Ribeauvillé

▪ France

German  Rappoltsweiler 

      town, Haut-Rhin département, Alsace région, eastern France. It lies at the entrance of the valley of the Strengbach, under the Vosges Mountains, 33 miles (53 km) southwest of Strasbourg.

      Rappoltsweiler, known in the 8th century as Rathaldovilare, passed from the bishops of Basle to the lords of Rappoltstein, famous nobles of Alsace. The lord of Rappoltstein was the protector of wandering minstrels. When the family became extinct in 1673 this office of king of the pipers (Pfeiferkönig) passed to the counts palatine of Zweibrücken-Birkenfeld. The minstrels had a pilgrimage chapel near Rappoltsweiler, dedicated to their patron saint, Maria von Dusenbach, and there they held an annual feast on September 8.

      Ribeauvillé is distinguished by a medieval gate, the Porte des Bouchers (a relic of the ancient walls that surrounded the town), and it has many medieval houses and two fine Gothic churches, of St. Gregory and St. Augustine. The Carolabad, a saline spring with temperatures usually in the 60s F (about 17 °C), has made Ribeauvillé a spa resort. The town is also a local service centre and has a number of light industries, including electronics manufacturing. Near the town are the ruins of a number of famous castles, including that of Saint-Ulrich (Ulrichsburg). Pop. (1999) 4,929; (2004 est.) 4,948.

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