Orbey
| Orbey | ||
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| region | Grand Est | |
| Department | Haut-Rhin | |
| Arrondissement | Colmar-Ribeauvillé | |
| Canton | Sainte-Marie-aux-Mines | |
| Community association | Vallée de Kaysersberg | |
| Coordinates | 48 ° 8 ' N , 7 ° 10' E | |
| height | 397-1,301 m | |
| surface | 46.02 km 2 | |
| Residents | 3,552 (January 1, 2017) | |
| Population density | 77 inhabitants / km 2 | |
| Post Code | 68370 | |
| INSEE code | 68249 | |
| Website | http://www.orbey.fr/ | |
 Town Hall ( Hôtel de ville ) |
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Orbey ( German Urbeis ; Alsatian Urwes ) is a French town in the arrondissement of Colmar-Ribeauvillé in the Haut-Rhin department in the Grand Est region (until 2015 Alsace ). Orbey is a member of the Communauté de communes de la Vallée de Kaysersberg .
geography
Orbey, about 20 km west of Colmar , is spread over several Vosges valleys and has 3552 inhabitants (as of January 1, 2017). The municipality is part of the Ballons des Vosges Regional Nature Park . Here, above the city, are the two reservoirs Lac Blanc and Lac Noir , which are connected by a pumped storage plant .
The districts and settlements of Orbey are Pairis , Tannach , Remomont , Les Basses Huttes , Les Hautes Huttes , Le Creux d'Argent and Les Allagouttes . The area around Orbey has always been a French-speaking island in the middle of Alsace . The dialect spoken here, Welsch , is related to French.
history
The place was first mentioned in 1049 under the name Orbeiz (from the Germanic * ur-bek "Bach"). It belonged to Eguisheim's possession . In 1138, a Cistercian monastery , the Pairis monastery , was founded in the district of Pairis , which was furnished by the Lord of Eguisheim with large lands up to the two lakes.
During the Thirty Years' War , Orbey's population suffered greatly, shrinking by two thirds. King Louis XIV received Upper Alsace in the Peace of Westphalia and Orbey became French.
In the 18th century the population tripled to about 3,000 inhabitants. But there was great poverty, working from home was essential for survival, and there were repeated conflicts with the landlords. That only changed with the French Revolution in 1789, when all manors were abolished. The Pairis Monastery was sold and most of it disappeared. A nursing home is now housed in the parts of the former monastery that have been preserved. In 1798, the canton of Lapoutroie was formed, to which the municipality belonged until 2015.
In the 19th century, the industrialization of the rural valleys began with a textile factory. The population rose to 5,000, but it decreased again over the course of the century as agriculture could no longer feed many people. In 1858 a neo-Gothic church was built to replace a modest previous building. Electrification of the valley began towards the end of the century.
In 1871 Orbey became German like all of Alsace and was given the name Urbeis . In 1914, during the First World War , Orbey was one of the villages that was particularly hard hit by the Western Front . In 1916 the village was evacuated . In 1918 Orbey, like all of Alsace, became French again.
Orbey recovered slowly, but had to experience an accident in 1934 that almost led to disaster: a pressure water line of the power station on Lac Noir broke and claimed nine lives.
During the Second World War , dozens of young people were forcibly recruited into the Wehrmacht , the so-called Malgré-nous . After heavy fighting and great destruction, the place was liberated from Nazi rule on December 16, 1944. But the Germans still stayed in the mountains, so that it was not until the end of February 1945 that we could finally speak of liberation.
The second half of the 20th century was marked by the decline of the textile industry and the decline in agriculture. A plastics factory opened and summer and winter tourism became more and more important.
Population development
| year | 1841 | 1871 | 1910 | 1921 | 1936 | 1962 | 1968 | 1975 | 1982 | 1990 | 1999 | 2006 | 2014 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Residents | 5656 | 5155 | 4485 | 3232 | 3869 | 3160 | 3236 | 3369 | 3114 | 3382 | 3548 | 3707 | 3612 |
| Source: Municipal directory, Cassini and INSEE | |||||||||||||
Attractions
In Orbey there is a convent of Dominican contemplative women , the Jean Baptiste d 'Unterlinden convent .
Former Pairis Monastery
Lac Blanc
Lac Noir
Town twinning
- Between Orbey and the city of Fosses-la-Ville in the Walloon part of Belgium is a city partnership .
- There is a friendly relationship with Pommeret in the Côtes-d'Armor department .
literature
- Le Patrimoine des Communes du Haut-Rhin. Flohic Editions, Volume 1, Paris 1998, ISBN 2-84234-036-1 , pp. 721-725.
