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Commune of Obernai |
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| Location | |
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| Administration | |
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| Country | France |
| Region | Alsace |
| Department | Bas-Rhin |
| Arrondissement | Sélestat-Erstein |
| Canton | Obernai (chief town) |
| Mayor | Bernard Fischer (2001–2008) |
| Statistics | |
| Elevation | 156 m–572 m (avg. 185 m) |
| Land area¹ | 25.78 km² |
| Population² (2005) |
10,800 |
| - Density | 418.9/km² (2005) |
| Miscellaneous | |
| INSEE/Postal code | 67348/ 67210 |
| 1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries. | |
| 2 Population sans doubles comptes: residents of multiple communes (e.g. students and military personnel) only counted once. | |
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Obernai (French: Obernai; Alsatian: Owernah; German: Oberehnheim) is a town and commune in Alsace, France. It lies in the Bas-Rhin département, south-west of Strasbourg, on the eastern slopes of the Vosges mountains. Population (2005 ): 10,800.
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History
The Obernai region, which was the property of the dukes of Alsace in the 7th century, is the birthplace of St. Odile, daughter of the Duke, who would become the Patron Saint of Alsace.
The Obernai name first appears in 1240, when the village acquires the status of town under the tutelage of the Hohenstaufen family. The town then prospered. It became a member of the Décapole in 1354, an alliance of ten towns of the Holy Roman Empire in Alsace. Obernai's status reaches its apex in the 15th and 16th century. In 1562, Emperor Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor visited the prosperous town of Obernai.
The Thirty Years' War (1618-1648) damaged the town, which was occupied by the Imperial troops then by the Swedes. The town was ransomed and ceded to France in 1679, and started to recover some of its prosperity, without totally recapturing its former glory.
The town was annexed by Germany in 1871 with the rest of Alsace then was returned to France after World War I in 1918.
Economy
Obernai is an important center of wine and beer production as well as a touristic destination. The industrial activity features the following companies: Hager, Kronenbourg, Triumph, Sobovia, Supra and Stoeffler. The historical wine of the city is called the Vin du Pistolet in reference to a local legend.
Sights and monuments
- domain of the Léonardsau (19th century - beginning of 20th century): current museum of the horse and the horse carriage.
- Truttenhausen abbey (in ruin): old monastery of the regular canons of St-Augustin (15th century).
- Gail Castle(1826-1827): Currently the Freppel High School
- Oberkirch Castle: rebuilt between 1843 and 1846 with the characteristics of an older fortified castle of the 16th or 17th century.
- El Biar Castle: Built between 1864 and 1865 on the site of an old flour mill, by General de Vives (1802, 1884) ; it is named after a residential section of Algiers.
- Old six-bucket well (1579)
- Clocktower (Kappelturm)
- Wheat Market (Halle aux Blés)
- Romanesque house in the rue des Pélerins
- Old Synagogue 1
See also
- Klevener de Heiligenstein - wine style produced in Obernai
External links
References
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