Ribeauvillé (; Alsatian: ''Rappschwihr''; ) is a commune 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 t ...

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 It superseded three former administr ...

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 ...

. It was a

sub-prefecture A subprefecture is an administrative division of a country that is below prefecture or province. Albania There are twelve Albanian counties or prefectures, each of which is divided into several districts, sometimes translated as subprefectures. ...

of the department until 2015.Décret n° 2014-1720 du 29 décembre 2014 portant suppression des arrondissements de Guebwiller et de Ribeauvillé (département du Haut-Rhin)
/ref> Its inhabitants are called ''Ribeauvillois''.

Geography

The town is located around north of

Colmar Colmar (, ; Alsatian: ' ; German during 1871–1918 and 1940–1945: ') is a city and commune in the Haut-Rhin department and Grand Est region of north-eastern France. The third-largest commune in Alsace (after Strasbourg and Mulhouse), it i ...

and south 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 ...

. It lies at the base 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 singl ...

Climate

Ribeauvillé has a

oceanic climate An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate, is the humid temperate climate sub-type in Köppen classification ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of continents, generally featuring cool summers and mild winters ...

(

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, nota ...

''Cfb''). The average annual temperature in Ribeauvillé is . The average annual rainfall is with August as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in July, at around , and lowest in January, at around . The highest temperature ever recorded in Ribeauvillé was on 25 July 2019; the coldest temperature ever recorded was on 20 December 2009.

History

Known in the 8th century as ''Rathaldovilare'', the town passed from the Bishops of Basel to the Lords of Rappoltstein, who were among the most famous nobles in Alsace. The Lord of Rappoltstein was the King or Protector of the wandering minstrels of the land, who purchased his protection by paying him a tax. When the family became extinct in 1673, this office of "King of the Pipers" (''Pfeiferkönig'') passed to the Counts Palatine of Zweibrücken-Birkenfeld. The minstrels had a pilgrimage chapel near Rappoltsweiler, dedicated to their patron saint, Maria von Dusenbach, and here they held an annual feast on 8 September. Ribeauvillé was known as ''Rappoltsweiler'' until 1918.

Sights

Ribeauvillé is in part surrounded by ancient walls, and has many picturesque medieval houses, and two old churches, of

St Gregory Pope Gregory I ( la, Gregorius I; – 12 March 604), commonly known as Saint Gregory the Great, was the bishop of Rome from 3 September 590 to his death. He is known for instigating the first recorded large-scale mission from Rome, the Gregoria ...

and

St Augustine Augustine of Hippo ( , ; la, Aurelius Augustinus Hipponensis; 13 November 354 – 28 August 430), also known as Saint Augustine, was a theologian and philosopher of Berber origin and the bishop of Hippo Regius in Numidia, Roman North Afr ...

, both fine Gothic buildings. The town hall contains a valuable collection of antiquities. The Carolabad, a saline spring with a temperature of . (which held a great reputation in the Middle Ages), was re-discovered in 1888, and made Rappoltsweiler a watering-place. Near the town are the ruins of three famous castles,

Saint-Ulrich Saint-Ulrich () is a commune in the Haut-Rhin department in Alsace in north-eastern France. See also * Communes of the Haut-Rhin department The following is a list of the 366 communes of the French department of Haut-Rhin. The communes coop ...

, Girsberg and Haut-Ribeaupierre, which formerly belonged to the lords of Ribeaupierre (or Rappoltstein). The forest of Ribeauvillé is home to the largest giant sequoia outside of the United States. The former

synagogue A synagogue, ', 'house of assembly', or ', "house of prayer"; Yiddish: ''shul'', Ladino: or ' (from synagogue); or ', "community". sometimes referred to as shul, and interchangeably used with the word temple, is a Jewish house of wor ...

of the Jewish community is located on the Rue de la Synagogue and is currently used as the town's cinema.

Economy

The economy of Ribeauvillé is mainly based on: * Tourism, because of its historical heritage and several festivals as, for example ''Fête des Ménétriers '' or " Pfifferdaj" (first week-end of September) and ''Marché de Noël'' (Christmas); *

Viticulture Viticulture (from the Latin word for '' vine'') or winegrowing (wine growing) is the cultivation and harvesting of grapes. It is a branch of the science of horticulture. While the native territory of '' Vitis vinifera'', the common grape vine, r ...

: Ribeauvillé is located in the middle of the

Alsace wine Alsace wine or Alsatian wine (french: Vin d'Alsace; german: Elsässer Wein; gsw, label=Haut Rhin Alsatian, d'r Wii vum Elsàss; gsw, label=Bas Rhin Alsatian, de Win vum Elsàss) is produced in the Alsace region in France and is primarily w ...

yards and is home to many

viticulturist Viticulture (from the Latin word for '' vine'') or winegrowing (wine growing) is the cultivation and harvesting of grapes. It is a branch of the science of horticulture. While the native territory of '' Vitis vinifera'', the common grape vine ...

s. Most of them are associated in a

winemaking co-operative A winemaking cooperative is an agricultural cooperative which is involved in winemaking, and which in a similar way to other cooperatives is owned by its members. The members in a winemaking cooperative are usually vineyard owners, who deliver gr ...

named ''Cave de Ribeauvillé'' (established 1895), one of the oldest in France;Cooperative websit
alsace.vins-ribeauville.com
* Manufacturing: There is the fabric printing factory Beauvillé and a Cordon Electronics factory located nearby.

Notable people

Philipp Jakob Spener Philipp Jakob Spener (23 January 1635 – 5 February 1705), was a German Lutheran theologian who essentially founded what would become to be known as Pietism. He was later dubbed the "Father of Pietism". A prolific writer, his two main works, ' ...

(1635–1705), Lutheran theologian *

Johann Baptist Wendling Johann Baptist Wendling (baptised 17 June 1723 – 27 November 1797) was a flute player and composer of the Mannheim School. He held the position of principal flute in the Mannheim and Munich court orchestras under directors Johann Stamitz and Chr ...

(1723–1797), flautist and composer * Jean-Michel Beysser (1753–1794), French general *

Carl August von Steinheil Carl August von Steinheil (12 October 1801 – 14 September 1870) was a German physicist, inventor, engineer and astronomer. Biography Steinheil was born in Ribeauvillé, Alsace. He studied law in Erlangen since 1821. He then studied astronomy ...

(1801–1870), physicist * Maurice Lévy (1838–1910), engineer *

Jean-François Klobb Jean-François Arsène Klobb (1857–1899) was a French colonial officer. He was assassinated by order of Captain Paul Voulet. Background and early career Born on June 29, 1857 in Ribeauvillé in the department of Haut-Rhin in Alsace, he was s ...

(1857–1899), French officer * Hubert Keller, chef