Bennwihr
Encyclopedia
History
Bennwihr figures in a report from the year 777 by Charlemagne'sCharlemagne
Charlemagne was King of the Franks from 768 and Emperor of the Romans from 800 to his death in 814. He expanded the Frankish kingdom into an empire that incorporated much of Western and Central Europe. During his reign, he conquered Italy and was crowned by Pope Leo III on 25 December 800...
missi dominici
Missus dominicus
A missus dominicus , Latin for "envoy[s] of the lord [ruler]", also known in Dutch as Zendgraaf , meaning "sent Graf", was an official commissioned by the Frankish king or Holy Roman Emperor to supervise the administration, mainly of justice, in parts of his dominions too far for frequent personal...
. They refer to the village as Beno Villare (Beno's domain), and mention the quality of its wines.
The village was leveled in December 1944 during fighting leading up to the battle known as the Colmar Pocket
Colmar Pocket
The Colmar Pocket ; in Alsace, France, was the site of an operation during the Second World War, between 20 January and 9 February 1945, where the French First Army and the U.S...
.