Haut-Rhin is a département in the Grand Est region, France, bordering both Germany and Switzerland. It is named after the river Rhine. Its name means Upper Rhine. Haut-Rhin is the smaller and less populated of the two departments of the former administrative Alsace region, the other being the Bas-Rhin. Especially after the 1871 cession of the southern territory known since 1922 as Territoire de Belfort, although it is still rather densely populated compared to the rest of metropolitan France. It had a population of 767,083 in 2021.
The Ill is a river in Alsace, in north-eastern France, and a left-bank, or western, tributary of the Rhine. It is 217 km (135 mi) long.
Sélestat is a commune in the Grand Est region of France. An administrative division (sous-préfecture) of the Bas-Rhin department, the town lies on the Ill river, 17 kilometres (11 mi) from the Rhine and the German border. Sélestat is located between the largest communes of Alsace, Strasbourg and Mulhouse.
Sundgau is a geographical territory in the southern Alsace region, on the eastern edge of France. The name is derived from Alemannic German Sunt-gowe, denoting an Alemannic county in the Old High German period. The principal city and historical capital is Altkirch.
Altkirch is a commune in the Haut-Rhin department in Alsace in north-eastern France.
The arrondissement of Thann is a former arrondissement of France in the Haut-Rhin department in the Alsace region. In 2015 it was disbanded, and most of its communes were assigned to the new arrondissement of Thann-Guebwiller, some to the arrondissements of Mulhouse and Altkirch. It had 52 communes, and its population was 81,614 (2012).
The Château de Landskron is situated in the southern part of Alsace, in the east of France, mere footsteps away from Switzerland, in the commune of Leymen. The village situated at the north of the ruin, Leymen, in the département of Haut-Rhin, lies in France while Flüh, at the south east foot of the ruin, is in Switzerland.
The Château de Morimont is a ruined castle in the Alsace region of France, in the commune of Oberlarg in the Haut-Rhin département. It is 40 km southwest of Mulhouse and 45 km west of the Swiss city of Basel.
Durlinsdorf is a commune in the Haut-Rhin department in Alsace in north-eastern France.
Ensisheim is a commune in the Haut-Rhin department in Grand Est in north-eastern France. It is also the birthplace of the composer Léon Boëllmann. The Germanic origins of the village's name reflect the area's history.
Andlau is a commune in the Bas-Rhin department in Alsace, Grand Est region of northeastern France.
Florimont is a commune in the Territoire de Belfort department in Bourgogne-Franche-Comté in northeastern France.
The Château de Ferrette is a ruined castle in the commune of Ferrette in the Haut-Rhin département of France. It is a recognized historical monument since 1930.
Seppois-le-Bas is a commune in the Haut-Rhin department in Alsace in north-eastern France. The inhabitants of Seppois-le-Bas are called Bas-Seppoisiens and Bas-Seppoisiennes.
Ferrette is a commune in the Haut-Rhin department in Alsace in north-eastern France.
Frœningen is a commune in the Haut-Rhin department in Alsace in north-eastern France.
Dannemarie (French pronunciation:[danmaʁi] is the French name of Dàmmerkìrch, a commune in the Haut-Rhin department in Alsace in north-eastern France. It was the seat of a canton of the same name and is the seat of the Communauté de communes de la Porte d'Alsace.
The Château d'Altkirch was a castle, now destroyed, in the commune of Altkirch in the Haut-Rhin département of France.
Jean-Luc Reitzer is a French politician who served as the Member of the National Assembly for Haut-Rhin's 3rd constituency from 1988 to 2022.
The canton of Altkirch is an administrative division of the Haut-Rhin department, northeastern France. Its borders were modified at the French canton reorganisation which came into effect in March 2015. Its seat is in Altkirch.
Located 11.95 km from the source of the Ill River, with a watershed of 57.87 km², the Nussbaumer Mill in Fislis represents an important heritage site. This complex, situated at the village exit towards Werentzhouse, is found just before the confluence of the Ill and the Limendenbach.
The history of this mill dates back to 1592, when lordly records mention the construction of a new wheat mill with four grindstones. This mill annually paid the lord 3 Viertel and 2 hens.
Mentioned in the Alsace Intendance archives in 1750 and 1768, this flour mill was well-known throughout the upper Sundgau. Located on a diversion channel on the right bank of the Ill, the mill had two grindstones for wheat and one for the fuller, activities that had been in place for ages. In the 19th century, the Rural Engineering archives described a flour mill associated with a thresher, operating with three wheels on a 2-meter drop, with a flow rate of 400 liters per second, producing a power of 10.65 horsepower. In 1823, Fislis had 26 horses, 60 oxen, and 114 cows.
The millers of Fislis, including Antoine Nussbaumer, were respected notables. Born on December 12, 1817, Antoine was one of five children of Urs Joseph Nussbaumer, a physician from Neuhaus in Switzerland, and Walbourge Faninger, the daughter of miller Léger Faninger. Antoine took over his maternal grandfather’s mill and married Thérèse Faninger in 1847.
Antoine Nussbaumer’s Career
Antoine Nussbaumer became mayor of Fislis in 1848 and was appointed second deputy judge in Ferrette in 1873. He served on the Altkirch district council during both French and German periods. Although he was not re-elected in 1882, he regained his seat in 1884, 1888, and 1892. In 1883, he was a member of the Altkirch district health council and played a key role in defending the Alkirch-Ferrette railway line. In 1885, he participated in a bull control commission at the Altkirch Agricultural Fair and contributed to the creation of a livestock insurance fund in 1887.
His contributions were recognized in 1889 when Emperor Wilhelm II awarded him the Order of the Crown of Prussia. Antoine Nussbaumer died on October 26, 1893, at the age of 76. The Alkircher Kreisblatt newspaper then published a biography, recalling his education in Mariastein and with the Benedictines in Porrentruy, Switzerland, as well as his friendship with Father Léo Stoecklin, a musician and composer. Passionate about music, Antoine played the violin and remained a music lover all his life.
Contributions to the Community
As mayor, Antoine Nussbaumer had the Ill river channeled with cut stones and built a parapet along the watercourse. He also had three new fountains carved in Solothurn, Switzerland, transported by an impressive convoy pulled by twelve horses. Antoine Nussbaumer also created a municipal library and, in 1861, acquired 67.95 hectares of forest at a place called Jungholtz. He endowed the church with a new stone tower.
Antoine Nussbaumer was also involved in the maintenance and improvement of his mill. In 1849, he requested permission to repair the mill’s water intake dam. In 1853, he successfully obtained approval to enlarge the dam’s opening to compensate for the effects of the Ill’s straightening and embankment.
The Mill’s Succession and Modernization
After Antoine’s death, his son Amand Constant Nussbaumer took over the mill's operation. A fire in 1904 caused significant damage, but the mill continued to function. Amand, a member of the provisional committee of the Miller’s Corporation, modernized the mill with the installation of a turbine, allowing for an annual production of 215 days.
Henri Nussbaumer, Amand’s son, continued operating the mill until World War II, also producing electricity. The mill ceased operations permanently after the war due to the damage it sustained.
The Mill Today
Today, following careful restoration, two buildings dating from the 17th century, later modified, remain, with a millstone and some visible gears. A pond, once used for fish farming and the turbine’s water reserve, is nearby.
Thus, the Fislis mill remains a witness to the industrial and social history of the region, illustrating the importance of millers like Antoine Nussbaumer in local rural and economic development.
The Nussbaumer family, directly related to former Prime Minister and Mayor of Strasbourg, Pierre Pflimlin, who occasionally stayed in Fislis in the mid-20th century, still owns the site.
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