Éguelshardt
| Éguelshardt | ||
|---|---|---|
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| region | Grand Est | |
| Department | Moselle | |
| Arrondissement | Sarreguemines | |
| Canton | Bitche | |
| Community association | Pays de Bitche | |
| Coordinates | 49 ° 1 ′ N , 7 ° 30 ′ E | |
| height | 234-400 m | |
| surface | 16.80 km 2 | |
| Residents | 426 (January 1, 2017) | |
| Population density | 25 inhabitants / km 2 | |
| Post Code | 57230 | |
| INSEE code | 57188 | |
| Website | Éguelshardt | |
Éguelshardt ( German Egelshardt ) is a French commune with 426 inhabitants (as of January 1, 2017) in the northeast of the Moselle department in the Grand Est region (until 2015 Lorraine ). It belongs to the Sarreguemines arrondissement and the Bitche canton and is part of the cross-border Palatinate Forest-Northern Vosges biosphere reserve .
geography
Éguelshardt is located in the Bitscher Ländchen (French: Pays de Bitche ), in the heart of the Northern Vosges forests. The place extends in the valley of the Falkensteinerbach along the national road N 62, which leads from Saargemünd to Hagenau . To the south and west of the town, on the edge of the Falkensteinerbach valley, the district of Mouterhouse adjoins, to the north-west is the canton capital Bitsch . In the north is the Bitsch military training area . Sturzelbronn borders to the northeast and Philippsbourg is to the east . The forests belonging to the Éguelshardt district belong to the Hanau Forest, named after the Hanau pond to the west, the largest lake in the region. The hamlet of Bannstein to the southeast belongs to Éguelshardt and a few other single farms and small settlements.
history
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In 1329 the place appears for the first time as Egelshard . In 1347, Waldeck Castle is mentioned on a mountain cone east of the village as the property of the Zweibrücken-Bitsch family . With the fall of this rule, Waldeck Castle and Éguelshardt came to Lorraine . In 1594 the castle became the seat of a mayor's office and the seat of the lords of Ettendorf, at the same time the settlement was described as dilapidated. From 1603 the border between Lorraine and the County of Hanau-Lichtenberg runs between Éguelshardt and Philippsbourg . After the Thirty Years War , the place is again described as abandoned. In 1635 Waldeck Castle was also destroyed by the troops of Marshal Armand Nompar de Caumont . 1708 a total of about 35 inhabitants are counted in Éguelshardt and the Waldeck. Then there was an economic upswing through the settlement of mills, sawmills, forges and paper mills in the entire valley of the Falkensteinerbach. In 1750 150 souls were counted, then 403 in 1882, an order of magnitude that is still valid today. On September 1, 1939, the population was evacuated to the Charente department . In 1944 there was heavy bombing. It was liberated by the Allies on March 28, 1945. François Roesslinger has been mayor since 2001. Ecclesiastically, Éguelshardt belonged to the parish of Schorbach until the Holy Cross Church was built outside of the settlement in 1854.
Population development
| year | 1962 | 1968 | 1975 | 1982 | 1990 | 1999 | 2007 | 2017 |
| Residents | 390 | 355 | 303 | 364 | 371 | 401 | 433 | 426 |
Culture and sights
Waldeck Castle was probably built in the 13th century. Damage caused by hurricane Lothar in 1999 was repaired by the end of 2013, and the castle ruins can be safely climbed again since then. West of the castle hill is the idyllic Waldecker Weiher (Étang de Waldeck). It is surrounded by a protected moor (French: tourbière ), which you can cross on a designated circular route.
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The neo-Gothic Holy Cross Church (Église de l'Exaltation de la Sainte-Croix) was built from 1854 to 1858 according to plans by the Metz architect Charles Gautiez (1809-1856). It is located on a hill halfway between Éguelshardt and the hamlet of Waldeck, consists of pink sandstone and has a 28 m high bell tower. In its place there was previously a chapel from the 15th century, which had fallen into disrepair since the 17th century. In 1985 the church was extensively restored.
From the border between Lorraine and Hanau-Lichtenberg some boundary stones from the years 1603-1605 have been preserved. A farm from 1767 is located on the road to the hamlet of Waldeck.
Around Éguelshardt there are numerous picturesque sandstone rocks, some of which are under nature protection and some are approved for climbing.
traffic
Éguelshardt stretches along the N 62 Sarreguemines - Haguenau , which follows the Falkensteinerbach. The Haguenau – Falck-Hargarten railway also runs through the valley, although traffic between Bad Niederbronn and Saargemünd is currently suspended. Previously there were train stations in Éguelshardt itself and in the hamlet of Bannstein.
