Hœnheim or Hoenheim (; ; ) is a commune in the

Bas-Rhin Bas-Rhin () is a department in Alsace which is a part of the Grand Est region of France. The name means 'Lower Rhine', referring to its lower altitude among the two French Rhine departments: it is downstream of the Haut-Rhin (Upper Rhine) de ...

department in

Grand Est Grand Est (; ) is an Regions of France, administrative region in northeastern France. It superseded three former administrative regions, Alsace, Champagne-Ardenne and Lorraine, on 1 January 2016 under the provisional name of Alsace-Champagne-A ...

in north-eastern

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

.INSEE commune file
/ref>

Heraldry

"D'or aux trois corbeaux de sable posés deux et un". ("Of gold, three sand crows posed two and one".) The three black crows come from the legend of the monk

Benedict of Nursia Benedict of Nursia (; ; 2 March 480 – 21 March 547), often known as Saint Benedict, was a Great Church, Christian monk. He is famed in the Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Lutheran Churches, the Anglican Communion, and Old ...

, father of the monastic rule of the

Benedictine The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict (, abbreviated as O.S.B. or OSB), are a mainly contemplative monastic order of the Catholic Church for men and for women who follow the Rule of Saint Benedict. Initiated in 529, th ...

s. Saint Benedict lived withdrawn in a cave and shared his food with a crow, which came each day to visit him. A jealous priest sent poisoned bread to him. He gave it to the crow while saying to him to throw it in a place inaccessible to men. The crow was then a symbol of obligingness, intelligence and fidelity.

Geography

Hœnheim lies north of

Strasbourg Strasbourg ( , ; ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est Regions of France, region of Geography of France, eastern France, in the historic region of Alsace. It is the prefecture of the Bas-Rhin Departmen ...

. The neighboring communes of Hœnheim are (North to South):

Souffelweyersheim Souffelweyersheim (; ; ) is a commune in the Bas-Rhin department, Alsace, Grand Est, northeastern France, and is part of metropolitan Strasbourg. Etymology Souffelweyersheim means: the village on the pond of Souffel. Souffel (the Souffel river ...

, Reichstett (canton of Mundolsheim), an enclave of Bischheim, an enclave of

Schiltigheim Schiltigheim (, ; Alsatian: ''Schelige'' ; ) is a commune in the Bas-Rhin department in Grand Est in north-eastern France. The inhabitants are called ''Schilikois'' in French and ''Scheligemer'' in Alsatian. It is the largest suburb of the ...

(canton of Schiltigheim). Hœnheim is located on the river

Ill ILL, or Ill, or ill may refer to: Places * Ill (France), a river in Alsace, France, tributary of the Rhine * Ill (Vorarlberg), a river in Vorarlberg, Austria, tributary of the Rhine * Ill (Saarland), a river of Saarland, Germany, tributary o ...

and the Rhine-Marne canal. The historic center is on a ridge and overlooking the "Ried" (Zone of easily flooded meadows) of Ill. This historical center gave the name to Hœnheim, the first mentions indicate the spelling Hohenheim, in other words ''residence on the hill''.

History

Vestiges and reports raised on the ground attest the existence of a small group of dwellings near Hoenheim from the

Neolithic The Neolithic or New Stone Age (from Ancient Greek, Greek 'new' and 'stone') is an archaeological period, the final division of the Stone Age in Mesopotamia, Asia, Europe and Africa (c. 10,000 BCE to c. 2,000 BCE). It saw the Neolithic Revo ...

age. The first mention of the name Hoenheim goes back to the year 742. At the end of the 9th century, the village of Hœnheim was the property of the

monastery of Honau, created by the brother of Saint Odile. Under the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire, also known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation after 1512, was a polity in Central and Western Europe, usually headed by the Holy Roman Emperor. It developed in the Early Middle Ages, and lasted for a millennium ...

, Hœnheim became the property of the

diocese of Strasbourg The Archdiocese of Strasbourg (; ; ; ) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church in France, first mentioned in 343 AD. It is one of nine archbishoprics in France that has no suffragan dioceses. It is the o ...

, which allotted its land to knights or religious communities. Around the mid-14th century, the diocese made a gift of the Fief of Hœnheim to knights. 1350 sees the first written mention of the Chapel of

John the Baptist John the Baptist ( – ) was a Jewish preacher active in the area of the Jordan River in the early first century AD. He is also known as Saint John the Forerunner in Eastern Orthodoxy and Oriental Orthodoxy, John the Immerser in some Baptist ...

. During the

Hundred Years' War The Hundred Years' War (; 1337–1453) was a conflict between the kingdoms of Kingdom of England, England and Kingdom of France, France and a civil war in France during the Late Middle Ages. It emerged from feudal disputes over the Duchy ...

, Hœnheim, like many villages, had to undergo the passage of the "

Écorcheurs The ''écorcheurs'' (, "flayers") were armed bands who desolated France in the reign of Charles VII of France, Charles VII, stripping their victims of everything, often to their very clothes. They were mercenary, mercenaries without employment sin ...

" who tried, without success, to take

. While passing through the hands of various noble families, the Fief finally returned to the Uttenheim of Ramstein family in 1457. In the 16th century, the lords of Uttenheim, dismayed by the escapades of the clergy of this time, joined the

Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major Theology, theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the p ...

and with them the inhabitants of Hoenheim. At the time of the

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War, fought primarily in Central Europe between 1618 and 1648, was one of the most destructive conflicts in History of Europe, European history. An estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died from battle, famine ...

, Hoenheim, like Bischheim, was a victim of the exactions of the two sides. In 1649, at the time of the

treaty of Westphalia The Peace of Westphalia (, ) is the collective name for two Peace treaty, peace treaties signed in October 1648 in the Westphalian cities of Osnabrück and Münster. They ended the Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) and brought peace to the Holy R ...

, putting an end to the war,

Alsace Alsace (, ; ) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in the Grand Est administrative region of northeastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine, next to Germany and Switzerland. In January 2021, it had a population of 1,9 ...

returned to France and subsequent

Catholicism The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

. In 1676 the last lord of Uttenheim died without an heir. The quarrel of succession ended in 1681 with the victory of the family Rathamhausen of Stein over the canons of the great chapter of Strasbourg. In 1689, the elder branch of Rathamhausen dies out and the Fief of Hœnheim returns to the great chapter of Strasbourg. On 21 May 1691 the

bishop of Strasbourg Archbishops

*Charles Amarin Brand (16 July 1984 – 23 October 1997) (with rank of archbishop from 1988) *Joseph Doré (23 October 1997 – 25 August 2006) *Jean-Pierre Grallet (21 April 2007 – 18 February 2017) *Luc Ravel (18 February 2017 ...

gave the Fief to the knight-lord of Chamlay, maréchal général des logis des camps et des armées de France. In 1719 the marshal of Chamlay died without leaving an heir. The bishop of Strasbourg, Cardinal of Rohan (

Armand Gaston Maximilien de Rohan Armand de Rohan (Armand Gaston Maximilien; 26 June 1674 – 19 July 1749) was a French churchman and politician. He became Bishop of Strasbourg in 1704, Cardinal (Catholicism), Cardinal in 1712 then Grand Almoner of France in 1713 and member ...

), gave the Fief to the Klinglin family which had the full confidence of the royal and local authorities. After the French Revolution, Hoenheim was attached to the new district of

(4 March 1790) during the formation of the

Departments 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 same year, at the suggestion of

, the "Ried" (Zone of easily flooded meadows), previously public pasture common to

, Hoenheim, Bischheim, Adelsoffen and

was divided. This division led, amongst other things, to the creation of the enclave of Bischheim and the enclave of

in the centre of Hoenheim's territory. On 2 October 1791 all the goods of the Klinglin family and of the church were confiscated and sold to the inhabitants. In 1792, the

Émigré An ''émigré'' () is a person who has emigrated, often with a connotation of political or social exile or self-exile. The word is the past participle of the French verb ''émigrer'' meaning "to emigrate". French Huguenots Many French Huguenot ...

, joined forces with the Austro-Prussians begin the hostilities to regain the power in France. From October to December 1793, engagements between the troops of the French Republic and the Austro-Prussians took place around the Hoenheim - Griesheim-on-Souffel -

Dingsheim Dingsheim is a commune in the Bas-Rhin department in Grand Est in north-eastern France. See also * Communes of the Bas-Rhin department * Kochersberg The Kochersberg () is a natural region of the French département of Bas-Rhin in Alsace and ...

line, until the Austro-Prussians troops were pushed back out of Alsace by January 1794. In 1793, the commune of Hoenheim was attached to the canton of Hausbergen. On 17 February 1800 Hoenheim was attached to the new district of

. In 1813,

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

Russian campaign The French invasion of Russia, also known as the Russian campaign (), the Second Polish War, and in Russia as the Patriotic War of 1812 (), was initiated by Napoleon with the aim of compelling the Russian Empire to comply with the continent ...

finished in catastrophe. He managed, with difficulty, to return to France, but the troops of the

Coalition A coalition is formed when two or more people or groups temporarily work together to achieve a common goal. The term is most frequently used to denote a formation of power in political, military, or economic spaces. Formation According to ''A G ...

were behind him. In January 1814, the French troops were kept in

by the attacks of the

Cossacks The Cossacks are a predominantly East Slavic languages, East Slavic Eastern Christian people originating in the Pontic–Caspian steppe of eastern Ukraine and southern Russia. Cossacks played an important role in defending the southern borde ...

who settled in Hoenheim, Bischheim and

. Following Napoleon's return and defeat at the

Battle of Waterloo The Battle of Waterloo was fought on Sunday 18 June 1815, near Waterloo, Belgium, Waterloo (then in the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, now in Belgium), marking the end of the Napoleonic Wars. The French Imperial Army (1804–1815), Frenc ...

, the General

Jean Rapp General Count Jean Rapp (; 27 April 1771 – 8 November 1821) was a French Army officer during the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars and twice governor of the Free City of Danzig. He served as Aide-de-camp to French Generals ...

, having wind of intentions to annex Alsace and under the orders of

Louis XVIII Louis XVIII (Louis Stanislas Xavier; 17 November 1755 – 16 September 1824), known as the Desired (), was King of France from 1814 to 1824, except for a brief interruption during the Hundred Days in 1815. Before his reign, he spent 23 y ...

continued to fight on the Souffel, just north of Hoenheim. The battle of Souffelweyersheim-Hoenheim took place on 28 and 29 June 1815. With the victory of

troops,

was taken on 9 July. In 1852 two new transportation routes passed by the territory of Hoenheim (but away from the village). The first is the

Marne–Rhine Canal The Canal de la Marne au Rhin (, ''Marne–Rhine Canal'') is a canal in north-eastern France. It connects the river Marne and the Canal entre Champagne et Bourgogne in Vitry-le-François with the port of Strasbourg on the Rhine. The original o ...

which connects

Vitry-le-François Vitry-le-François () is a Communes of France, commune in the Marne (department), Marne Departments of France, department in northeastern France. It is located on the river Marne (river), Marne and is the western terminus of the Marne–Rhine Ca ...

. The second is the

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

railway line. The

Franco-Prussian War The Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German War, often referred to in France as the War of 1870, was a conflict between the Second French Empire and the North German Confederation led by the Kingdom of Prussia. Lasting from 19 July 1870 to 28 Janua ...

from 1870-1871 began on 19 July 1870. On 7 August, the day after the battle of Froeschwiller-Woerth, the German troops arrived in Hoenheim. The troops settled in Reichstett, a few kilometres north of Hoenheim, and began the siege of

on 12 August. With the treaty of Frankfurt in May 1871, France was required to give up the three departments of the Alsace-Moselle. Between 1871 and 1919, Hoenheim is attached to the "Kreises Strassburg (Land)". Railway workshops opened in 1875 in Bischheim on a 30 ha, with 10 ha located in Hoenheim. These workshops were located on the new railway line connecting

Lauterbourg Lauterbourg ( or ; ) (historically in English: Lauterburgh) is a commune and Bas-Rhin department in the Grand Est administrative region in north-eastern France. Situated on the German border and not far from the German city of Karlsruhe, it i ...

. On 14 October 1878 the tramway between Place Kléber (

) and Hoenheim was inaugurated. On 19 June 1879 the first holder of the Catholic parish of Hoenheim was named in the new church of Hoenheim. Previously Hoenheim depended from the parish of Bischheim, which church was used by the Protestant of Bischheim too. Inauguration of the marshalling yard of Hausbergen in 1906. It covers the territory of several communes, one of which was Hoenheim. In 1907, the priest of Hoenheim, Dionysius Will, is elected on the Reichstag under the label of

Progressivist Progressivism is a left-leaning political philosophy and reform movement that seeks to advance the human condition through social reform. Adherents hold that progressivism has universal application and endeavor to spread this idea to human so ...

but with the support of the

Socialists Socialism is an economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes the economic, political, and socia ...

. The

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, fought away from the Rhineland area did not cause any physical damage to Hoenheim, but resulted in the death of many men. The 'lost departments' of Alsace-Moselle were given back to the France by the

Treaty of Versailles The Treaty of Versailles was a peace treaty signed on 28 June 1919. As the most important treaty of World War I, it ended the state of war between Germany and most of the Allies of World War I, Allied Powers. It was signed in the Palace ...

in 1919. On 28 June 1919 the canton of Bischheim - Hoenheim is attached to the new district of

-Countryside. On 2 September 1939 the inhabitants of the communes in front of the

Maginot line The Maginot Line (; ), named after the Minister of War (France), French Minister of War André Maginot, is a line of concrete fortifications, obstacles and weapon installations built by French Third Republic, France in the 1930s to deter invas ...

are evacuated. The inhabitants of Hoenheim, Bischheim and

are moved to the Bruche valley to join the evacuee centre of

Niederhaslach Niederhaslach is a commune in the Bas-Rhin department in Grand Est in north-eastern France. It is noteworthy for its Gothic 13th-15th century Niederhaslach Church. See also * Oberhaslach, a neighbouring commune * Communes of the Bas-Rhin ...

. Only the town hall secretary and some firemen remain in the town. On September 9 a second journey awaits the evacuated inhabitants, this time the destination is to the South of France. The inhabitants of Hoenheim are divided in 5 communes of

Haute-Vienne Haute-Vienne (; , ; Upper Vienne) is a département in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region in southwest-central France. Named after the Vienne River, it is one of the twelve départements that together constitute Nouvelle-Aquitaine. The prefecture an ...

which they will leave only in August 1940 to return to Alsace annexed by the Germans. Under the

Nazi Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...

occupation, Hoenheim is administratively attached to the “Gross Strasburg”. On 27 May, 11 August and 25 September 1944 the bombardment of

and its suburbs by the

Allies An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not an explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are calle ...

: Junkers factories in Meinau, railway workshops of Bischheim and marshalling yard of Hausbergen are all attacked. November 23

is released by the 2nd French Armoured Division of

General Leclerc Philippe François Marie Leclerc de Hauteclocque (22 November 1902 – 28 November 1947) was a Free-French general during World War II. He became Marshal of France posthumously in 1952, and is known in France simply as or just Leclerc. ...

, who assigns the local FFI to liberate the suburbs. Yet Hoenheim and its neighbourhoods remained under the fire of the German batteries until April 1945. The last tram ran to Hoenheim on 1 May 1960, leaving only the bus as a public transport link with

. In 1966, Hoenheim was integrated into the newly created

Urban Community of Strasbourg Urban means "related to a city". In that sense, the term may refer to: * Urban area, geographical area distinct from rural areas * Urban culture, the culture of towns and cities Urban may also refer to: General * Urban (name), a list of people ...

. In 1969, the collapse of the frontage of the Chapel of

obliged the Protestant parish to seek a new building. 1970 saw the completion of the construction of the motorway A34

Metz Metz ( , , , then ) is a city in northeast France located at the confluence of the Moselle (river), Moselle and the Seille (Moselle), Seille rivers. Metz is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Moselle (department), Moselle Departments ...

, later taken over by A4 connecting

, alongside the marshalling yard of Hausbergen. In 1978, the Protestant parish of Hoenheim inaugurated its church. The Protestant parish left the renovated Chapel of

to the use of the

Romanian Orthodox The Romanian Orthodox Church (ROC; , ), or Romanian Patriarchate, is an autocephalous Eastern Orthodox church in full communion with other Eastern Orthodox Christian churches, and one of the nine patriarchates in the Eastern Orthodox Church. S ...

parish. With the new public transport policy, a new tram line was built by the

during the 1990s, with the B tram line linking Hoenheim and

completed in 2001. The terminus of the B-Line in Hoenheim links the B tram line with the Strasbourg-Lauterbourg railway line.

Demography

Landmarks

* The Saint-Jean vault, located beside the town hall, whose foundations date from the 12th century. A three floors square tower, shelters the heart directed according to the habit towards the East. Unfortunately the collapse of the frontage in 1969 needed a whole rebuilding of the building. * The terminus of the tram (inauguration: 2001) by star architect

Zaha Hadid Dame Zaha Mohammad Hadid ( ''Zahā Ḥadīd''; 31 October 1950 – 31 March 2016) was an Iraqi-born British architect, artist, and designer. She is recognised as a key figure in the architecture of the late-20th and early-21st centuries. Born ...

, which in 2003 won the

European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture The European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture – Mies van der Rohe Award is a prize given biennially by the European Union and the Fundació Mies van der Rohe, Barcelona,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 2025):Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hœnheim Communes of Bas-Rhin Bas-Rhin communes articles needing translation from French Wikipedia