Bischwiller

Bischwiller (French pronunciation: [biʃvilɛʁ] ^ⓘ; German: Bischweiler; Alsatian: Bíschwiller)^[a] is a commune in the Bas-Rhin department in Grand Est in northeastern France,^[4] just west of the river Moder.

Bischwiller Bìschweiler
Commune
La Laub, former town hall, now a museum
Coat of arms
Location of Bischwiller
Bischwiller Show map of France Bischwiller Show map of Grand Est
Coordinates: 48°46′00″N 7°51′27″E
Country	France
Region	Grand Est
Department	Bas-Rhin
Arrondissement	Haguenau-Wissembourg
Canton	Bischwiller
Intercommunality	CA Haguenau
Government
• Mayor (2020–2026)	Jean-Lucien Netzer[1]
Area 1	17.25 km2 (6.66 sq mi)
Population  (2022)[2]	12,211
• Density	710/km2 (1,800/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code	67046 /67240
Elevation	123–147 m (404–482 ft)
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

Geography

The city is 7.8 kilometers (4.8 mi) southeast of Haguenau, 8 kilometers (5.0 mi) west-northwest of the German border and the Rhine (Rhin), and lies 22 kilometers (14 mi) north-northeast of Strasbourg.

The Moder, a Rhine tributary, flows across the town. Among the other streams which cross the area can be cited the following tributaries of the Moder: the Rothbaechel, the Erlengraben and the Waschgraben. The last one is formed by the confluence of two smaller streams named Weihergraben and Schnuchgraben.

Population

Due to its large Turkish minority, Bischwiller has been pejoratively dubbed "Turcwiller" or "Bischtanbul".^[5]

Historical population

Year Pop. ±% p.a. 1793 3,250 —     1800 3,449 +0.85% 1806 3,902 +2.08% 1821 4,806 +1.40% 1831 5,927 +2.12% 1836 5,854 −0.25% 1841 5,721 −0.46% 1846 6,260 +1.82% 1851 6,642 +1.19% 1856 7,676 +2.94% 1861 8,780 +2.72% 1866 9,911 +2.45% 1871 9,220 −1.44% 1875 7,102 −6.32% 1880 6,827 −0.79% 1885 6,815 −0.04% 1890 7,014 +0.58% 1895 7,304 +0.81%	Year Pop. ±% p.a. 1900 7,897 +1.57% 1905 8,279 +0.95% 1910 8,149 −0.32% 1921 7,210 −1.11% 1926 8,142 +2.46% 1931 8,059 −0.20% 1936 8,248 +0.46% 1946 7,581 −0.84% 1954 7,843 +0.43% 1962 8,198 +0.55% 1968 8,780 +1.15% 1975 9,653 +1.36% 1982 10,612 +1.36% 1990 10,969 +0.41% 1999 11,596 +0.62% 2007 12,659 +1.10% 2012 12,643 −0.03% 2017 12,538 −0.17%
Source: EHESS[6] and INSEE (1968-2017)[7]

Culture

• Maison des Arts (Bischwiller)
• Musée de la Laub

Personalities

• Henri Baumer, master carpenter
• Claude Vigée, poet
• Jacob Kirkman and Abraham Kirkman, harpsichord makers
• Jean Daum, glassware manufacturer
• Lucien Muller, footballer
• Otto Meißner, German politician
• Christian Goodnight (born Christian Gutknecht) is a direct-line ancestor of former U.S. President Barack Obama.^{[8][9][10][11]}

Photo gallery

• 
  Ancient timber-framed pharmacy
• 
  Saint-Augustin church
• 
  Bischwiller town hall
• 
  Protestant temple: tombstone of John I, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken (died in 1604) tombstone

See also

• Communes of the Bas-Rhin department