Rhine Franconian
__NOTOC__
Rhenish Franconian or Rhine Franconian (german: Rheinfränkisch ) is a dialect chain of West Central German. It comprises the varieties of German spoken across the western regions of the states of Saarland, Rhineland-Palatinate, north ...
: ''Lítzelstain'') 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
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 It superseded three former administrat ...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 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> It lies in the historical and cultural region 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 ...
(Elsass in German). Petit-Pierre literally means ''little rock''.
The town lies in the
Northern Vosges Regional Nature Park
The Northern Vosges Regional Natural Park ( French: ''Parc naturel régional des Vosges du Nord'') is a protected area of woodland, wetland, farmland and historical sites in the region Grand Est in northeastern France. The area was officially de ...
which has its headquarter in the château (Maison du Parc).
History
Lützelstein castle was built by Count Hugo, who was the son of Hugh, Count of
Blieskastel
Blieskastel () is a city in the Saarpfalz (Saar-Palatinate) district, in Saarland, Germany which is divided into villages. It is situated on the river Blies, approximately southwest of Homburg (Saar), west of Zweibrücken, and east of Saarbrüc ...
. It was claimed by the
Bishop of Strasbourg
{{Unreferenced, date=December 2009
These persons were bishop, archbishop or prince-bishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Strasbourg (including historically Prince-Bishopric of Strasbourg):
Bishops and prince-bishops
*Amandus
*Justinus vo ...
in 1223, but the count successfully defended it. After Count Friedrich died without a male successor, the county was subject to a protracted inheritance dispute between his uncle, Frederick Burkhard, and his sister, who was married to John of Leiningen. Both John and the sons of Burkhard died within a short time and without heirs, so the entire county was passed to the
Electoral Palatinate
The Electoral Palatinate (german: Kurpfalz) or the Palatinate (), officially the Electorate of the Palatinate (), was a state that was part of the Holy Roman Empire. The electorate had its origins under the rulership of the Counts Palatine of ...
in 1462.
During the partition of the
House of Wittelsbach
The House of Wittelsbach () is a German dynasty, with branches that have ruled over territories including Bavaria, the Palatinate, Holland and Zeeland, Sweden (with Finland), Denmark, Norway, Hungary (with Romania), Bohemia, the Electorate ...
Wolfgang, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken
Count Palatine Wolfgang of Zweibrücken (german: Pfalzgraf Wolfgang von Zweibrücken; 26 September 1526 – 11 June 1569) was member of the Wittelsbach family of the Counts Palatine and Duke of Zweibrücken from 1532. With the support of his re ...
George John I, Count Palatine of Veldenz
George John I (German: Georg Johann I.; sometimes called George Hans) (11 April 1543 – 18 April 1592) was the Count of Veldenz from 1544 until 1592.
Life
George John was born in 1543 as the only son of Rupert, Count Palatine of Veldenz. George ...
attempted to develop his Alsatian territories as the focus of his state, which led to him building the city of Pfalzburg in 1570 and populating it with Protestant refugees from the
Duchy of Lorraine
The Duchy of Lorraine (french: Lorraine ; german: Lothringen ), originally Upper Lorraine, was a duchy now included in the larger present-day region of Lorraine in northeastern France. Its capital was Nancy.
It was founded in 959 following t ...
. The project was so grand and unaffordable that in 1583 he was forced to sell the city and half the County of Lützelstein to Lorraine.
After the death of George John I,
Anna Maria of Sweden
Anna may refer to:
People Surname and given name
* Anna (name)
Mononym
* Anna the Prophetess, in the Gospel of Luke
* Anna (wife of Artabasdos) (fl. 715–773)
* Anna (daughter of Boris I) (9th–10th century)
* Anna (Anisia) (fl. 1218 to 12 ...
ruled the county as regent. After the division of Palatinate-Veldenz in 1598, the County of Lützelstein was passed to
John Augustus, Count Palatine of Lützelstein
John Augustus (German: Johann August) (26 November 1575 – 18 September 1611) was the County of Veldenz#Palantine Veldenz Line, co-Duke of Veldenz from 1592 until 1598 and the Palatinate-Lützelstein, Duke of Lützelstein from 1598 until 1611.
L ...
. John Augustus himself died without issue in 1611 and was succeeded by his younger brother Count Palatine George John II of Guttenberg, who renamed the united state
Palatinate-Lützelstein-Guttenberg
Palatinate-Lützelstein-Guttenberg was a state of the Holy Roman Empire based around La Petite-Pierre in the far northeast of France.
Palatinate-Lützelstein-Guttenberg was created in 1611 when George John II of Palatinate-Guttenberg inherited ...
. As he himself left no surviving children upon his death in 1654, his territory fell back to Palatinate-Veldenz. After
Leopold Louis, Count Palatine of Veldenz Leopold Louis (German: Leopold Ludwig) (1 February 1625 – 29 September 1694) was the Count of Veldenz from 1634 until 1694. Lothar K. Kinzinger: Schweden und Pfalz-Zweibrücken, Dissertation, Zweibrücken 1988, S. 308–317. ISBN 3-924171-02-5
...
died without issue, the county was returned to Palatinate-Zweibrücken in 1694. However, Palatinate rule of Lützelstein after 1680 was nominal due to French occupation of it. After the signing of the
Treaty of Ryswick
The Peace of Ryswick, or Rijswijk, was a series of treaties signed in the Dutch city of Rijswijk between 20 September and 30 October 1697. They ended the 1688 to 1697 Nine Years' War between France and the Grand Alliance, which included England, ...
, Lützelstein was nominally ruled by Zweibrücken as a French fief, but was de facto ruled by the
Kingdom of France
The Kingdom of France ( fro, Reaume de France; frm, Royaulme de France; french: link=yes, Royaume de France) is the historiographical name or umbrella term given to various political entities of France in the medieval and early modern period. ...
. Vauban, the French marshall, expanded its fortress. The fortress was again expanded in 1815 but was partially demolished in 1872 by Germans. Finally it was formally annexed by
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 ...
with the Palatinate-Zweibrücken and was part of 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 in 1801. Thereafter it has shared the fate 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 ...
since 1801.
Notable people
*
François Antoine Louis Bourcier
François Antoine Louis Bourcier (23 February 1760 – 8 May 1828) was a French cavalry officer and divisional general of the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars.
Bourcier was a cavalry lieutenant when the French Revolution fightin ...
, a French cavalry officer and divisional general of the
French Revolutionary Wars
The French Revolutionary Wars (french: Guerres de la Révolution française) were a series of sweeping military conflicts lasting from 1792 until 1802 and resulting from the French Revolution. They pitted French First Republic, France against Ki ...
and the
Napoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fren ...
.
*
René Char
René Émile Char (; 14 June 1907 – 19 February 1988) was a French poet and member of the French Resistance.
Biography
Char was born in L'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue in the Vaucluse department of France, the youngest of the four children of Emile ...
, hid in the woods between la Petit-Pierre and
Petersbach
Petersbach is a commune in the Bas-Rhin department in Grand Est in north-eastern France.
Peteresbach is within the Northern Vosges Regional Nature Park (French: ''Parc naturel régional des Vosges du Nord'') that lies in the northern foothills o ...
, for about six months, during the
phoney war
The Phoney War (french: Drôle de guerre; german: Sitzkrieg) was an eight-month period at the start of World War II, during which there was only one limited military land operation on the Western Front, when French troops invaded Germ ...
.
Tourism
The upper part of the town is built as a fortified city around the
Château de La Petite-Pierre
The Château de la Petite-Pierre, Burg Lützelstein (German) is a castle in the ''commune'' of La Petite-Pierre (German: ''Lützelstein'') in the Bas-Rhin ''département'' of France, in Alsace (German: ''Elsass''). All the names of the place are r ...
(also known as Chateau de Lützelstein).
There is also a church, which was built in the fifteenth century (parts of which remain) and has some nice artwork.
The area around the town is suitable for walking or hiking. There are a number of marked trails. The town has its own division of Club Vosgien.
Veldenz
Veldenz is an ''Ortsgemeinde'' – a municipality belonging to a ''Verbandsgemeinde'', a kind of collective municipality – in the Bernkastel-Wittlich district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is the former main seat of the County of Veldenz, ...