Ribeauvillé ( is the French name of Ràppschwihr (), 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
Grand Est
Grand Est (; ) is an Regions of France, administrative region in northeastern France. It superseded three former administrative regions, Alsace, Champagne-Ardenne and Lorraine, on 1 January 2016 under the provisional name of Alsace-Champagne-A ...
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 was a
sub-prefecture 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>
Geography
The town is located around north of Colmar
Colmar (; ; or ) is a city and commune in the Haut-Rhin department and Alsace region of north-eastern France. The third-largest commune in Alsace (after Strasbourg and Mulhouse), it is the seat of the prefecture of the Haut-Rhin department ...
and south of Strasbourg
Strasbourg ( , ; ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est Regions of France, region of Geography of France, eastern France, in the historic region of Alsace. It is the prefecture of the Bas-Rhin Departmen ...
. It lies at the base of the Vosges Mountains
The Vosges ( , ; ; Franconian (linguistics), Franconian and ) is a range of medium mountains in Eastern France, near its France–Germany border, border with Germany. Together with the Palatine Forest to the north on the German side of the bor ...
.
Climate
Ribeauvillé has an oceanic climate
An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate or maritime climate, is the temperate climate sub-type in Köppen climate classification, Köppen classification represented as ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of co ...
(Köppen climate classification
The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...
''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
Maria may refer to:
People
* Mary, mother of Jesus
* Maria (given name), a popular given name in many languages
Place names Extraterrestrial
*170 Maria, a Main belt S-type asteroid discovered in 1877
*Lunar maria (plural of ''mare''), large, da ...
, and here they held an annual feast on 8 September. Ribeauvillé was known as ''Rappoltsweiler'' until 1918.
Population
Its inhabitants are called ''Ribeauvillois'' in French.
Sights
Ribeauvillé is in part surrounded by ancient walls, and has many picturesque medieval houses, and two old churches, of St Gregory and St Augustine, 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 Ribeauvillé a spa.
Near the town are the ruins of three famous castles, Saint-Ulrich, 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
''Sequoiadendron giganteum'' (also known as the giant sequoia, giant redwood, Sierra redwood or Wellingtonia) is a species of coniferous tree, classified in the family Cupressaceae in the subfamily Sequoioideae. Giant sequoia specimens are the la ...
outside of the United States.
The former 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 ...
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 (, "vine-growing"), viniculture (, "wine-growing"), or winegrowing 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 ...
: Ribeauvillé is located in the middle of the Alsace wine
Alsace wine or Alsatian wine (; ; ; ) is produced in the Alsace region in France and is primarily white wine. Because of its History of Alsace, Germanic influence, it is the only ''Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée'' region in France to produce ...
yards and is home to many viticulturist
Viticulture (, "vine-growing"), viniculture (, "wine-growing"), or winegrowing 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 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 (1635–1705), Lutheran theologian
* Johann Baptist Wendling (1723–1797), flautist and composer
* Jean-Michel Beysser (1753–1794), French general
* Carl August von Steinheil (1801–1870), physicist
* Maurice Lévy (1838–1910), engineer
* Jean-François Klobb (1857–1899), French officer
* Hubert Keller, chef
See also
* Communes of the Haut-Rhin department
The following is a list of the 366 Communes of France, communes of the French Departments of France, department of Haut-Rhin.
The communes cooperate in the following Communes of France#Intercommunality, intercommunalities (as of 2025):
References
External links
Tourist site
Jewish Encyclopedia
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ribeauville
Communes of Haut-Rhin
Subprefectures in France
Jewish communities