Issenhausen
Encyclopedia
Issenhausen is a commune
in the Bas-Rhin
department in Alsace
in north-eastern France
.
at the western edge of the Alsace plane, where the ground becomes less flat in apparent anticipation of the Vosges Mountains
further to the west. This is essentially a one street village stretched out along the side of a hill, the shape of the overall commune being reminiscent of a shallow bowl. The landscape is of gentle rolling hills: the highest point within the commune is the 254 meter high Moenchberg. The subsoil is of sedimentary soil
similar to that found in many parts of south-western Germany
across the Rhine.
The "Bachgraben" stream, a tributary of the River Zorn, flows through the village.
word for iron and a reference to iron ore extraction taking place here.
The settlement was originally part of the estate of the Abbey of Marmoutier
, and subsequently came under the control successively of several of the major land owning families of the region, including the counts of Hanau-Lichtenberg.
In 1702, while France was still in the process of digesting Alsace
which it had recently acquired through conquest, Guillin, the military engineer based at Neuf-Brisach, wrote that Hissenhus was a village situated in a dip without a church nor anything else worthy of note ("Hissenhus est un petit village situé dans un fond sans aucune église n'y autre chose remarquable").
Communes of France
The commune is the lowest level of administrative division in the French Republic. French communes are roughly equivalent to incorporated municipalities or villages in the United States or Gemeinden in Germany...
in the Bas-Rhin
Bas-Rhin
Bas-Rhin is a department of France. The name means "Lower Rhine". It is the more populous and densely populated of the two departments of the Alsace region, with 1,079,013 inhabitants in 2006.- History :...
department in Alsace
Alsace
Alsace is the fifth-smallest of the 27 regions of France in land area , and the smallest in metropolitan France. It is also the seventh-most densely populated region in France and third most densely populated region in metropolitan France, with ca. 220 inhabitants per km²...
in north-eastern France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
.
Geography
Issenhausen is positioned 35 kilometres (22 mi) to the north-west of StrasbourgStrasbourg
Strasbourg is the capital and principal city of the Alsace region in eastern France and is the official seat of the European Parliament. Located close to the border with Germany, it is the capital of the Bas-Rhin département. The city and the region of Alsace are historically German-speaking,...
at the western edge of the Alsace plane, where the ground becomes less flat in apparent anticipation of the Vosges Mountains
Vosges mountains
For the department of France of the same name, see Vosges.The Vosges are a range of low mountains in eastern France, near its border with Germany. They extend along the west side of the Rhine valley in a northnortheast direction, mainly from Belfort to Saverne...
further to the west. This is essentially a one street village stretched out along the side of a hill, the shape of the overall commune being reminiscent of a shallow bowl. The landscape is of gentle rolling hills: the highest point within the commune is the 254 meter high Moenchberg. The subsoil is of sedimentary soil
Loess
Loess is an aeolian sediment formed by the accumulation of wind-blown silt, typically in the 20–50 micrometre size range, twenty percent or less clay and the balance equal parts sand and silt that are loosely cemented by calcium carbonate...
similar to that found in many parts of south-western Germany
Upper Rhine
The Upper Rhine is the section of the Rhine in the Upper Rhine Plain between Basel, Switzerland and Bingen, Germany. The river is marked by Rhine-kilometers 170 to 529 ....
across the Rhine.
The "Bachgraben" stream, a tributary of the River Zorn, flows through the village.
Economy
94% of the communal territory is given over to agriculture: cereal crops predominate in the early years of the 21st century.History
According to an etymological dictionary the name of the village denotes "The house at the source of the stream" which would be consistent with there being several areas of the 'bowl' formed commune where the water table breaks through the surface of the land. An alternative etymology indicates that "Issen" is a reference to "Eisen" a localAlsatian language
Alsatian is a Low Alemannic German dialect spoken in most of Alsace, a region in eastern France which has passed between French and German control many times.-Language family:...
word for iron and a reference to iron ore extraction taking place here.
The settlement was originally part of the estate of the Abbey of Marmoutier
Marmoutier Abbey (Alsace)
Marmoutier Abbey, otherwise Maursmünster Abbey, was a Benedictine monastery in the commune of Marmoutier in Alsace.-History:The first foundation here, either in the late 6th century, or by Saint Leobard in 659, was a community of Irish monks under the Rule of St. Columbanus...
, and subsequently came under the control successively of several of the major land owning families of the region, including the counts of Hanau-Lichtenberg.
In 1702, while France was still in the process of digesting Alsace
Alsace
Alsace is the fifth-smallest of the 27 regions of France in land area , and the smallest in metropolitan France. It is also the seventh-most densely populated region in France and third most densely populated region in metropolitan France, with ca. 220 inhabitants per km²...
which it had recently acquired through conquest, Guillin, the military engineer based at Neuf-Brisach, wrote that Hissenhus was a village situated in a dip without a church nor anything else worthy of note ("Hissenhus est un petit village situé dans un fond sans aucune église n'y autre chose remarquable").