User:Bioarchie1234/Translations/Benfeld

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Coordinates: 48°22′17″N 7°35′35″E / 48.371389, 7.593056

Commune of Benfeld

Location
Bioarchie1234/Translations/Benfeld (France)
Bioarchie1234/Translations/Benfeld
Administration
Country France
Region Alsace
Department Bas-Rhin
Arrondissement Sélestat-Erstein
Canton Benfeld
(chef-lieu)
Intercommunality Communauté de communes de Benfeld et environs
Mayor Robert Lustig
(2001-2008)
Statistics
Elevation 155 m–162 m
Land area¹ 7.79 km²
Population²
(1999)
4878
 - Density 626/km²
Miscellaneous
INSEE/Postal code 67028/ 67230
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.
2 Population sans doubles comptes: residents of multiple communes (e.g. students and military personnel) only counted once.
France

Benfeld is a French commune, situated in the Bas-Rhin and in the région of Alsace. It makes up one of the centres of employment between Sélestat and Strasbourg, situated further north.

Contents

[edit] Geography

[edit] History

Benfeld is situated near to the ancient Gallo-Roman town Helvetus (Ehl), destroyed by the Vandals in January 407. The stones were re-used to build the town.

The first rampart was constructed in the 14th century.

During the Thirty Years War, Benfeld was defended by its residents and Louis Zorn von Bulach. For sixty-six days, Benfeld held out against a Swedish siege. After the surrender of the town, the Swedish occupied Benfeld from the 9th of November, 1632, until 1650, when they destroyed the fortifications.

[edit] Coat of arms

The coat of arms is an azure shield with a band of argent running from top-left to bottom-right. This band has three stars of the heraldic colour gules.

[edit] Administration

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[edit] Demography

Demographic evolution of User:Bioarchie1234/Translations/Benfeld between 1962 and 1999
1962 1968 1975 1982 1990 1999
3,433 3,441 3,798 4,451 4,330 4,878

[edit] Places and monuments

The town's hotel dates back to 1531. The tower beside it, including its the clock and clockwork people, has been there since 1619.

The church of Saint Laurent is one of the oldest episcopal churches attested (762); the Merovingian sarcophagi date back to the original church, which was discovered under the foundations of the present one. The church was repaired in 1754, the Gothic chancel was conserved and the nave was reconstructed in 1840 in the neoclassical style. The church houses, amongst other things, late 19th century baptismal fonts from the convent of Ehl.

[edit] Industry

Socomec, an enterprise specialising in uninterruptible power supplies and electrical cabinets have their head office and a factory in Benfeld. The laboratories of PCB Création are specialists in producing food decorations.

SECOME SAS invent and produce means of producing sheet metal; ADEcut, its sister company, uses these means (presses et c.) to produce metal parts.

[edit] Famous people linked with the commune

  • François-Xavier Gsell was born in Benfeld on the 30th of October, 1872. He died in Sydney, on the 12th of July, 1960. Missionary of the Sacred Heart in Australia, he was, in 1938, the first bishop of Darwin.

[edit] See also

[edit] External Links