The Outre-Forêt (Unteremwàld in Alsatian) is a natural region which is located in the very north of

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 ...

, bordering on

Rhineland-Palatinate Rhineland-Palatinate ( , ; ; ; ) is a western state of Germany. It covers and has about 4.05 million residents. It is the ninth largest and sixth most populous of the sixteen states. Mainz is the capital and largest city. Other cities are ...

. Outre-Forêt means in French ''beyond the forest'', beyond the Haguenau Forest. To the north, it is bounded by the

Bienwald The Bienwald is a large forested area in the southern Pfalz region of Germany near the towns of Kandel and Wörth am Rhein. The western edge defines the eastern extent of the Wissembourg Gap, a corridor of open terrain between the Bienwald a ...

as well as by the

Lauter Lauter may refer to: People *Lauter (surname) Places *Lauter, Saxony, town in the district of Aue-Schwarzenberg, Saxony, Germany *Lauter, Bavaria, village in the district of Bamberg, Bavaria, Germany Rivers *Lauter (Baunach), tributary to the B ...

. To the east, it is bounded by the Rhine and the

Petit Ried {{short description, Ried in Alsace, France The Petit Ried (occasionally referred to as Ried-Nord) is located in north-eastern Alsace. It stretches between the Robertsau Forest in Strasbourg in the south, and Lauterbourg in the north. It borders on ...

. To the west, it is bounded by the Northern

Vosges The Vosges ( , ; ; Franconian and ) is a range of medium 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 geomorphological unit and ...

and the River Falkensteinerbach. As a frontier zone off the beaten tracks, the Outre-Forêt has managed to keep its traditions; numerous timbered houses can be admired, pottery is well developed. Far away from the traditional Alsatian vineyards, grapes are grown here.

Geography

The Outre-Forêt is bounded by the Haguenau Forest to the south, the Bienwald to the north, the wooded Northern Vosges to the West, and by the

Rhine The Rhine ( ) is one of the List of rivers of Europe, major rivers in Europe. The river begins in the Swiss canton of Graubünden in the southeastern Swiss Alps. It forms part of the Swiss-Liechtenstein border, then part of the Austria–Swit ...

to the east. In the east, there is also the

. The Outre-Forêt stretches between the Lauter valley and the sandy alluvial fans of the

Sauer The Sauer ( German and Luxembourgish, , ) or Sûre ( French, ) is a river in Belgium, Luxembourg and Germany. A left tributary of the Moselle, its total length is . Rising near Vaux-sur-Sûre in the Ardennes in southeastern Belgium, the Sauer f ...

and Moder. The area is characterized by slopes and hills, the altitude of which is modest. In Surbourg the altitude reaches 217 m over the sea level. To the west, the vineyard of

Cleebourg Cleebourg (; ) is a commune in the Bas-Rhin department in Grand Est in north-eastern France. Cleebourg was claimed by the Kings of Sweden from 1654 to 1787, stemming from their familial claim. See also * Communes of the Bas-Rhin department ...

shows a gentle slope. The Benedictine monks of the Abbey of

Wissembourg Wissembourg (; South Franconian: ''Weisseburch'' ; German: ''Weißenburg'' ) is a commune in the Bas-Rhin department in Grand Est in northeastern France. Wissembourg was a sub-prefecture of the department until 2015. The name ''Wissembourg'' ...

had already grown grapes in the Middle Age. Unlike the adjacent forests and meadows, the Outre-Forêt is a region of arable land, which lends itself to poly-culture thanks to its top layer made up of clay.

Language

While the rest of Alsace speaks Alemannic, South Frankish is spoken in Outre-Forêt (in the

Alsace bossue The Alsace bossue ( Alemannic and Frankish: ''S'Gromme/S'Krumme Elsass'', German: ''das krumme Elsass/ Krummes Elsass''), is a territory of Bas-Rhin in Alsace, which includes the three former cantons of Sarre-Union, Drulingen and La Petite-Pierr ...

known as ''krummes Elsass'' in German, Frankish is spoken too, as in northern Lorraine). Obviously, the official language remains French, as in whole France.

History

The Maginot line, as in fort Schœnenbourg for instance, crossed the Outre-Forêt, the history of which was turbulent. In Hatten there is a Musée de l'Abri (shelter museum).

Traditions

When the Haguenau Forest was still an obstacle, and before cars ushered in a new era of mobility, the region was isolated. Therefore, the Outre-Forêt managed to better keep its traditions alive than any other adjacent region. During feasts (more precisely Streisselhochzeit in Seebach) the local folk costume is still worn. In Kutzenhausen, the museum of local traditions endeavours to show the rural life at the beginning of the 20th century. Pottery has been being practised here since the Neolithic period.

Betschdorf Betschdorf () is a commune in the Bas-Rhin department in Grand Est in northeastern France. It is located about 45 km north-northeast of Strasbourg on the northern edge of the ''Forêt de Haguenau'', the largest undivided forest in France. ...

is known for its grey and blue potteries. Grey is due to clay, whereas blue is due to cobalt.

Economy

The oil museum in Merkwiller-Pechelbronn shows the path-breaking work which was done in the region in the field of oil industry. Today, the Hot-Dry-Rock process is applied in Soultz-sous-Forêts in order to tap into the Earth's heat.« Une nouvelle énergie renouvelable prend son essor en Alsace », ''Le Monde'', 15 août 200
Une nouvelle énergie renouvelable prend son essor en Alsace - LeMonde.fr
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References

Bibliography

* Cercle d'histoire de l'Alsace du Nord, ''Journées portes ouvertes monuments historiques de l'Outre-Forêt, septembre 1991'', 1991 (11 fiches sous pochette présentant des monuments à Lauterbourg, Soultz-Sous-Forêts, Altenstadt, Kutzenhausen, Preuschdorf, Wœrth et Walbourg) * Cercle d'histoire de l'Alsace du Nord, ''Connaître et aimer l'Outre-forêt, circuits guidés'', Delbecq, Reichshoffen, 1984, 211 p. * Michel Charvet, ''Dessine-moi l'Alsace : l'Outre-Forêt'', Éditions J.-P. Gyss, Barembach, Schirmeck, 1987, 101 p. * J.-M. Hauer, ''Inventaire des synagogues du pays de Hanau et d'Outre-Forêt, contribution à l'étude de leur architecture par quelques exemples détaillés'', Strasbourg, 1985, 288 p. (mémoire d'Architecture) * Claude Muller, ''L'Outre-Forêt au XVIII^e siècle'', Éd. Coprur, Strasbourg, 2004, 240 p. * Daniel Peter, « Les ressources en eau de l'Outre-Forêt », in ''Outre-Forêt'', 1987, n° 57, p. 4-9 * Daniel Peter, « La faune aquatique dans l'Outre-Forêt, au XIX^e siècle », in ''Outre-Forêt'', 1987, n° 57, p. 14-16 * Daniel Peter, ''Naître, vivre et mourir dans l'Outre-Forêt (1648-1848)'', Cercle d'histoire et d'archéologie de l'Alsace du Nord, Wissembourg, 1995, 285 p. (texte remanié d'une thèse d'Histoire moderne) * Jean-Laurent Vonau (dir.), ''L'Outre-forêt dans la tourmente révolutionnaire'', 1989, 277 p. (publié à l'occasion du Bicentenaire de la Révolution française) * Elisabeth Weinling, ''Les anabaptistes d'Outre-Forêt 1700-1871'', Université de Strasbourg 2, 1996 (mémoire d'Histoire) {{DEFAULTSORT:Outre-Foret Geography of Bas-Rhin