Kirchheim (; gsw-FR, Keriche) 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, ...

and

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 It superseded three former administrat ...

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and the interaction of humanity and t ...

of 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 ...

.INSEE commune file
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Geography

Kirchheim lies on the western edge of the

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 ...

plain where it meets the first foothills 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 ...

, 19 km west of

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 ...

, 18 km southeast of Saverne, and 8 km north of Molsheim. Adjacent communes are

Marlenheim Marlenheim () is a commune in the Bas-Rhin department and Grand Est region of north-eastern France. Twin towns Marlenheim is twinned with Bouillante (Guadeloupe, France). See also * Communes of the Bas-Rhin department The following i ...

to the north,

Odratzheim Odratzheim (; ; gsw-FR, Oderze) is a commune in the Bas-Rhin department in Grand Est in north-eastern France. See also * Communes of the Bas-Rhin department The following is a list of the 514 communes of the Bas-Rhin department of France ...

and

Scharrachbergheim-Irmstett Scharrachbergheim-Irmstett is a commune in the Bas-Rhin department in Grand Est in north-eastern France. 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 com ...

to the south, and Wangen to the northwest. The village is within easy walking distance of the main road connecting Saverne to Strasbourg. The former railway line from Molsheim has been developed into a cycle path traversing the commune. Bus services link Kirchheim to Strasbourg (route 207) and Molsheim (route 212), both starting from Wasselonne, a short distance to the northwest. The commune's eastern boundary is provided by the small River Mossig, a tributary of the Bruche, flowing from north to south. The ecosystem includes a riparian zone which provides a biological corridor for wildlife. Resident species include the endangered Great Hamster of Alsace. Most of the surrounding land is either ploughland or laid to grass, although there are

vineyards A vineyard (; also ) is a plantation of grape-bearing vines, grown mainly for winemaking, but also raisins, table grapes and non-alcoholic grape juice. The science, practice and study of vineyard production is known as viticulture. Vineyards ...

to the southeast and, to a limited extent, the northwest.

Economy

A packaging company provides two-thirds of the jobs in the village. Several other firms provide a relatively small number of jobs. In the early twenty-first century, there were 80 employed positions in the commune. The agricultural sector, currently dominated by

maize Maize ( ; ''Zea mays'' subsp. ''mays'', from es, maíz after tnq, mahiz), also known as corn (North American and Australian English), is a cereal grain first domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 10,000 years ago. Th ...

cultivation, is also significant in the village economy. There are virtually no shops, but basic shopping is available from travelling van-based businesses.

History

Local discoveries of

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

relics suggest the presence of a settlement in the Roman period. An early surviving reference from the seventh century gives the name of the village as Chirichheim. There is also evidence of a royal residence frequently used by Charles the Fat and the Empress Richarde in the later

Merovingian The Merovingian dynasty () was the ruling family of the Franks from the middle of the 5th century until 751. They first appear as "Kings of the Franks" in the Roman army of northern Gaul. By 509 they had united all the Franks and northern Gauli ...

period. The village was part of the territory of the

Empire An empire is a "political unit" made up of several territories and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the empire (sometimes referred to as the metropole) ex ...

, and was a dependency of nearby Wasselonne with which, according to records of the time, Kirchheim shared its history until it came under the control of

. The Convent of Haslach held a ''cour domaniale'' (regional court) there and retained certain rights. There is evidence of some sort of religious monastery or convent in the eleventh century, which later, in 1274, was taken under the protection of

Rudolf I of Germany Rudolf I (1 May 1218 – 15 July 1291) was the first King of Germany from the House of Habsburg. The first of the count-kings of Germany, he reigned from 1273 until his death. Rudolf's election marked the end of the Great Interregnum which h ...

. The village's coat of arms features an open book and an ink pad—an indication, it is believed, of the presence of several

printing Printing is a process for mass reproducing text and images using a master form or template. The earliest non-paper products involving printing include cylinder seals and objects such as the Cyrus Cylinder and the Cylinders of Nabonidus. The ea ...

firms in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. Kirchheim came under the ecclesiastical administration of the chapter of Molsheim. Kirchheim Church was, in turn, the mother church of those at

and

, an arrangement that continued until the start of the nineteenth century.