Bas-Rhin
Bas-Rhin () is a department in Alsace which is a part of the Grand Est region of France. The name means 'Lower Rhine', referring to its lower altitude among the two French Rhine departments: it is downstream of the Haut-Rhin (Upper Rhine) de ...
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 ...
,
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 It superseded three former administrative regions, Alsace, Champagne-Ardenne and Lorraine, on 1 January 2016 under the provisional name of Alsace-Champagne-A ...
, northeastern France, and is part of metropolitan
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 ...
Souffelweyersheim means: the village on the pond of Souffel. Souffel (the Souffel river) + Weyer (the pond) + S (of) + Heim (hamlet, village).
Locally the name is shortened and the village is called Souffel.
Geography
The village covers an area of 451 hectares (1114 acres), and is located 6 km (3¾ miles) north of Strasbourg at an altitude of 140 metres (460 ft). Located in the plain of Alsace, between the
massif
A massif () is a principal mountain mass, such as a compact portion of a mountain range, containing one or more summits (e.g. France's Massif Central). In mountaineering literature, ''massif'' is frequently used to denote the main mass of an ...
s of the
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
Black Forest
The Black Forest ( ) is a large forested mountain range in the States of Germany, state of Baden-Württemberg in southwest Germany, bounded by the Rhine Valley to the west and south and close to the borders with France and Switzerland. It is th ...
, the plain is bisected by the
Souffel
The Souffel () is a river in Alsace, France. It rises near Kuttolsheim and joins the river Ill (a tributary of the Rhine), south of La Wantzenau after a course of . It gave its name to two villages on its banks: Souffelweyersheim and Griesheim-s ...
river from which the village takes its name. This river rises in
Kuttolsheim
Kuttolsheim (; ; ) is a commune in the Bas-Rhin department in Grand Est in north-eastern France.
It has been built along an old Roman road leading from Strasbourg to Saverne.
Geography
Saverne is approximately twelve kilometres (seven miles) ...
and joins the
Ill
ILL, or Ill, or ill may refer to:
Places
* Ill (France), a river in Alsace, France, tributary of the Rhine
* Ill (Vorarlberg), a river in Vorarlberg, Austria, tributary of the Rhine
* Ill (Saarland), a river of Saarland, Germany, tributary o ...
river, a tributary of 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 ...
In 1790, the formerly common pasture meadows were subdivided, and sections were given to Souffelweyersheim, Hoenheim, Bischheim, Adelshoffen and
Schiltigheim
Schiltigheim (, ; Alsatian: ''Schelige'' ; ) is a commune in the Bas-Rhin department in Grand Est in north-eastern France.
The inhabitants are called ''Schilikois'' in French and ''Scheligemer'' in Alsatian.
It is the largest suburb of the ...
.
In 1792, Austria and
Prussia
Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...
began hostilities against France. From October to December 1793, engagements between the troops of the French Republic and the Austro-Prussian alliance centered on a front near Hoenheim –
Griesheim-sur-Souffel
Griesheim-sur-Souffel is a commune in the Bas-Rhin '' département'' in Grand Est in north-eastern France. It is positioned about 8 kilometers to the northwest of the city centre of Strasbourg.
Griesheim-sur-Souffel is one of the 23 member comm ...
–
Dingsheim
Dingsheim is a commune in the Bas-Rhin department in Grand Est in north-eastern France.
See also
* Communes of the Bas-Rhin department
* Kochersberg
The Kochersberg () is a natural region of the French département of Bas-Rhin in Alsace and ...
before the Austro-Prussian troops were pushed back out of Alsace in January 1794.
After his disastrous
Russian campaign
The French invasion of Russia, also known as the Russian campaign (), the Second Polish War, and in Russia as the Patriotic War of 1812 (), was initiated by Napoleon with the aim of compelling the Russian Empire to comply with the continent ...
,
Napoleon Bonaparte
Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...
managed with difficulty to return to France, but enemy forces in the
Sixth Coalition
Sixth is the ordinal form of the number six.
* The Sixth Amendment, to the U.S. Constitution
* A keg of beer, equal to 5 U.S. gallons or barrel
* The fraction
A fraction (from , "broken") represents a part of a whole or, more generally, ...
followed. In January 1814, the French troops lost Strasbourg to
Cossacks
The Cossacks are a predominantly East Slavic languages, East Slavic Eastern Christian people originating in the Pontic–Caspian steppe of eastern Ukraine and southern Russia. Cossacks played an important role in defending the southern borde ...
who cantoned in Hoenheim, Bischheim and Schiltigheim. Napoleon abdicated in favour of
Louis XVIII
Louis XVIII (Louis Stanislas Xavier; 17 November 1755 – 16 September 1824), known as the Desired (), was King of France from 1814 to 1824, except for a brief interruption during the Hundred Days in 1815. Before his reign, he spent 23 y ...
, and was banished to the isle of
Elba
Elba (, ; ) is a Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean island in Tuscany, Italy, from the coastal town of Piombino on the Italian mainland, and the largest island of the Tuscan Archipelago. It is also part of the Arcipelago Toscano National Park, a ...
. Napoleon escaped from Elba and returned to France on 26 February 1815. In a campaign that lasted a
Hundred Days
The Hundred Days ( ), also known as the War of the Seventh Coalition (), marked the period between Napoleon's return from eleven months of exile on the island of Elba to Paris on20 March 1815 and the second restoration of King Louis XVIII o ...
he attempted to remain on the throne of France. Ten days after Napoleon's final defeat at the
Battle of Waterloo
The Battle of Waterloo was fought on Sunday 18 June 1815, near Waterloo, Belgium, Waterloo (then in the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, now in Belgium), marking the end of the Napoleonic Wars. The French Imperial Army (1804–1815), Frenc ...
, General
Jean Rapp
General Count Jean Rapp (; 27 April 1771 – 8 November 1821) was a French Army officer during the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars and twice governor of the Free City of Danzig. He served as Aide-de-camp to French Generals ...
led the French forces against the Crown Prince of Württemberg in the Battle of La Suffel near Souffelweyersheim and Hoenheim. The day after the battle, the Crown Prince of Württemberg ordered the burning of the village of Souffelweyersheim. It took all of the nineteenth century to rebuild the village.''
Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition
The ''Encyclopædia Britannica'' Eleventh Edition (1910–1911) is a 29-volume reference work, an edition of the ''Encyclopædia Britannica''. It was developed during the encyclopaedia's transition from a British to an American publication. So ...
'', "Waterloo Campaign"
1852 was the year of the inauguration of two new transportation routes near Souffelweyersheim: the Marne-Rhine Canal which connects
Vitry-le-François
Vitry-le-François () is a Communes of France, commune in the Marne (department), Marne Departments of France, department in northeastern France. It is located on the river Marne (river), Marne and is the western terminus of the Marne–Rhine Ca ...
to Strasbourg, and the railway line between Paris and Strasbourg.
On 19 July 1870, the
Franco-Prussian War
The Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German War, often referred to in France as the War of 1870, was a conflict between the Second French Empire and the North German Confederation led by the Kingdom of Prussia. Lasting from 19 July 1870 to 28 Janua ...
began. On 7 August, shortly after the battle of Froeschwiller-Wœrth, German troops arrived at Souffelweyersheim. The troops settled in Reichstett and began a siege of Strasbourg on 12 August, arranging with the local populace for supplies for the troops. On 27 September, Strasbourg, burnt by the continuous bombing, surrendered. The Treaty of Frankfurt, signed 10 May 1871, put an end to the war, but France yielded three of departments of Alsace-Moselle, keeping only
Belfort
Belfort (; archaic , ) is a city in northeastern France, situated approximately from the Swiss border. It is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Territoire de Belfort.
Belfort is from Paris and from Basel. The residents of the city ...
.
In 1906, newly expanded rail yards at Hausbergen were completed. This facility serves several communes in the Souffelweyersheim area.
On 2 September 1939, the inhabitants of the communes in front of the
Maginot line
The Maginot Line (; ), named after the Minister of War (France), French Minister of War André Maginot, is a line of concrete fortifications, obstacles and weapon installations built by French Third Republic, France in the 1930s to deter invas ...
were evacuated to the valley of the Bruche River. On 3 September 1939, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand and France declared war on Germany. On 9 September, the evacuated inhabitants embarked on a second journey to the South of France. They did not return to Alsace, which was occupied by the Germans from August 1940 until liberation
on 23 November 1944 by the French 2nd Armoured Division of
General Leclerc
Philippe François Marie Leclerc de Hauteclocque (22 November 1902 – 28 November 1947) was a Free-French general during World War II. He became Marshal of France posthumously in 1952, and is known in France simply as or just Leclerc.
...
.
In January 1945, a German offensive called
Operation Nordwind
Operation Northwind () was the last major German offensive of World War II on the Western Front. Northwind was launched to support the German Ardennes offensive campaign in the Battle of the Bulge, which by late December 1944 had decisively ...
forced a redeployment of the Allied troops in the north of Alsace. General
Charles de Gaulle
Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle (22 November 18909 November 1970) was a French general and statesman who led the Free France, Free French Forces against Nazi Germany in World War II and chaired the Provisional Government of the French Re ...
refused the American order to evacuate Strasbourg and the French troops pushed the Germans back but not before they reached Offendorf. Souffelweyersheim and its environs remained under the fire of the German batteries until April 1945.
A law of 1966 created the Urban Community of Strasbourg and Souffelweyersheim was integrated into it. 1970 saw the completion of the construction of the motorway A34 Metz – Strasbourg, later absorbed by the A4 motorway connecting Paris to Strasbourg, skirting the rail yard at Hausbergen.
List of mayors
*1815: Georges Schaeffer
* 1925–1941: Alfred Vix
*1941–1944: Philippe Heim
Demographics
Places of interest
St. George's church was built in 1781 in the neo-classical style. Most of the tower has been rebuilt since then.