Hégenheim (; ; Alsatian: ''Hagena'') is a commune in the

Haut-Rhin Haut-Rhin (); Alsatian: ''Owerelsàss'' or '; , . is a department in the Grand Est region, France, bordering both Germany and Switzerland. It is named after the river Rhine; its name means Upper Rhine. Haut-Rhin is the smaller and less pop ...

department in

Alsace Alsace (, ; ) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in the Grand Est administrative region of northeastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine, next to Germany and Switzerland. In January 2021, it had a population of 1,9 ...

in north-eastern

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. It is adjacent to the

Swiss Swiss most commonly refers to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Swiss may also refer to: Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina * Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses * Swiss Café, an old café located ...

town of

Allschwil Allschwil () is a List of towns in Switzerland, village and a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the district of Arlesheim (district), Arlesheim in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Basel-Country in Switzerland. Allschwil is a sea ...

, and is part of the

Basel Basel ( ; ), also known as Basle ( ), ; ; ; . is a city in northwestern Switzerland on the river Rhine (at the transition from the High Rhine, High to the Upper Rhine). Basel is Switzerland's List of cities in Switzerland, third-most-populo ...

urban area An urban area is a human settlement with a high population density and an infrastructure of built environment. Urban areas originate through urbanization, and researchers categorize them as cities, towns, conurbations or suburbs. In urbani ...

Geography

Hégenheim is a small town located in the northeastern quarter of

and in the southeastern part of the

department. Hégenheim is part of the French suburb of

and is adjacent to the Swiss town of

History

The village name probably originates from the

Frankish Frankish may refer to: * Franks, a Germanic tribe and their culture ** Frankish language or its modern descendants, Franconian languages, a group of Low Germanic languages also commonly referred to as "Frankish" varieties * Francia, a post-Roman ...

period, and meant the "domain of Hagino", a Germanic name. The

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 Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

period is marked by the presence of important Roman roads crossing the district, those leading from

Porrentruy Porrentruy (; ; ) is a Swiss municipality and seat of the district of the same name located in the canton of Jura. Porrentruy is home to National League team, HC Ajoie. History The first trace of human presence in Porrentruy is a Mesolit ...

to Augst and from Binningen to Rixheim. The village was under the control of the

Diocese of Basel The Diocese of Basel (; ) is a Latin Church, Latin Catholic diocese in Switzerland. Historically, the bishops of Basel were also secular rulers of the Prince-Bishopric of Basel (). Today the diocese of Basel includes the Swiss Cantons of Switze ...

. The bishops granted the estate to vassals, among them the Baerenfels family in 1482, who kept it until 1700. As a result of the devastation caused by the war of the League of Augsburg (1688–1697), the sisters Elizabeth and Anna of Baerenfels, owners of the old castle, took refuge in Bourgfelden. The estate then consisted of the castle, the farm and the orchard. After the battle of Friedlingen (1702), the castle was transformed into a hospital and was devastated. Almost abandoned, it was unduly occupied by a Basler.

Louis XIV LouisXIV (Louis-Dieudonné; 5 September 16381 September 1715), also known as Louis the Great () or the Sun King (), was King of France from 1643 until his death in 1715. His verified reign of 72 years and 110 days is the List of longest-reign ...

handed the domain to Laurent de Barbier, an officer of

Picardy Picardy (; Picard language, Picard and , , ) is a historical and cultural territory and a former regions of France, administrative region located in northern France. The first mentions of this province date back to the Middle Ages: it gained it ...

origin, as a reward for the many years he had spent in the service of France, and as compensation for the various wounds he had received. The latter had to resort to the Sovereign Council of Alsace to expel the usurper and take possession of his property in March 1703. At that time, he commanded the fort Saint-Pierre in

Freiburg im Breisgau Freiburg im Breisgau or simply Freiburg is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, fourth-largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg after Stuttgart, Mannheim and Karlsruhe. Its built-up area has a population of abou ...

and later directed the construction of the fortress of Huningue. He ended his life in Oleron as commander of the fortress. His sons, Laurent-Amable and Pierre undertook the construction of the present castle, which was completed in 1737. The 17th century was marked by the establishment of a strong

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

community at the gates of

, where they were not tolerated. In 1673, Hannibal of Baerenfels sold the Jews a plot of land to be used as a

synagogue A synagogue, also called a shul or a temple, is a place of worship for Jews and Samaritans. It is a place for prayer (the main sanctuary and sometimes smaller chapels) where Jews attend religious services or special ceremonies such as wed ...

, but it was instead used as a cemetery. Due to restrictive laws in the region (notably in many Swiss

cantons A canton is a type of administrative division of a country. In general, cantons are relatively small in terms of area and population when compared with other administrative divisions such as counties, departments, or provinces. Internationally, th ...

), Jews had trouble finding a place to bury their dead, so the cemetery of Hegenheim gained considerable importance. It contains about 8,000 graves. A synagogue was built in 1723, but invading troops burned it down in June 1815. It was rebuilt in 1821 and a Jewish care home for the elderly opened in 1874. In 1838, there were 845 Jews living in Hegenheim. Rising anti-Jewish sentiment came to a head in 1848, the year of revolutions. On April 23, 1848, a quarrel broke out because Hagenthal peasants had sung anti-Jewish songs. In a scuffle, a finger of a non-Jew was cut off. As a result, the Jewish National Guard was disarmed by an angry mob, the Jews were attacked and several Jewish houses were stormed and completely devastated. One child was killed. Only the deployment of troops was able to end the riots on April 25. Prior to the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, Hegenheim was an important watch production center. The Lévy watch factory employed about 100 workers, half of whom came from Switzerland. It was replaced by the Société anonyme Manufacture d'horlogerie du Haut-Rhin, which operated until 1963.

Climate

Hégenheim is several hundred kilometers from any sea or ocean. The maritime influence is very limited and the climate is semi-continental. This results in large temperature differences. The summer is short but intense with temperatures above during the day and thunderstorms that overflow from the

swiss Jura Swiss most commonly refers to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland *Swiss people Swiss may also refer to: Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina * Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses * Swiss Café, an old café located ...

. The winter is long, cold but not extreme: to during the day and to at night.

Population

References

External links