Hilsenheim
Encyclopedia
Hilsenheim is a commune
in the Bas-Rhin
department in Alsace
in north-eastern France
.
, Bindernheim
und Wittisheim
to the east, Muttersholtz
in the south, Ebersmunster
to the west and Kogenheim
, Sermersheim
and Rossfeld
to the north. Further afield, Sélestat
is some ten kilometres (six miles) to the south-west, and the Strasbourg
conurbation is forty kilometres (twenty-five miles) to the north. Ten kilometres to the east is the River Rhine which here is tracked by the German
frontier.
is only two meters below the surface of the land.
Currently the non-built land in the commune is divided between forests (27%) and arable farming (52%). The predominant arable crop is currently maize Brit (corn US English)
. Vineyards and orchards taking up most of the balance. In addition to agriculture the local economy features some small scale manufacturing and logistical activity.
is some twelve kilometres to the west and the German Autobahn A5
is some twenty kilometres to the east. The French autoroute is here toll free, but both the highways suffer from congestion and the risk of serious delays at peak times, so drivers setting out on a long drive to the north or south do well to listen to the traffic reports before choosing on which side of the Rhine to travel.
Between 1909 and 1944 a steam railway (le Riedbahnnel) connecting Sélestat to Sundhouse passed close to the village, but Hilsenheim never had its own station, and after the War, with the surge in car ownership that followed, the railway was abandoned and then progressively dismantled.
A currently unused NATO pipeline also passes close to the village, beneath the road to Wittisheim
.
, a perceived tension between preserving Hilsenheim as a balanced and integrated community and the risk of progressively transforming it into a dormitory town increasingly dominated by the requirements and developments in the larger urban economies such as Sélestat (Schlettstadt in Alsatian and German)
and, above all, Strasbourg
.
and Tacitus
such as the Mediomatrici
and the Triboci: during the early centuries of the first millennium the overwhelming political power and cultural influence came from the Romans
themselves.
that connected Basel
and Strasbourg
. Today this follows the line of a rural road (RD212) called Heidenstraessel. Some three kilometres to the north of the village, at the edge of the road the water table breaks the surface of the land. This point is known locally as "Waechterquellen" which indicates a clear water source, and seems to have originated with a Roman guard post of some sort. According to local legend King Dagobert III
of Neustria
and of Austrasia
drowned in this spring when his carriage ran into it.
Directly to the south of the spring is an isolated fortified farm called The Riedhof, which may have been built on the foundations of a Roman fort, possibly an outlying fortification of the Fourth Legion
garrison which guarded the important religious centre at Hellelum (modern Ehl
).
and 1918
, however, Hilsenheim, in common with the whole of Alsace
was annexed by Germany
. Several of the town's public buildings including the mairie and some schools date from the period, and provide good examples of the heavy Wilhelmine architecture of imperial Germany.
Ahead of the Second World War citizens living closer to the German frontier were evacuated to central and western France, but the people of Hilsenheim, eight kilometres from the frontier, suffered German occupation. Several villagers were forcibly conscripted into the German army
and died on the Russian front.
On the night of 15 March 1944 a Canadian Lancaster bomber was shot down by German anti-aircraft guns, crashing near to the road towards Wittisheim
. The seven crew members, members of the 408th squadron, are buried in Hilsenheim cemetery.
Two Maginot line
bunkers survive at the edge of the commune, both in ruins: one is one the Rue des Vergers (Orchard Road) on the edge of the village on the road towards Wittisheim
, and the second is about 1.5 kilometres (one mile) east of the village on the road towards Bindernheim
, level with a patch of woodland.
In the winter of 1944/45 the village found itself on the edge of the Colmar Pocket
, and during the heavy fighting that took place over the enclave, several buildings in Hilsenheim were destroyed including the church. This would be rebuilt during the 1950s to a contemporary design. After two months of intensive fighting, during which the population, still not evacuated, hid in their cellars, the village was finally liberated in January 1945 by the Moroccan Goumier
s of the fifteenth Tabor
(2nd GTM), part of the First French Army under General de Lattre
. The liberating forces continued east to the Rhine while other Fitrst Army units took over their position in the village. During the fighting several villagers were killed, and more were killed subsequently because of mines
set on some of the surrounding roads and fields.
The coat of arms incorporates the golden handle of a sword.
Communes of France
The commune is the lowest level of administrative division in the French Republic. French communes are roughly equivalent to incorporated municipalities or villages in the United States or Gemeinden in Germany...
in the Bas-Rhin
Bas-Rhin
Bas-Rhin is a department of France. The name means "Lower Rhine". It is the more populous and densely populated of the two departments of the Alsace region, with 1,079,013 inhabitants in 2006.- History :...
department in Alsace
Alsace
Alsace is the fifth-smallest of the 27 regions of France in land area , and the smallest in metropolitan France. It is also the seventh-most densely populated region in France and third most densely populated region in metropolitan France, with ca. 220 inhabitants per km²...
in north-eastern France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
.
Neighbouring communes
Surrounding communes are WitternheimWitternheim
Witternheim is a commune in the Bas-Rhin department in Alsace in north-eastern France.-References:*...
, Bindernheim
Bindernheim
Bindernheim is a commune in the Bas-Rhin department in Alsace in north-eastern France.-References:*...
und Wittisheim
Wittisheim
Wittisheim is a commune in the Bas-Rhin department in Alsace in north-eastern France.-References:*...
to the east, Muttersholtz
Muttersholtz
Muttersholtz is a commune in the Bas-Rhin department in Alsace in north-eastern France.-References:*...
in the south, Ebersmunster
Ebersmunster
Ebersmunster is a commune in the Bas-Rhin department in Alsace in north-eastern France.It is famous for its 1727 baroque church, a work by Vorarlberg architect Peter Thumb.-References:*...
to the west and Kogenheim
Kogenheim
Kogenheim is a commune in the Bas-Rhin department in Alsace in north-eastern France.-Geography:The commune is on the east of the Route Nationale RN83, till recently the main road linking Strasbourg with Colmar and still, despite extensive official 'declassification' following the opening of the...
, Sermersheim
Sermersheim
Sermersheim is a commune in the Bas-Rhin department in Alsace in north-eastern France.-References:*...
and Rossfeld
Rossfeld
Rossfeld is a commune in the Bas-Rhin department in Alsace in north-eastern France.-References:*...
to the north. Further afield, Sélestat
Sélestat
Sélestat is a commune in the Bas-Rhin department in Alsace in north-eastern France.In 2006, Sélestat had a total population of 19,459. The Communauté de communes de Sélestat et environs had a total population of 35,397.-Geography:...
is some ten kilometres (six miles) to the south-west, and the Strasbourg
Strasbourg
Strasbourg is the capital and principal city of the Alsace region in eastern France and is the official seat of the European Parliament. Located close to the border with Germany, it is the capital of the Bas-Rhin département. The city and the region of Alsace are historically German-speaking,...
conurbation is forty kilometres (twenty-five miles) to the north. Ten kilometres to the east is the River Rhine which here is tracked by the German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
frontier.
The land
The land, characteristic of the Ried district of which this is a part, is composed of rich alluvial deposits. Before the River Rhine was channeled much of the land was marshy and prone to flooding: even today there are many areas where the water tableWater table
The water table is the level at which the submarine pressure is far from atmospheric pressure. It may be conveniently visualized as the 'surface' of the subsurface materials that are saturated with groundwater in a given vicinity. However, saturated conditions may extend above the water table as...
is only two meters below the surface of the land.
Currently the non-built land in the commune is divided between forests (27%) and arable farming (52%). The predominant arable crop is currently maize Brit (corn US English)
Maize
Maize known in many English-speaking countries as corn or mielie/mealie, is a grain domesticated by indigenous peoples in Mesoamerica in prehistoric times. The leafy stalk produces ears which contain seeds called kernels. Though technically a grain, maize kernels are used in cooking as a vegetable...
. Vineyards and orchards taking up most of the balance. In addition to agriculture the local economy features some small scale manufacturing and logistical activity.
Communication links
The village is the crossing point of numerous small local roads. The Autoroute A35A35 autoroute
The A35 autoroute is a toll free highway in north eastern France. It is also known as the autoroute des cigognes and the Voie Rapide du Piémont des Vosges. It connects the German border in the Rhine valley with the Swiss frontier via Strasbourg...
is some twelve kilometres to the west and the German Autobahn A5
Bundesautobahn 5
is a 445 km long Autobahn in Germany. Its northern end is the Hattenbach triangle intersection is a 445 km (277 mi) long Autobahn in Germany. Its northern end is the Hattenbach triangle intersection is a 445 km (277 mi) long Autobahn in Germany. Its northern end is the...
is some twenty kilometres to the east. The French autoroute is here toll free, but both the highways suffer from congestion and the risk of serious delays at peak times, so drivers setting out on a long drive to the north or south do well to listen to the traffic reports before choosing on which side of the Rhine to travel.
Between 1909 and 1944 a steam railway (le Riedbahnnel) connecting Sélestat to Sundhouse passed close to the village, but Hilsenheim never had its own station, and after the War, with the surge in car ownership that followed, the railway was abandoned and then progressively dismantled.
A currently unused NATO pipeline also passes close to the village, beneath the road to Wittisheim
Wittisheim
Wittisheim is a commune in the Bas-Rhin department in Alsace in north-eastern France.-References:*...
.
Tension
The little town has a strong sense of its history, with many traditional Alsatian houses from the seventeenth, eighteenth and nineteenth centuries ever more scrupulously maintained and restored. There is, as in many villages of this kind within commuting distance of StrasbourgStrasbourg
Strasbourg is the capital and principal city of the Alsace region in eastern France and is the official seat of the European Parliament. Located close to the border with Germany, it is the capital of the Bas-Rhin département. The city and the region of Alsace are historically German-speaking,...
, a perceived tension between preserving Hilsenheim as a balanced and integrated community and the risk of progressively transforming it into a dormitory town increasingly dominated by the requirements and developments in the larger urban economies such as Sélestat (Schlettstadt in Alsatian and German)
Sélestat
Sélestat is a commune in the Bas-Rhin department in Alsace in north-eastern France.In 2006, Sélestat had a total population of 19,459. The Communauté de communes de Sélestat et environs had a total population of 35,397.-Geography:...
and, above all, Strasbourg
Strasbourg
Strasbourg is the capital and principal city of the Alsace region in eastern France and is the official seat of the European Parliament. Located close to the border with Germany, it is the capital of the Bas-Rhin département. The city and the region of Alsace are historically German-speaking,...
.
Prehistory
Several Iron Age tumuli testify to settlement here in prehistoric times: some in the Willermatt quarter were archeologically investigated early in the twentieth century. It is thought that the proximity of the Celtic site at Novientum (modern Ebersmunster) indicates that the Hilsenheim area will have been strongly influenced by tribes mentioned by CaesarJulius Caesar
Gaius Julius Caesar was a Roman general and statesman and a distinguished writer of Latin prose. He played a critical role in the gradual transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire....
and Tacitus
Tacitus
Publius Cornelius Tacitus was a senator and a historian of the Roman Empire. The surviving portions of his two major works—the Annals and the Histories—examine the reigns of the Roman Emperors Tiberius, Claudius, Nero and those who reigned in the Year of the Four Emperors...
such as the Mediomatrici
Mediomatrici
The Mediomatrici were an ancient Celtic people of Gaul, who belong to the division of Belgica. Julius Caesar shows their position in a general way when he says that the Rhine flows along the territories of the Sequani, Mediomatrici, Triboci or Tribocci, and Treviri. Ptolemy places the Mediomatrici...
and the Triboci: during the early centuries of the first millennium the overwhelming political power and cultural influence came from the Romans
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
themselves.
Roman period
Hilsenheim is on the old paved Roman roadRoman road
The Roman roads were a vital part of the development of the Roman state, from about 500 BC through the expansion during the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire. Roman roads enabled the Romans to move armies and trade goods and to communicate. The Roman road system spanned more than 400,000 km...
that connected Basel
Basel
Basel or Basle In the national languages of Switzerland the city is also known as Bâle , Basilea and Basilea is Switzerland's third most populous city with about 166,000 inhabitants. Located where the Swiss, French and German borders meet, Basel also has suburbs in France and Germany...
and Strasbourg
Strasbourg
Strasbourg is the capital and principal city of the Alsace region in eastern France and is the official seat of the European Parliament. Located close to the border with Germany, it is the capital of the Bas-Rhin département. The city and the region of Alsace are historically German-speaking,...
. Today this follows the line of a rural road (RD212) called Heidenstraessel. Some three kilometres to the north of the village, at the edge of the road the water table breaks the surface of the land. This point is known locally as "Waechterquellen" which indicates a clear water source, and seems to have originated with a Roman guard post of some sort. According to local legend King Dagobert III
Dagobert III
Dagobert III was Merovingian king of the Franks .He was a son of Childebert III. He succeeded his father as the head of the three Frankish kingdoms—Neustria and Austrasia, unified since Pippin's victory at Tertry in 687, and the Kingdom of Burgundy—in 711, at the age of twelve...
of Neustria
Neustria
The territory of Neustria or Neustrasia, meaning "new [western] land", originated in 511, made up of the regions from Aquitaine to the English Channel, approximating most of the north of present-day France, with Paris and Soissons as its main cities...
and of Austrasia
Austrasia
Austrasia formed the northeastern portion of the Kingdom of the Merovingian Franks, comprising parts of the territory of present-day eastern France, western Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands. Metz served as its capital, although some Austrasian kings ruled from Rheims, Trier, and...
drowned in this spring when his carriage ran into it.
Directly to the south of the spring is an isolated fortified farm called The Riedhof, which may have been built on the foundations of a Roman fort, possibly an outlying fortification of the Fourth Legion
Legio IV Scythica
Legio quarta Scythica was a Roman legion levied by Mark Antony around 42 BC, for his campaign against the Parthian Empire, hence its other cognomen, Parthica. The legion was still active in Syria in the early 5th century...
garrison which guarded the important religious centre at Hellelum (modern Ehl
Ehl
Ehl — a locality lying close to the town of Benfeld in Alsace, France — is the site of the important Gallo-Roman city of Ellelum....
).
Franco-German competition
As the French state expanded towards its 'natural' eastern frontier, the River Rhine, Alsace found itself a French territory by the eighteenth century. Between 1871Treaty of Frankfurt
The Treaty of Frankfurt may refer to one of three treaties signed at Frankfurt, as follows:*Treaty of Frankfurt - Treaty between Maximilian of Austria and the envoys of King Charles VIII of France...
and 1918
Treaty of Versailles
The Treaty of Versailles was one of the peace treaties at the end of World War I. It ended the state of war between Germany and the Allied Powers. It was signed on 28 June 1919, exactly five years after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. The other Central Powers on the German side of...
, however, Hilsenheim, in common with the whole of Alsace
Alsace
Alsace is the fifth-smallest of the 27 regions of France in land area , and the smallest in metropolitan France. It is also the seventh-most densely populated region in France and third most densely populated region in metropolitan France, with ca. 220 inhabitants per km²...
was annexed by Germany
German Empire
The German Empire refers to Germany during the "Second Reich" period from the unification of Germany and proclamation of Wilhelm I as German Emperor on 18 January 1871, to 1918, when it became a federal republic after defeat in World War I and the abdication of the Emperor, Wilhelm II.The German...
. Several of the town's public buildings including the mairie and some schools date from the period, and provide good examples of the heavy Wilhelmine architecture of imperial Germany.
Ahead of the Second World War citizens living closer to the German frontier were evacuated to central and western France, but the people of Hilsenheim, eight kilometres from the frontier, suffered German occupation. Several villagers were forcibly conscripted into the German army
German Army
The German Army is the land component of the armed forces of the Federal Republic of Germany. Following the disbanding of the Wehrmacht after World War II, it was re-established in 1955 as the Bundesheer, part of the newly formed West German Bundeswehr along with the Navy and the Air Force...
and died on the Russian front.
On the night of 15 March 1944 a Canadian Lancaster bomber was shot down by German anti-aircraft guns, crashing near to the road towards Wittisheim
Wittisheim
Wittisheim is a commune in the Bas-Rhin department in Alsace in north-eastern France.-References:*...
. The seven crew members, members of the 408th squadron, are buried in Hilsenheim cemetery.
Two Maginot line
Maginot Line
The Maginot Line , named after the French Minister of War André Maginot, was a line of concrete fortifications, tank obstacles, artillery casemates, machine gun posts, and other defences, which France constructed along its borders with Germany and Italy, in light of its experience in World War I,...
bunkers survive at the edge of the commune, both in ruins: one is one the Rue des Vergers (Orchard Road) on the edge of the village on the road towards Wittisheim
Wittisheim
Wittisheim is a commune in the Bas-Rhin department in Alsace in north-eastern France.-References:*...
, and the second is about 1.5 kilometres (one mile) east of the village on the road towards Bindernheim
Bindernheim
Bindernheim is a commune in the Bas-Rhin department in Alsace in north-eastern France.-References:*...
, level with a patch of woodland.
In the winter of 1944/45 the village found itself on the edge of the Colmar Pocket
Colmar Pocket
The Colmar Pocket ; in Alsace, France, was the site of an operation during the Second World War, between 20 January and 9 February 1945, where the French First Army and the U.S...
, and during the heavy fighting that took place over the enclave, several buildings in Hilsenheim were destroyed including the church. This would be rebuilt during the 1950s to a contemporary design. After two months of intensive fighting, during which the population, still not evacuated, hid in their cellars, the village was finally liberated in January 1945 by the Moroccan Goumier
Goumier
Moroccan Goumiers were soldiers who served in auxiliary units attached to the French Army of Africa, between 1908 and 1956. The term Goumier was also occasionally used to designate native soldiers in the French army of the French Sudan and Upper Volta during the colonial era.-Description:The word...
s of the fifteenth Tabor
Tabor
-Places:* Mount Tabor * Tábor, Czech Republic** Taborite, member of a 15th century Czech religious group considered heretical by the Roman Catholic Church* Tabor, Slovenia, town and municipality...
(2nd GTM), part of the First French Army under General de Lattre
Jean de Lattre de Tassigny
Jean Joseph Marie Gabriel de Lattre de Tassigny, GCB, MC was a French military hero of World War II and commander in the First Indochina War.-Early life:...
. The liberating forces continued east to the Rhine while other Fitrst Army units took over their position in the village. During the fighting several villagers were killed, and more were killed subsequently because of mines
Land mine
A land mine is usually a weight-triggered explosive device which is intended to damage a target—either human or inanimate—by means of a blast and/or fragment impact....
set on some of the surrounding roads and fields.
The name
The name Hilsenheim can be analysed as a combination of two words, being "Hils", a Celtic word which refers to the hilt of a sword or to fighting, and "heim", a widely used old word for a home or a place: this explanation is consistent with the modern coat of arms used by the village. An alternative etymology suggests the word means "habitat above the water", and certainly any settlement in this area would, two thousand years ago, have rested on a raised piece of ground surrounded by marsh land: this interpretation is based on an Indo-European linguistic root indicating the vertical movement of water.The coat of arms incorporates the golden handle of a sword.