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Lembach | |
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Coordinates: 49°01′N7°47′E / 49.01°N 7.79°E Coordinates: 49°01′N7°47′E / 49.01°N 7.79°E | |
Country | France |
Region | Grand Est |
Department | Bas-Rhin |
Arrondissement | Haguenau-Wissembourg |
Canton | Reichshoffen |
Intercommunality | Sauer-Pechelbronn |
Government | |
• Mayor (2020–2026) | Christian Trautmann [1] |
Area 1 | 48.89 km2 (18.88 sq mi) |
Population | 1,548 |
• Density | 32/km2 (82/sq mi) |
Time zone | UTC+01:00 (CET) |
• Summer (DST) | UTC+02:00 (CEST) |
INSEE/Postal code | 67263 /67510 |
Elevation | 177–551 m (581–1,808 ft) |
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries. |
Lembach is a commune in the Bas-Rhin department and Grand Est region of north-eastern France. [3]
The toponym Lembach is of Germanic origin, cognate to modern German Lehm, denoting clay. The Germanic hydronym *-bak(i) entered the French language via High German, and took on two forms: the Germanic form -bach and Romantic -bais. [4]
Lembach lies in the Sauer valley, surrounded by the woods and sandstone cliffs of the Palatinate Forest-North Vosges Biosphere Reserve. It is located on Departmental Road 3 which runs from Wissembourg, 12 km to the east of Lembach, to the north-western tip of Bas-Rhin and the onward route to Bitche in the department of Moselle. The German frontier lies some 5 km to the north.
In the village centre is a Protestant church dating from 1750 (but incorporating a tower from the late Medieval period) as well as a nineteenth-century Catholic church.
The commune, which covers an extensive land area, much of it uninhabitable owing to the topography, also includes the small village of Mattstall and the hamlet of Pfaffenbronn.
The spectacular scenery and the fortifications of past centuries, coupled with the limited possibilities for agriculture in the immediate area, make tourism a key source of employment.
The presence in Lembach of a well regarded haute cuisine restaurant has in recent years made the village something of a "centre of pilgrimage" for gourmets, many of whom cross the border from such nearby population centres as Karlsruhe, Germersheim, and Mannheim.
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 is probably the Château du Fleckenstein. The commune also includes a section of the Maginot Line.
The extensive territory has often found itself a crossing-point between the French and German worlds in times both of peace and of war.
In September 1972 the commune of Lembach was merged with the neighbouring village of Mattstall to the south. Mattstall retains the semi-independent status of an associated commune. [3]
Bas-Rhin is a department in Alsace which is a part of the Grand Est super-region of France. The name means 'Lower Rhine', referring to its lower altitude among the two French Rhine departments: it is downstream of the Haut-Rhin department. Note that both belong to the European Upper Rhine region. It is, with the Haut-Rhin, one of the two departments of the traditional Alsace region which until 1871, also included the area now known as the Territoire de Belfort. The more populous and densely populated of the pair, it had 1,140,057 inhabitants in 2019. The prefecture is based in Strasbourg. The INSEE and Post Code is 67.
Lauterbourg is a commune and Bas-Rhin department in the Grand Est administrative region in north-eastern France. Situated on the German border and not far from the German city of Karlsruhe, it is the easternmost commune in Metropolitan France. The German town across the border is Neulauterburg.
Château de Fleckenstein is a ruined 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. An ingenious system for collecting rainwater fed a cistern and a hoist allowed water and other loads to be moved to the upper floors.
La Wantzenau is a commune in the Bas-Rhin department in Grand Est in north-eastern France.
Ingolsheim is a commune in the north of the Bas-Rhin department in Grand Est in north-eastern France.
Griesheim-près-Molsheim is a commune in the Bas-Rhin department in Grand Est in north-eastern France.
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Gougenheim is a commune in the Bas-Rhin department in Grand Est in north-eastern France. Between 1 February 1973 and 1 January 1986 Rohr was merged with Gougenheim. The Guggenheim family is named after Gougenheim.
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Harskirchen is a commune in the Bas-Rhin department and Grand Est region of north-eastern France.
Hatten is a commune in the Bas-Rhin department in Grand Est in north-eastern France, some fifteen kilometres to the south of Wissembourg.
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Kauffenheim is a commune in the Bas-Rhin department in Grand Est in north-eastern France. It lies twenty kilometres to the east of Haguenau, and a short distance from the A35 autoroute Strasbourg–Landau.
Langensoultzbach is a commune in the Bas-Rhin department in Grand Est in north-eastern France.
Marckolsheim is a commune in the Bas-Rhin department in Alsace in north-eastern France.
Schœnenbourg is a commune in the Bas-Rhin department in Grand Est in north-eastern France. It had a population of 696 inhabitants as of 2019. It contains Schœnenbourg fort, a defensive structure making up part of the Maginot Line.
The Château de Hohenbourg is a ruined castle in the commune of Wingen, in the Bas-Rhin département of France. It has been listed since 1898 as a monument historique by the French Ministry of Culture.
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