Kindwiller
Encyclopedia
Kindwiller is a commune
in the Bas-Rhin
department in Alsace
in north-eastern France
.
.
Most of the houses are on the single main street. Outside the village the land is mostly used for farming.
During the wars of religion
that spilled into Alsace in the sixteenth century, the village became protestant in 1545 but reverted to Catholicism in 1561.
Kindwiller also enjoyed the privileges of an imperial village.
Communes of France
The commune is the lowest level of administrative division in the French Republic. French communes are roughly equivalent to incorporated municipalities or villages in the United States or Gemeinden in Germany...
in the Bas-Rhin
Bas-Rhin
Bas-Rhin is a department of France. The name means "Lower Rhine". It is the more populous and densely populated of the two departments of the Alsace region, with 1,079,013 inhabitants in 2006.- History :...
department in Alsace
Alsace
Alsace is the fifth-smallest of the 27 regions of France in land area , and the smallest in metropolitan France. It is also the seventh-most densely populated region in France and third most densely populated region in metropolitan France, with ca. 220 inhabitants per km²...
in north-eastern France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
.
Geography
The village is positioned some fifteen kilometres (nine miles) to the west-north-west of HaguenauHaguenau
-Economy:The town has a well balanced economy. Centuries of troubled history in the buffer lands between France and Germany have bequeathed to Haguenau a rich historical and cultural heritage which supports a lively tourist trade. There is also a thriving light manufacturing sector centred on the...
.
Most of the houses are on the single main street. Outside the village the land is mostly used for farming.
History
The first surviving record of the village dates from 1317 when it was named as Kintwilre, the residence of a family of that same name. The area was at that time owned by Haguenau. The High German name "Kindweiler" emerges later.During the wars of religion
French Wars of Religion
The French Wars of Religion is the name given to a period of civil infighting and military operations, primarily fought between French Catholics and Protestants . The conflict involved the factional disputes between the aristocratic houses of France, such as the House of Bourbon and House of Guise...
that spilled into Alsace in the sixteenth century, the village became protestant in 1545 but reverted to Catholicism in 1561.
Kindwiller also enjoyed the privileges of an imperial village.