Turckheim Explained

Turckheim
Commune Status:Commune
Image Coat Of Arms:Blason de la ville de Turckheim (68).svg
Arrondissement:Colmar-Ribeauvillé
Canton:Wintzenheim
Insee:68338
Postal Code:68230
Mayor:Benoît Schlussel[1]
Term:2020 - 2026
Intercommunality:Colmar Agglomération
Coordinates:48.0872°N 7.2811°W
Elevation M:240
Elevation Min M:219
Elevation Max M:840
Area Km2:16.46
Native Name:Reichsstadt Türkheim (de)
Ville libre de Turckheim (fr)
Conventional Long Name:Imperial City of Turckheim
Common Name:Turckheim
Era:Middle Ages
Status:City
Empire:Holy Roman Empire
Government Type:Republic
Today:France
Year Start:1312
Year End:1648
Event Start:Gained Imp. immediacy
Event1:Received city rights,
joined the Décapole
Date Event1: 
1354
Event End:Ceded to France
Date End:24 October
Event Post:Treaties of Nijmegen
end the Décapole
Date Post:
26 January 1679
P1:Duchy of Swabia
S1:Early modern France
Flag S1:Royal Standard of the King of France.svg
Capital:Turckheim|footnotes =}}Turckheim (in French pronounced as /tyʁkaim/; Alsatian: Tercka;) is a commune in the Haut-Rhin department in Grand Est in north-eastern France. It lies west of Colmar, on the eastern slopes of the Vosges mountains.

History

Archeological finds indicate the area was already inhabited during Ancient Rome. When the Germanic tribes invaded and crossed the Rhine, the Thuringii settled here and possibly gave their name to the town, which was first Thorencohaime and then Thuringheim. During the High Middle Ages Thuringheim is listed as belonging partly to the abbey of Munster and partly to the manor of Haut-Landsberg, centered in Kientzheim.

Turckheim became a free imperial city in 1312, and in 1315, the construction of ramparts was begun, which are still in good condition. It already had city rights and market rights in 1354, and from 1354 to 1679, Turckheim was part of the Décapole, a league of ten free imperial cities of the Holy Roman Empire. After the Peace of Westphalia (1648), Turckheim and the other Alsatian towns refused to swear allegiance to the French king.

During the Franco-Dutch War, the village of Turckheim was taken by French armies, led by Henri de La Tour d'Auvergne, Viscount of Turenne, which subsequently defeated armies of Austria and Brandenburg in what became known as the Battle of Turckheim (1675). Features of the village of Turckheim, especially the gates, help to identify the town in a fan currently in the Fan Museum in Greenwich, England.[2] In 1678, with the signing of the Treaties of Nijmegen, the French king assumed control over Turckheim.

In 1871, at the end of the Franco-Prussian War, the town, with the rest of the Alsace, became part of the German Empire. In 1918, it reverted to France.

Turckheim is one of only a few remaining towns in France with a municipal night watchman, who makes the rounds at 10 p.m. between 1 May and 31 October and on the three Saturdays preceding Christmas. Maintained for tourist reasons, the position commemorates the 13th-century night watchman who prevented a fire.[3] [4]

Geography

Turckheim lies in the valley of the river Fecht, downstream from Munster. It is 6 km west of the city centre of Colmar.

Climate

Turckheim has an oceanic climate (Köppen climate classification Cfb). The average annual temperature in Turckheim is . The average annual rainfall is with December as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in July, at around, and lowest in January, at around . The highest temperature ever recorded in Turckheim was on 7 August 2015; the coldest temperature ever recorded was on 13 January 1987.

Notable residents

  • Victor Sieg (1837 – 1899), composer and organist, was born in Turckheim. Rue Victor Sieg is named in his honour.[5]

See also

External links

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Notes and References

  1. Web site: Répertoire national des élus: les maires. data.gouv.fr, Plateforme ouverte des données publiques françaises. 13 September 2022. fr.
  2. Book: Cowen, Pamela . A Fanfare for the Sun King: Unfolding Fans for Louis XIV. 66–69. Third Millennium Information. 2003. 9781903942208.
  3. Web site: fr. découvrir turkheim. Turkheim.fr. 3 April 2016.
  4. Book: Deslais, Pierre . fr . L'Alsace, géographie curieuse et insolite . Éditions Ouest France . 2014 . 83 . 978-2-7373-6364-1 .
  5. Billich, André (1975). Histoire d'une ancienne ville impériale: Turckheim, pp. 83 and 171. Éditions Alsatia