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Hégenheim
Hégenheim
Commune
	The town hall in Hégenheim
	Coat of arms
	Location of Hégenheim
	Hégenheim Hégenheim
	Coordinates: 47°33′41″N 7°31′37″E / 47.5614°N 7.5269°E
Country	France
Region	Grand Est
Department	Haut-Rhin
Arrondissement	Mulhouse
Canton	Saint-Louis
Intercommunality	Saint-Louis Agglomération
Government
• Mayor (2020–2026)	Thomas Zeller
Area 1	6.7 km2 (2.6 sq mi)
Population (2022)	3,403
• Density	510/km2 (1,300/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code	68126 /68220
Elevation	254–347 m (833–1,138 ft) ; (avg. 275 m or 902 ft)
	1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

Hégenheim (French pronunciation: [eɡənaim] ^ⓘ; German: Hegenheim; Alsatian: Hagena) is a commune in the Haut-Rhin department in Alsace in north-eastern France. It is adjacent to the Swiss town of Allschwil, and is part of the Basel urban area.

Geography

Hégenheim is a small town located in the northeastern quarter of France and in the southeastern part of the Haut-Rhin department.

Hégenheim is part of the French suburb of Basel and is adjacent to the Swiss town of Allschwil.

History

Mohel book from Hegenheim (F), dated between 1805 and 1849. Today in the Jewish Museum of Switzerland’s collection.

The village name probably originates from the Frankish period, and meant the "domain of Hagino", a Germanic name.

The Roman period is marked by the presence of important Roman roads crossing the district, those leading from Porrentruy to Augst and from Binningen to Rixheim. The village was under the control of the Diocese of Basel. The bishops granted the estate to vassals, among them the Baerenfels family in 1482, who kept it until 1700.^[3]

As a result of the devastation caused by the war of the League of Augsburg (1688–1697), the sisters Elizabeth and Anna of Baerenfels, owners of the old castle, took refuge in Bourgfelden. The estate then consisted of the castle, the farm and the orchard.

After the battle of Friedlingen (1702), the castle was transformed into a hospital and was devastated. Almost abandoned, it was unduly occupied by a Basler. Louis XIV handed the domain to Laurent de Barbier, an officer of Picardy origin, as a reward for the many years he had spent in the service of France, and as compensation for the various wounds he had received. The latter had to resort to the Sovereign Council of Alsace to expel the usurper and take possession of his property in March 1703.

At that time, he commanded the fort Saint-Pierre in Freiburg im Breisgau and later directed the construction of the fortress of Huningue. He ended his life in Oleron as commander of the fortress. His sons, Laurent-Amable and Pierre undertook the construction of the present castle, which was completed in 1737.^[3]

The 17th century was marked by the establishment of a strong Jewish community at the gates of Basel, where they were not tolerated. In 1673, Hannibal of Baerenfels sold the Jews a plot of land to be used as a synagogue, but it was instead used as a cemetery.^[4]

Due to restrictive laws in the region (notably in many Swiss cantons), Jews had trouble finding a place to bury their dead, so the cemetery of Hegenheim gained considerable importance. It contains about 8,000 graves. A synagogue was built in 1723, but invading troops burned it down in June 1815. It was rebuilt in 1821 and a Jewish care home for the elderly opened in 1874. In 1838, there were 845 Jews living in Hegenheim.^[5]

Rising anti-Jewish sentiment came to a head in 1848, the year of revolutions. On April 23, 1848, a quarrel broke out because Hagenthal peasants had sung anti-Jewish songs. In a scuffle, a finger of a non-Jew was cut off. As a result, the Jewish National Guard was disarmed by an angry mob, the Jews were attacked and several Jewish houses were stormed and completely devastated. One child was killed. Only the deployment of troops was able to end the riots on April 25.^[6]

Prior to the First World War, Hegenheim was an important watch production center. The Lévy watch factory employed about 100 workers, half of whom came from Switzerland. It was replaced by the Société anonyme Manufacture d'horlogerie du Haut-Rhin, which operated until 1963.

Climate

The climate in Hégenheim, as in the rest of the Upper Rhine Plain, is sub-oceanic (Köppen: Cfb ; Trewartha: Do). However, maritime features are limited due to the significant distance from oceans and seas resulting in frosty winters and warm, humid summers with violent thunderstorms. Due to these, the maximum rainfall is reached in summer, characteristic of a more continental climate.

Climate data for Saint-Louis, EuroAirport (1981–2010 averages)
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Mean daily maximum °C (°F)	4.9 (40.8)	6.8 (44.2)	11.5 (52.7)	15.5 (59.9)	19.9 (67.8)	23.3 (73.9)	25.9 (78.6)	25.5 (77.9)	21.0 (69.8)	15.8 (60.4)	9.2 (48.6)	5.6 (42.1)	15.4 (59.7)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F)	−1.5 (29.3)	−1.2 (29.8)	2.0 (35.6)	4.6 (40.3)	9.1 (48.4)	12.2 (54.0)	14.1 (57.4)	13.7 (56.7)	10.3 (50.5)	6.9 (44.4)	2.3 (36.1)	−0.3 (31.5)	6.0 (42.8)
Average precipitation mm (inches)	47.3 (1.86)	44.8 (1.76)	51.5 (2.03)	59.0 (2.32)	90.4 (3.56)	73.9 (2.91)	71.1 (2.80)	73.2 (2.88)	69.1 (2.72)	68.6 (2.70)	56.8 (2.24)	66.4 (2.61)	772.1 (30.40)
Average precipitation days	9.3	8.7	10.0	9.9	11.6	10.2	9.7	10.1	9.0	10.3	10.2	10.5	119.5
Average snowy days	8.3	7.4	4.6	1.6	0.1	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.1	3.5	6.9	32.5
Mean monthly sunshine hours	74.2	92.1	135.1	169.2	197.3	222.5	245.4	229.8	166.7	119.1	75.4	57.0	1,783.8
Source: Lamétéo.org^[7]

Population

Historical population
Year	Pop.	±% p.a.
1968	2,059	—
1975	2,226	+1.12%
1982	2,162	−0.42%
1990	2,310	+0.83%
1999	2,576	+1.22%
2007	3,005	+1.94%
2012	3,265	+1.67%
2017	3,420	+0.93%
Source: INSEE^[8]

References

^ "Répertoire national des élus: les maires". data.gouv.fr, Plateforme ouverte des données publiques françaises (in French). 2 December 2020.
^ "Populations de référence 2022" (in French). The National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies. 19 December 2024.
^ ^a ^b "Hégenheim et environs". Bulletin Annuel du Cercle d'Histoire de Hégenheim et Environs.
^ Kahn, Ludwig (1964). Aus der Geschichte der jüdischen Gemeinden von Hegenheim (Elsass), Kirchen, Müllheim und Sulzburg (Baden) (in German). Basel.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
^ Rogg, Lea (2007). Regards sur les communautés juives du Sundgau et alentours : XVIIème au XXIème siècle (in German). Heidelberg ; Ubstadt-Weiher ; Weil am Rhein ; Basel: Regionalkultur.
^ Bergmann, Werner (2020). Tumulte – Excesse – Pogrome: Kollektive Gewalt gegen Juden in Europa 1789-1900 (in German). Wallstein. p. 277. ISBN 978-3-8353-3645-2.
^ "Normales climatiques 1981-2010 : Mulhouse".
^ Population en historique depuis 1968, INSEE