Lembach
Encyclopedia
Lembach is a commune
in the Bas-Rhin
department in Alsace
in north-eastern France
.
valley, surrounded by the woods and sandstone cliffs of the North Vosges natural Park. It is positioned on the local road RD3 which connects Wissembourg
, fifteen kilometres (nine miles) to the east with the north western tip of the département
, and the road to Bitche
. The German frontier is approximately six kilometres (four miles) to the north, but motorists wishing to visit Germany would be well advised to prefer a less direct route.
At the heart of the Lembach is a Protestant church from 1750 (but incorporating a tower from the late Medieval paerios) as well as a nineteenth century catholic church.
The commune, which embraces an extensive land area, much of it uninhabitable due to the topography, also includes the small village of Mattstall and the hamlet of Pfaffenbronn.
s, many of whom cross the frontier from nearby
population
centres
in Germany, due to the presence in Lembach of a well regarded haute-cuisine restaurant. Clearly marked footpaths, some of them leading to ruined fortifications or to picturesque rock faces, are promoted as another tourist attraction. The best known and most substantial of the medieval period fortifications, probably, is the Château du Fleckenstein
. The commune also includes a section
of the Maginot Line
.
In September 1972 the commune merged with the neighbouring village of Mattstall, to the south: Mattstall retains the semi-independent status of an associated commune.
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
Lembach lies in the SauerSauer (France)
The Sauer is a river in France and Germany . A left tributary of the river Rhine, its total length is about 70 km. Its upper course, in Germany, is called Saarbach. Its source is in the Palatinate forest, near the French border, south of Pirmasens. It flows into France near Schœnau, and continues...
valley, surrounded by the woods and sandstone cliffs of the North Vosges natural Park. It is positioned on the local road RD3 which connects Wissembourg
Wissembourg
Wissembourg is a commune in the Bas-Rhin department in Alsace in northeastern France.It is situated on the little River Lauter close to the border between France and Germany approximately north of Strasbourg and west of Karlsruhe. Wissembourg is a sub-prefecture of the department...
, fifteen kilometres (nine miles) to the east with the north western tip of the département
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 :...
, and the road to Bitche
Bitche
Bitche is a commune in the Moselle department in Lorraine in north-eastern France.It is known for its large citadel. The surrounding territory is known as le Pays de Bitche in French and Bitscherland in German.-Geography:...
. The German frontier is approximately six kilometres (four miles) to the north, but motorists wishing to visit Germany would be well advised to prefer a less direct route.
At the heart of the Lembach is a Protestant church from 1750 (but incorporating a tower from the late Medieval paerios) as well as a nineteenth century catholic church.
The commune, which embraces an extensive land area, much of it uninhabitable due to the topography, also includes the small village of Mattstall and the hamlet of Pfaffenbronn.
Tourism
The spectacular scenery and the fortifications of past centuries, coupled with the limited possibilities for agriculture in the immediate area leave tourism as a key source of employment. In recent years the village has become a pilgrimage focus for gourmetGourmet
Gourmet is a cultural ideal associated with the culinary arts of fine food and drink, or haute cuisine, which is characterised by elaborate preparations and presentations of large meals of small, often quite rich courses...
s, many of whom cross the frontier from nearby
Karlsruhe
The City of Karlsruhe is a city in the southwest of Germany, in the state of Baden-Württemberg, located near the French-German border.Karlsruhe was founded in 1715 as Karlsruhe Palace, when Germany was a series of principalities and city states...
population
Germersheim
Germersheim is a town in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, of around 20,000 inhabitants. It is also the seat of the Germersheim district. The neighboring towns and cities are Speyer, Landau, Philippsburg, Karlsruhe and Wörth.-Coat of arms:...
centres
Mannheim
Mannheim is a city in southwestern Germany. With about 315,000 inhabitants, Mannheim is the second-largest city in the Bundesland of Baden-Württemberg, following the capital city of Stuttgart....
in Germany, due to the presence in Lembach of a well regarded haute-cuisine restaurant. Clearly marked footpaths, some of them leading to ruined fortifications or to picturesque rock faces, are promoted as another tourist attraction. The best known and most substantial of the medieval period fortifications, probably, is the Château du Fleckenstein
Château du Fleckenstein
Château du Fleckenstein is a castle in the commune of Lembach, in the Bas-Rhin département of France. This fortress, built in the shape of 52 m long boat, has a long history. The castle was built on a sandstone summit in the Middle Ages...
. The commune also includes a section
Ouvrage Four a Chaux
Ouvrage Four-à-Chaux is a gros ouvrage of the Maginot Line, located in the community of Lembach, France, in the Bas-Rhin département. Four à Chaux was adjoined by petit ouvrage Lembach and gros ouvrage Hochwald, and faced the German frontier as part of the Fortified Sector of the Vosges...
of the Maginot Line
Maginot Line
The Maginot Line , named after the French Minister of War André Maginot, was a line of concrete fortifications, tank obstacles, artillery casemates, machine gun posts, and other defences, which France constructed along its borders with Germany and Italy, in light of its experience in World War I,...
.
History
The extensive territory has often found itself a crossing point between the French and German worlds both in time of peace and in time of war.In September 1972 the commune merged with the neighbouring village of Mattstall, to the south: Mattstall retains the semi-independent status of an associated commune.
Notable people
- Author and doctor Paul Bertololy lived in Lembach and, in 1972, died there. (At the time of his birth at FrankenthalFrankenthalFrankenthal is a town in southwestern Germany, in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate.- History :Frankenthal was first mentioned in 772. In 1119 an Augustinian monastery was built here, the ruins of which — known, after the founder, as the Erkenbertruine — still stand today in the town...
in 1892, Lembach was part of Germany: German was the mother tongue in which Bertololy wrote.) - Astronaut Rusty SchweickartRusty SchweickartRussell Louis "Rusty" Schweickart aka Schweikart is an American former astronaut, research scientist, US Air Force fighter pilot, business and government executive...
is the grandson of a couple who emigrated from Lembach to the USA. He has visited the village twice and given his name to a street in it.
Landmarks
- Fleckenstein CastleChâteau du FleckensteinChâteau du Fleckenstein is a castle in the commune of Lembach, in the Bas-Rhin département of France. This fortress, built in the shape of 52 m long boat, has a long history. The castle was built on a sandstone summit in the Middle Ages...
- Frœnsbourg CastleChâteau de FrœnsbourgChâteau de Frœnsbourg is a ruined French castle north west of the town of Lembach, within the Bas-Rhin département. It has been listed since 1898 as a monument historique by the French Ministry of Culture...
- The "Ouvrage Four" at Chaux (extensive Maginot line fortifications)Ouvrage Four a ChauxOuvrage Four-à-Chaux is a gros ouvrage of the Maginot Line, located in the community of Lembach, France, in the Bas-Rhin département. Four à Chaux was adjoined by petit ouvrage Lembach and gros ouvrage Hochwald, and faced the German frontier as part of the Fortified Sector of the Vosges...
- Lembach Mill
- Fleckenstein Manor (Le manoir des Fleckenstein)
- Lembach wash house (La tuilerie de Lembach)