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 ...
''
département
In the administrative divisions of France, the department (, ) is one of the three levels of government under the national level (" territorial collectivities"), between the administrative regions and the communes. There are a total of 101 ...
'' 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 It superseded three former administrative regions, Alsace, Champagne-Ardenne and Lorraine, on 1 January 2016 under the provisional name of Alsace-Champagne-A ...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 ...
Wintzenheim is a town of about 8,000 inhabitants (2020) to the west 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 ...
. Colmar is a town which receives very little rain because it benefits from a
microclimate
A microclimate (or micro-climate) is a local set of atmosphere of Earth, atmospheric conditions that differ from those in the surrounding areas, often slightly but sometimes substantially. The term may refer to areas as small as a few square m ...
(called the ''micro-climat des '') due to the effect of a vortex propagated by the
Munster
Munster ( or ) is the largest of the four provinces of Ireland, located in the south west of the island. In early Ireland, the Kingdom of Munster was one of the kingdoms of Gaelic Ireland ruled by a "king of over-kings" (). Following the Nor ...
valley with winds from the south-west to west. Situated only from Colmar, Wintzenheim benefits from this micro-climate.
History
Until the French Revolution, Wintzenheim was a dependency of the Lords of Hohlandsbourg. It was administered by the Ribeaupierre family and later by the Counts of Lupfen and, in the 16th century, by
Lazarus von Schwendi
Lazarus von Schwendi, Barón de Hohenlandsberg (1522, Mittelbiberach – 28 May 1583, Ehrenkirchen) was a military commander in the Army of the Holy Roman Empire. He was important for the development of Alsatian viticulture; among his own vine ...
(also known as ''Lazare de Schwendi''). Louvois rewarded general
Joseph de Montclar
Joseph is a common male name, derived from the Hebrew (). "Joseph" is used, along with " Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the modern-day Nordic count ...
with this
fief
A fief (; ) was a central element in medieval contracts based on feudal law. It consisted of a form of property holding or other rights granted by an overlord to a vassal, who held it in fealty or "in fee" in return for a form of feudal alle ...
in 1680.
Population
Its inhabitants are called ''Wintzenheimois'' in French.
Twin town
*
Möhnesee
Möhnesee is a municipality in the district of Soest, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.
Geography
The Möhnesee municipality is situated around the Möhne Reservoir (hence the name), approx. 10 km south of Soest.
History
On the night of ...
in Germany
Sites and monuments
*
Château du Hohlandsbourg
The Château du Hohlandsbourg or ''Hohlandsberg'' is a ruined castle in the ''Communes of France, commune'' of Wintzenheim, near Colmar, in the Haut-Rhin ''Departments of France, département'' of France. It is open to the public between Easter a ...
*
Château du Pflixbourg
A château (, ; plural: châteaux) is a manor house, or palace, or residence of the lord of the manor, or a fine country house of nobility or gentry, with or without fortifications, originally, and still most frequently, in French-speaking reg ...
* La Chapelle Herzog : the sculptures of this neo-gothic chapel are listed as ''
monuments historiques
() is a designation given to some national heritage sites in France. It may also refer to the state procedure in France by which national heritage protection is extended to a building, a specific part of a building, a collection of buildings, ...
'' by the
French Ministry of Culture
The Ministry of Culture () is the ministry (government department), ministry of the Government of France in charge of List of museums in France, national museums and the . Its goal is to maintain the French identity through the promotion and pro ...
.
People
*
Tomi Ungerer
Jean-Thomas "Tomi" Ungerer (; 28 November 1931 – 9 February 2019) was a French artist and writer from Alsace (a French region on the French/German border). He published over 140 books ranging from children's books to adult works and from the f ...
(1931–2019), illustrator best known for his erotic and political illustrations as well as children's books, stayed in Wintzenheim during his childhood. A community hall today bears his name.
Gallery
File:Wintzenheim, gemeentehuis in straatzicht foto4 2013-07-24 09.53.jpg, Townhall in the street
File:Wintzenheim, chapelle Nôtre Dame foto5 2013-07-23 17.53.jpg, Chapel: chapelle Nôtre Dame
File:Wintzenheim, straatzicht1 Rue Clemenceau foto2 2013-07-24 09.46.jpg, View of Rue Clemenceau
File:Wintzenheim, straatzicht2 Rue Clemenceau foto3 2013-07-24 09.57.jpg, View of Rue Clemenceau
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):