to more substantial settlements such as
Rheims Reims ( , , ; also spelled Rheims in English) is the most populous city in the French department of Marne, and the 12th most populous city in France. The city lies northeast of Paris on the Vesle river, a tributary of the Aisne. Founded by ...
and
Dijon Dijon (, , ) (dated) * it, Digione * la, Diviō or * lmo, Digion is the prefecture of the Côte-d'Or department and of the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in northeastern France. the commune had a population of 156,920. The earlies ...
. Although the business continues to thrive in Gertwiller, it is today concentrated in just two business one of which, 'Lips', opened in 1998 a museum dedicated to pain d'épice and popular art of the region.


Geography

On the north eastern edge of
Barr Barr may refer to: Places * Barr (placename element), element of place names meaning 'wooded hill', 'natural barrier' * Barr, Ayrshire, a village in Scotland * Barr Building (Washington, DC), listed on the US National Register of Historic Places ...
, Gertwiller is positioned close to
Mont Sainte-Odile , photo = Ottrott Mont Sainte-Odile.JPG , photo_caption = Mont Sainte-Odile and the Monastery , elevation_m = 764 , elevation_ref = Official maps of IGN available on the ''Géoportail''. , prominence_m = , prominence_ref= , range = Vos ...
, not far from the
Andlau Andlau ( or ; Alsatian: ''Àndlöi'') is a commune in the Bas-Rhin department in Alsace, Grand Est region of northeastern France. The village owes its origin to Andlau Abbey which was founded in 880 by Richardis, the empress of Charles the Fa ...
valley on the edge of 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 ...
. The village is some north of
Sélestat Sélestat (; Alsatian: ''Schlettstàdt''; German: ''Schlettstadt'') is a commune in the Grand Est region of France. An administrative division (Subprefectures in France, sous-préfecture) of the Bas-Rhin Departments of France, department, the tow ...
and south of
Obernai Obernai ( Alsatian: ''Owernah''; german: Oberehnheim) commune in the Bas-Rhin department in Alsace in north-eastern France. It lies on the eastern slopes of the Vosges mountains. Obernai is a rapidly growing city, its number of inhabitants havin ...
. Gertwiller is traversed by the little River Kirkneck which joins the Andlau near to Valff.


People

Lucien Blumer, painter, divides his time between
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 Gertwiller.


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 cooperate in the following intercommunalities (as of 2020):Communes of Bas-Rhin Bas-Rhin communes articles needing translation from French Wikipedia {{BasRhin-geo-stub