Bergholtz (; ) 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

Haut-Rhin Haut-Rhin (, ; Alsatian: ''Owerelsàss'' or '; german: Oberelsass, ) is a department in the Grand Est region of France, bordering both Germany and Switzerland. It is named after the river Rhine. Its name means ''Upper Rhine''. Haut-Rhin is th ...

department 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 It superseded three former administra ...

in north-eastern

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

, and, since 1 January 2021, the European collectivity of Alsace. The commune is in the historic 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 ...

. Its inhabitants are known as ''Bergholtzois'' (plural: ''Bergholtzoises'').

Geography

Situated at the midpoint between Colmar and Mulhouse (23 km from Mulhouse and 25 km from Colmar) and at the mouth of the

Guebwiller Guebwiller (french: Guebwiller, ; Alsatian: ''Gàwiller'' ; ) is a commune in the Haut-Rhin department in Grand Est currently in north-eastern France. It was a sub-prefecture of the department until 2015. It is situated northwest of Mulhous ...

valley, Bergholtz backs onto limestone hills under 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 largely opens up in the east on a plane of the

Rhine ), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland , source1_coordinates= , source1_elevation = , source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein , source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland , source2_coordinates= , so ...

onto a low-lying terrace of loess, which offers excellent agricultural land. The village was developed along the lengths of two perpendicular paths, one of which connects to Guebwiller by following a line along the slope between the plain and the hill, and the other surrounds the mouth, towards the localities in the valley of Orschwihr. The name Bergholtz seems to indicate that the village left its original resources that came from the destruction of the forest which must have covered Schwartzberg ('Black Mountain'). However, the exposed slopes must have been converted into vineyards quite early on. In the eighteenth century, the wine of Bergholtz was renowned. After a continuous decrease since the end of the nineteenth century, largely because of the industrialisation of the Guebwiller valley, agriculture returned in the twentieth century, becoming a more common activity. It is one of 188 communes of the

Ballons des Vosges Nature Park The Ballons des Vosges Regional Nature Park ( French: ''Parc naturel régional des Ballons des Vosges'') is a protected area of woodland, pasture, wetland, farmland and historical sites in the regions of Grand Est and Bourgogne-Franche-Comté i ...

Town Planning

Bergholz is an urban commune, because it belongs to a dense commune or one of intermediate density, according to the grid of communal density from the INSEE. The commune is also outside of the sphere of influence of a city.

Geography

Town Planning

See also