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 the ...
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 It superseded three former administrat ...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 ...
.
Geography
The village of Niederentzen was established between 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 ...
Ill ILL may refer to:
* ''I Love Lucy'', a landmark American television sitcom
* Illorsuit Heliport (location identifier: ILL), a heliport in Illorsuit, Greenland
* Institut Laue–Langevin, an internationally financed scientific facility
* Interlibrar ...
, at an altitude of 205 meters. It has an area of 8.81 square kilometres. It stretches between the Forest of the Thur and the vestiges of the . The wooded area is and is assigned to agriculture. The local climate is characterized by weak precipitation, 539 mm per annum on average, and an average annual temperature of 10.2 °C.
History
In this area a place called "Giessen" was discovered, along with tombs, jewels and ceramics dating from the first period of the
Iron Age
The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age (Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age (Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostly appl ...
to the end of the
Bronze Age
The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second pri ...
.
The name (''Nidern Enszheim'' 1276) is a contraction of "Nieder-Ensisheim" ("Nieder": lower). Niederentzen and Oberentzen were originally a single holding. In the thirteenth century, this holding was dissociated and Niederentzen became part of the territory of
Murbach Abbey
Murbach Abbey (french: Abbaye de Murbach) was a famous Benedictine monastery in Murbach, southern Alsace, in a valley at the foot of the Grand Ballon in the Vosges.
The monastery was founded in 727 by Eberhard, Count of Alsace, and established a ...
. In 1358, the village was taken by the
Habsburg
The House of Habsburg (), alternatively spelled Hapsburg in Englishgerman: Haus Habsburg, ; es, Casa de Habsburgo; hu, Habsburg család, it, Casa di Asburgo, nl, Huis van Habsburg, pl, dom Habsburgów, pt, Casa de Habsburgo, la, Domus Hab ...
s, who gave it first to the lords of
Hattstatt
Hattstatt is a commune in the Haut-Rhin department in Grand Est in north-eastern France. It lies in the arrondissement of Guebwiller in the historic region of Alsace and is on the Alsatian wineroute ( Route des vins d'Alsace).
Notable sights
...
, and then, on their extinction (1585), to the
Swiss
Swiss may refer to:
* the adjectival form of Switzerland
* Swiss people
Places
* Swiss, Missouri
* Swiss, North Carolina
*Swiss, West Virginia
* Swiss, Wisconsin
Other uses
*Swiss-system tournament, in various games and sports
*Swiss Internation ...
noble family of Truchsess von Rheinfelden. Jean-Melchior Truchsess von Rheinfelden, who died in 1699, returned the property to the church. After the
French Revolution
The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...
, Niederentzen became part of
Ensisheim
Ensisheim (; gsw-FR, Anze) is a Communes of France, commune in the Haut-Rhin Departments of France, department in Grand Est in north-eastern France. It is also the birthplace of the composer Léon Boëllmann. The Germanic languages, Germanic et ...
.
During the nineteenth century, the American businessman
Henri Castro
Henri Castro (born Moïse Henriques de Castro, July 17, 1786 – November 3, 1865), a Jewish Texan, was one of the most important empresarios of the Republic of Texas.
Early life
Castro, who was born in Bayonne, France, was a French diplomat o ...
offered lands in the state of
Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...
. Some inhabitants of Niederentzen responded and settled in Castroville and D'Hanis. This second city is currently twinned with Niederentzen; a portion of the village bears its name.
Coat of arms
The
coat of arms
A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central ele ...
of the village of Niederentzen was created in 1978 by M. Lucien Bilger, then mayor of the commune. It combines elements of the armorial bearings of the Hattstatt lords and the Truchsess nobles, illustrating the history of the village.