HOMEPAGE

Do you know Léonore ?

ASSIFARNOLD — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 13:59:00 GMT

Do you know Leonore? ...News from the National Archives.

I am not entering into your private life…and I don’t ask if you met Léonore. You may be sure that I am only speaking about a new area at the National Archives!

It is a new database about the badge of LA LEGION D'HONNEUR in the National Archives... Did you think of this decoration when searching for your ancestors?

Do you want to know if one of your ancestors since 1802 has been made a Chevalier or Officer of the Legion of Honour, or raised to the supreme rank of Grand-Croix (Great Cross)? Now it is easy by using the link below and searching on the name of the person you are interested in:

http://www.archivesnationales.culture.gouv.fr/chan/index.html

I found in this database two of our ARNOLDS with all the documents relating to their decorations and to their glorious careers as soldiers.

But all the documents are not yet registered as this database is still in its beginning stage…we have to wait, be patient…

Paulin and Joseph ARNOLD, two of our ancestors born in KRUTH, received this glorious decoration during the 19th century. Maybe they are your ancestors? We spoke of them in our bulletin BONJOUR LES COUSINS but today we can have a look at the documents relating to the Legion of Honour thanks to the free link at the National Archives website.

Hereafter you can see the personal certificate of Paulin ARNOLD as Chevalier of the Legion of Honour issued on December the 21st of 1897. He was Battalion Chief in 153e Régiment d'Infanterie.

Historical Reminder:

The Legion of Honour is the highest decoration of the French National decorations. It was created on 29 Floréal an IX (May 19, 1801), by Napoleon Bonaparte First Consul, in order to thank the civilian and military services.

The French Revolution abolished decorations from the Monarchy and gave military awards by the Consular decree of 4 nivôse an VIII (December 25, 1799) creating coats of Honour. Just before he became Emperor, Bonaparte founded an order equal among all the services which served the country: la Légion d'Honneur. The name was taken from the Roman "legio honoratorum" and was immediately recognized as the most glorious and prestigious decoration.

There are 4 then 5 levels of members of the Legion of Honour and 3 ranks:

Chevalier
Officier
Commandeur (at the beginning of the order Commandant)

And 2 dignities:

Grand Officier and Grand Aigle, become Grand-croix

During the Restoration the order was kept beside the royal orders and became the only French National Order from Louis-Philippe. Its influence was significant and was taken as an example in all countries.

M.A.T.

Toponyms in the environs of ODERN, village ouf ancestors

ASSIFARNOLD — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 13:01:00 GMT

From Brother Joseph PETER of BITSCHWILLER (1979)

An old coat of arms reminds us of the past of ODEREN. In those days, the village was called "ALTODURUM" which means: fortified refuge on a hill "Hohenburg". Over time the name Altodurum was altered to eventually become "ODR." The blazon shows a mountain top fortification with a tower in the middle. On the right side, three birds are flying over the tower “ODR.” At the foot of the mountain are fir trees in the middle a tuft of grass. Below is this blazon as it is today with the dog of the Abbey of MURBACH, which ODEREN was dependant upon.

Date of 1976

Parti, au premier de gueules à deux clés d'argent posées en sautoir,

au second d'argent au lévrier de sable colleté de gueules, enté en pointe, d'argent

The names of villages and their environs reveal which populations were settled in these places. An example which remains very important is the name of the village of ODEREN, its environs and gaps.

The word ALTODURUM inspired Charles ROSTAING, an emeritus professor at the University of the Sorbonne in Paris who answered to Abbot PETER, to wonder about the interpretation of the name. It was composed of "ALT" which means HIGH and "DURUM" which means Citadel, fortified refuge or Fort, a hillock one hundred meters high which dominates the village and which today has a church where the Fort was. The "O" links the two words together.

With phonetic development, "ALTODURUM" became Odèr, accented on the è. But the last occupiers of the area, the Alamans, put the accent on the "O." This contributed to its evolution to the word "ODR" which is now: ODEREN.

The toponym ODR doesn’t come from "ADER" (vein) and it fits well with the other names of archaic places which surround the village.

ODEREN in 1950

Above Dürrembach Street are two clumps of houses called "Klein-Cosch" and "Gross-Cosch." Professors DAUZAT and ROSTAING explain that the names came from the indo-european "Kukk" or "Cucc." In the Alpes, there are many "Cosges" and in the South of France many "cuges" all situated, without exception, on rises in the ground. We know that Dürrembach Street climbs to reach the "Tschar." When we continue on the road through Cosch we arrive at Tschar (the place where my ancestors lived during the last century). This name is also pre-Indo-European and refers to stony places. Its root comes from "kar" which in the speech of our ancestors became "Tschar".

From the same root comes the toponym "Altscher"... "Al" in indo-European means height! Al-Tschar became ALTSCHER which is a stony hill above the village.

We find the following detail in the name of "Kalafelsen" which refers to a high stony massif in the North of "Suterlay". The Alamans who formed the doublet "Kalafelsen" couldn’t know that "Kala" and "Felsen" referred to the same thing. From "Kala" (Cala) comes the word Calamis, in abbreviated form, "calm." "Calm" became "Schalm" in ODEREN and refers to a stony land near "HINTERGOTT". From Calamis came the word "Chaumes", which is the name given to stony pastures in the High Vosges!

The "TREH" is one of these Chaumes (stony pastures). This word, formed by the pre- indo-European "tr" or "ter" = "tritus" in Latin and "tresk" in pre-German, is also the word "Tresk." “Tresk” became "dreschen" and means: to tresch, to fell, to do a felling, the cutting down of trees. Trêh is the base. We know that in the old days the crests were wooded and were deforested by breeders in order to make summer pastures.

High pastures "le Honeck" around 1950

The street on the west side of Oderen is called the "GORT". This toponym has the root "Gher", "Ghor" becomes "chortos" in Greek, "hortus" in Latin and "cort" in Celtic. It means "enclos" (enclosure) of a fortified place. This defensive refuge was on the steep hillock where now the church and the graveyard, surrounded by a strong wall are.

When we cross the bridge at the end of the street of the Gort, we arrive at a clump of houses called "RITSCHA". This toponym is formed from Gaulish "ritu" or “rit” which refers to a ford. The sound was forded before the building of the bridge over the Thur. The other word which formed Ritscha is the Celtic "caé" which means house and which became "Tscha". So the RITSCHA is the hamlet near the ford.

The district of the street la Gortunder the hillock of the church

Another place in the Vosges is the "BRECHEL," a diminutive of "Breuche" as Breuchettes and Breuchaules in the area of Remiremont, which means: groundworks.

Near the "Bréchel" is the "GRANDSCHE". Very often people in the Vosges pronounce "Champ" as "ché". The Gransché is a big field, the Rundsché or Rondché or RUNSCHE in KRUTH is a round field, (the first place where lived Claude ARNOLD when he settled in KRUTH).

A little further away is the "Taschlé," a word coming from the low-Latin "taxo" which became "taisson" in old French and "Daschs" in German. The "TASCHLE" is a place where there was a den of badgers. The "BRAY" is a meadow in the North of ODEREN, of the THUR. This word comes from the low-Latin "Bracium" which means "terrain humide" (humid land) and was in the old days the "Brayweiher".

Above the Tschar we can see a little round and symmetrical hillock on which there is a tree called the "GUMMKOPF" - GUMM comes from Celtic "cumba" become "comm(e)" with a mute "e" which means a depression in the form of a U-shaped valley. In this high concave small valley rises the Gummkopf as a big kougelhof!!! (a dome shaped specialty cake of Alsace).

The "MAREL" or MAËRLE is a hamlet of ODEREN. The name comes from "Märelweiher." Situated at the bottom of the clump of houses is a kind of little pool or “mer” (sea) or lake... but here the “mérelle” is a pool. It is well-stocked with fish. So the word Märelweiher is a doublet, a tautology, its two components coming from the same thing. Alamans created this word but didn’t know the meaning of "Mérelle".

When we leave ODEREN to go to KRUTH we can see on our right the "FONTAY" field and forest. This word is Vosgien and means fountain. It is formed from "font" and the collective suffix "aille".

Stone polished axes have been found, one at the TREH and another one in ODEREN. They are dated from the Neolithic Age, 3000 BC. In the Märel pool have been discovered remains of pilotis (piling), proofs of a lake dwelling. (Pfahlbauten, palafittes).

We don’t really know the name of the first small tribes who lived in this area but it is said that the first prehistoric inhabitants may be the Basques (Vascones).

Historians who admit this possibility interpret the "Vogesus Mons" as the mountain of the Basques. So, the WASGENWALD, WASGAU, WASIGENSTEIN, would recall the presence of Basques in the Vosges! They would be pushed back by the Ligures, the Ligures by the Gauls and the Romanized Gauls by the Alamans. In this succession of small tribes, conquerors kept some names of places of the defeated, as we can see in Oderen and its environs.

A Castellum seems to be in Kastelberg, also on the Marelberg, where they could control the valley. In the Marelweiher, Roman gold coins dated around 400 AD have been found... ODEREN had its treasure, and today it is a very charming village full of flowers where we are pleased to live all along the year.

To be continued with the toponym Kruth...

M.A.T. sources : Les noms des lieux et des lieux-dits dans la vallée de Saint-Amarin par Fr. Joseph PETER Prêtre retraité de Bitschwiller les Thann - collection ASS.I.F.ARNOLD – all rights reserved.

Toute reproduction partielle ou totale de ce blog est strictement interdite conformément à l'article L.112-1 du Code de la Propriété intellectuelle sauf autorisation préalable de l'auteur.

The descendants of Martin Arnould

ASSIFARNOLD — Sun, 21 Sep 2008 06:50:55 GMT

THE DESCENDANTS OF MARTIN ARNOULD

Many thanks to Annie who has just contacted us in order to inform us that Martin ARNOULD had many descendants living in GERARDMER the town where he settled when he left KRUTH....

Hereafter this first descent, the very first one we know thanks to our cousin. They are the descendants of our ancestors Claude ARNOLD and Marie SIFFERLIN.

May be we will also find the descendants of other ARNOULDS? It is very encouraging and we thank very much Annie to have contacted and given us all the names. Little by little we get better acquainted with our ancestors…

Descendants of Martin ARNOULD

In order to explain a branch of ARNOULD’s descendants :

ARNOULD Claude X LEROY Marie le 26/01/1706 GERARDMER
CHIPOT J Baptiste X ARNOULD Catherine le 10/06//1749 GERARDMER
CHIPOT J BAPTISTE X MICHEL Jeanne Marguerite le 16/01/1781 GERARDMER
CHIPOT J BAPTISTE X CHIPOT Marie Anne le 15/04/1812 GERARDMER
CHIPOT J BAPTISTE X PIERRAT Marguerite le 05/05/1835 GERARDMER
CHIPOT Marie Adélaïde X LEROY Charles J Baptiste le 12/09/1860 GERARDMER
BAUMIER Etienne X LEROY Marie Augustine le 21/09/1895 MARSEILLE
Etienne BAUMIER and Marie Augustine LEROY are Annie’s grandparents

Annie C.

Gérardmer in the old days....

ASSIFARNOLD — Sun, 21 Sep 2008 06:49:16 GMT

ARNOULDS FROM LA BRESSE, who can find them?

Who can help us to find the descendants of Martin ARNOULD?

Martin, third son of Claude ARNOLD, settled at the end of the 17th century in GERARDMER where he married with Jeanne PIERRE coming from the Vosges daughter of Florent PIERRE - he was born in Munster as his brothers and sisters on January the 19^th of 1653 and died in Gérardmer on August the 6^th of 1693.. Between he married in this town where he had his children...

From this marriage he had 9 children:

Marie born on 25.9.1681
Nicole born on 25.4.1683
Florent born on 5.10.1684
Catherine born on 25.11.1685
Claude born on 25.3.1687
Martin 1 born on 24.12.1688
Martin 2 born on ... 1690
Toussaine born on 1.11.1691
Joseph born on 28.3.1693

Only Claude and Joseph had children (as we know today), the first married with Marie LE ROY on 26.1.1706 and the second with Marguerite COUTRET but we have no date for this wedding.

Claude had many children: 9 as his parents, one of whom was Marie married on 18.1.1746 with Léonard HANS from la BRESSE and Catherine married on 10.6.1749 with Jean Baptiste CHIPOT.

Joseph had 2 children known with Marguerite COUTRET: Jeanne Catherine who married on 22.2.1731 with Jean YAÏCLE and Barbe who married on 19.4.1727 with Valentin VALENTIN.

So we think that the descendants ARNOULD who are named HANS - CHIPOT - YAÏCLE and VALENTIN are of our family but where are they?

Who can help us to find them?

We know many ARNOULDS married in la BRESSE by the way of many deeds, but how many are from our family?

Many thanks to help us to find the descendants of Martin ARNOULD son of our ancestors Claude ARNOLD and Marie SEUFFERLIN...

M.A.T.

You can send us a mail at the address in the top of the column on the right « contactez l’auteur »

APPEAL TO OUR UNKNOWN AND ALLIED ARNOLD COUSINS

ASSIFARNOLD — Fri, 30 May 2008 10:53:38 GMT

APPEAL TO OUR UNKNOWN AND ALLIED ARNOLD COUSINS

Your name is the same as our cousins’ names: ARNOLD. Our ancestor was Claude ARNOLD born in 1623 (descendant of Demanche ARNOULX from Gerbéviller, old Dukedom of Lorraine). Around 1640 he married Marie SEUFFERLIN born in 1625 (descendant of Barthélémy SEUFFERLIN and Blaisotte WALDNER of KRUTH). Their descendants settled in Kruth in our beautiful VALLEY of the THUR. The allied families living in the valley were numerous and we can enumerate many names such as LUTTENBACHER, MURA, DIERSTEIN, LUTTRINGER, MENNI, MUNSCH, BURGUNDER, HALLER, KIENTZY, WEGRICH, BLUNTZER….

Certainly we are cousins and we would be very happy if you could join us at our 6th COUSINADE of the family ARNOLD and allied families of the VALLEY of SAINT AMARIN on August the 15th of 2008.

This celebration will mark the 25th anniversary of our first Cousinade which took place in 1983. Other Cousinades were held in 1985, 1990, 2002, and 2005. We received an award in 2004, the 4th prize of the Ministry of Family given by the Minister in Paris.

This family gathering will begin Friday morning, August 15, in the playground of the school in KRUTH. There you will see an exhibition of all our genealogical trees, meet your cousins and exchange information. All the while a folk music group will entertain. Our American cousins from St. Louis, Missouri, and also our cousins from Netherlands and Switzerland will be with us. Many information booths will be set up, including those by CDHF - MEDINA COUNTY (cultural exchanges between France/USA), and glassmakers of WILDENSTEIN. With the permission of the town council, lunch will be in a town hall of the valley (ODEREN or WILLER SUR THUR, depending on how large our group is). Friday will close with a dance hosted by a musician of the valley.

The next day, Saturday the 16^th, we will go to GERBEVILLER, the native land of Claude ARNOLD. We will have lunch in a Lorrain restaurant then visit the castle and the Chapel where our ancestor was baptized in the 17^th century.

You may register for the first day, the second day or for both days by writing to the Association to request entry forms at this address: krismad@wanadoo.fr

Closing date for registration is the 1st of August 2008.

Our first COUSINADE on August the 14th of 1983 in Kruth

340 cousins gathered

OUR TREE PLANTING on April the 11th of 2998 in Kruth

ASSIFARNOLD — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 15:11:00 GMT

Planting of the tree of live of family ARNOLD

On January the 23^rd of 1784 was lodged a complaint against Gaspard ARNOLD with the fiscal prosecutor of the valley…Gaspard ARNOLD was the son of Thiébaud ARNOLD from Kruth, and had to pay a fine of 6 pounds from Basel in compensation for having « regardless of the law » and according to the forest report of November the 29^th of 1783, taken from the forest « Herrschafflliche Grieb Wald » above the Grieb of Kruth, a beech tree of 2 feet 7 inches circumference… (researches A.GANTER registers protocoles ST AMARIN Fonds juridique)

Today, we are going to rehabilitate this poor Gaspard, in planting a tree of life, the life of all our ancestors who made the earth of Kruth, who gave all their strength and their vigour in order that their descendants who are gathered today may plant this tree. Today we are planting an oak tree and we hope that our great grandchildren will see it many years later and will remember it is the tree of life of the family ARNOLD.

I invite Mayor of Kruth, and our oldest cousin to join me in order to throw the shovelful of earth which makes concrete this plantation.

We wish a long life to the tree of the family ARNOLD from KRUTH and of the allied families of the valley of SAINT AMARIN and of the ARNOLDS living in foreign countries.

Look to the photograph album. [Look at right column at the French version PLANTATION DU CHÊNE ARNOLD 11 avril 2008].

Madeleine Arnold Tétard

In spite of a rainy day this planting was made with a great emotion and I thank all the 24 cousins who came. I see you on next August 15^th for our big COUSINADE ARNOLD where many surprises are waiting for you.

PAUL ARNOLD OUR WRITER COUSIN

ASSIFARNOLD — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 15:44:00 GMT

Charles Joseph Paul ARNOLD (called Paul) was born on February the 11th of 1909 in SOULTZ birthplace of his mother, who was living in Mulhouse and who came back for giving birth to her son in the family home. Today, Paul Arnold is dead but he is the author of many books.

He was a very active man writing many books and also being a very important Magistrate first at the Ministry of Justice, then as the Presiding Judge of the Court of Justice in Paris. He was the very model of zeal and of haste at the Court.

When he was young after WW1 until 1926, he spent his holidays at Kruth were his father was born. (1)

He was also a landscape painter. He loved going to the ruins of the castle of Wildenstein, from them drawing a plan of the castle as it once stood. When he was 15, he went through the archives of Kruth and Oderen in order to draw a family tree of his ancestry back to Claude ARNOLD.

He wrote poems when he was young and published them on 1926 when he began to study arts and law at Strasbourg and then Paris. He began a true writer in 1946 when he published his book « Frontières du théâtre » which the Académie Française awarded the next year. Then he founded a magazine called « La revue Théâtrale » under the patronage of Louis Jouvet, Baty, Dullin, Barrault, Vilar and the in collaboration with famous authors.

He was its manager until 1958.

Books, novels, poems, essays followed one after the another. In 1961, he was the press favourite to win the Prix Goncourt for his novel « Une larme pour tous » edited at Mercure de France. He revealed the mystery of Fraternity Rose-Croix in a book titled " La Rose-Croix and its connection with Freemasonry " published at Maisonneuve and Larose in 1970. In it he revealed the sources of this spiritual group in Strasbourg.

A work about the hidden meaning about the Shakespeare’s plays « Clef pour Shakespeare » Librairie Vrin 1977 he translated for the theatre by the way in the form of 20 limited edition books.

While his plays were being performed in theatres and on the radio he decided on 1956 to go and discover the world : Scandinavia – Greenland – Iran – India – Burma – Thailand – Cambodia – open China. In 1959 he met for the first time lamas, monks from Tibet who had taken refuge in Darjeeling, It was the beginning of an amazing adventure. For two months in 1961, he travelled around the world: Argentina – Peru – Bolivia – Yucatan of Mayas – Mexico of Aztecs – Japan where he met a young lady who four years later would become his wife.

He returned four times to Japan, and six times to India, spending more and more time in a small Himalayan lamasery, learning about Buddhism which had attracted him since his childhood. In 1965, he was received by the Dalai Lama in Dharamsala for a two hour private audience. He told about all these experiences in two books: « Avec les lamas tibétains » published by Fayard and « Avec les sages du Japon » also published by Fayard, and translated in several languages.

He returned to Alsace very often, to Mulhouse where his mother a widow since 1950 was living and whom he and his wife loved very much. She settled in Paris on 1973 in a house that Paul, his sister and family shared. She died some weeks later at the age of 93 years old.

After her death, Paul founded a Buddhist association to teach their way of living. In Jura he opened a spiritual centre to which some Monks from Tibet and a Zen senior lecturer came. In the same year he organized along with other other associations a European Buddhist Conference and proposed a European Buddhist Union. He founded the Union in 1975 with other countries from Europe and remained the Chairman for a long time.

The following year, Albin Michel Editions asked him to write a story about ALSACE and about spiritual movements in his birthplace. He wrote « Histoire secrète de l’ALSACE » published in 1979 evealing the Celtic substrate language of the Alsatian story.

Since he had gone to Yucatan, another mystery interested him: the origin of the Mayas and the secret of the writing which was deciphered. He solved this double mystery when in 1978 he showed a very close connection between the language of the Mayas and that of the Chinese. Thus for the first time he was able to translate the only three books written by the Mayas which escaped destruction. « Le livre des morts Mayas » at Laffont Editions in 1978 translated in German, Italian and Spanish.

In 1980 his novel « Le neuvième soleil » was published at Curandéra Editions, It was a symbolic story, difficult reading, which in 1981 was awarded the Grand Prix de la Littérature Esotérique. Then he turned his attention to the mystery which fascinated him from his childhood: the Basque!

At 14 years of age, he began to learn the Basque. He showed in his book « Le mystère basque dévoilé » at Rocher Editions in 1983 that Basques are the direct descendants from the Cretans who lived before the Greeks, and were carriers of the marvellous civilization which disappeared 3000 years ago. He was able to translate the language and in this way a part of the humanity was told.

Meanwhile he left Paris and with his wife settled in Menton (French Riviera) in a marvellous house where they could see a fascinating landscape of mountains and sea. His wife was also a writer but in Japanese

He was mentally young and in good health. He wrote 51 books.

He never forgot Alsace and his birthplace: Kruth where he owned some lands passed down through generations. (3).

He died in his beautiful house in 1992.

I am sad not to have met him.

Biography published in our bulletin Bonjour les Cousins n° 8.

– Lucien branch ABF Claude ARNOLD – by Antoine – Georges – Jean (brother of Joseph immigrated to Texas) Augustin (who was a Mayor of Kruth) and Lucien then Paul ARNOLD.

– Claire wife of André LEVADOUX, Councillor at Court of annulment.

– Part for Paul ARNOLD : Schlossberg section 19 N° 4 and 39 – Wingleh section 20 n° 80 and 81 – Vorderer Runsche section 24 n° 12 and 34 and Lot of Claire born Arnold : Schlossberg section 19 n° 16 – Wingleh section 20 n° 92 – 93 – 99 – 125 and 156

See biography:

http://patvlad.club.fr/p_arnold.html

by Paul ARNOLD

At Albin Michel Editions 1979

NEIL MOLLOY is dead

ASSIFARNOLD — Sat, 05 Jan 2008 11:55:00 GMT

I am sorry to report that Neil passed away on Dec 31, 2007. They say it was a heart attack. His funeral is Saturday. Here are links to his obituary in the newspaper:

http://www.mem.com/Story.aspx?ID=2202974

or http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/stories.nsf/deathsobituaries/story/97997E3CFDA07273862573C5001532F8?OpenDocument

He was a very good man. I and his family and friends will all miss him very much.

Judy Phelan

in memory to Neil MOLLOY

Judy and Neil came from Missouri on May 2005 for our Family Assembly in Kruth Oderen. We were very pleased to meet them and we spent with them a good time. He was a very jovial person. He was very glad to come in France and in Alsace and we are very sad today. We can't imagine he is dead. We wish to our cousin Judy to keep courage and to be solid. We offer our condolences to Judy and to the family.

Catherine Tomat Mura

The Castle of ODEREN by Gilles SIFFERLIN

ASSIFARNOLD — Tue, 11 Dec 2007 21:10:00 GMT

The first writings about the village ODEREN, dated from 1253. At that time there was a castle on the MÄEREL.

This castle certainly was the oldest of all the bailiwick. It was one of the seigniorial castles, one of the royal residences that Frank Kings built in Alsace, in several fine places, dominating the valley. De GOLBERY, in his "ANTIQUITES D'ALSACE", tells us about "Moerel" (sic):

"From Wesserling, on the right the eye falls on a hillock which looks like a hump of dromedary which seems to close the valley behind FELLERINGEN".

"This castle, said Mr.E.HANS in his handwritten, was built during the German era".

In 1253 the earls of HORBOURG gave up or sold the castle to the Abbey of MURBACH, and then to the nobility of BOLLWILLER.In 1416, the castle was involved in litigation with armed attack between earls of MONTBELIARD-WURTEMBERG and the Abbey of MURBACH. The feudal building was on the place which dominated the best the high valley.

ODEREN sight of the Maërle on the right of the Chapel Maria-Hilf (Notre Dame du Bon Secours)

It was located on the highest peak of Maërel. It was also the nearest from the village and the steepest in front of BOBENRIETH’s house (at the time of G.SIFFERLEN ndlr). The castle commanded the villages ODEREN, KRUTH, FELLERING and WESSERLING. It could communicate with the castle of WILDENSTEIN and with the castle of STÖRENBOURG, .It was by the way of the place very similar. (Castle of HUSSEREN-WESSERLING ndlr)

Today and at the time of G. SIFFERLEN, it only remains relics of the castle of ODEREN. The name for the mountain "KASTERLBERG" (peak of the castle) and the field in front of the Maërel "KASTELAKER" (field of the castle) are proofs that there was a castle there.

There was also at the bottom of the Maërel, a pond with carps.

There was also in the other side of ODEREN, a newly built seigniorial house. The last house at the outside of the village ODEREN (at the time of G.Sifferlen ndlr) towards KRUTH, was named "SCHLÖSSEL", little castle. We are thinking that in the past there was a royal residence at this place. The pond with fishes depended on the Castle of MURBACH and the story is recounted in their book in 1550. It was near of the little castle (heim Schlössel)

The Abbey of MURBACH possession of the very powerful Prince Abbots

Sources : La vallée de SAINT AMARIN Notes historiques et descriptives par l'Aumônier G. SIFFERLIN Livre IX tome III ODEREN - STRASBOURG 1909 F.X. LE ROUX & C° Libraires-Editeurs. ICONOGRAPHIES : ASS.I.F.ARNOLD all rights reserved.

WESPHALIA TREATIES 1648

ASSIFARNOLD — Mon, 26 Nov 2007 10:35:00 GMT

We know what the Thirty Years War brought, misery, diseases on the Alsatian and Lorraine population but what do we know about the Westphalia Treaties?

ALSACE made of pieces of lands where the emperor was not the absolute owner, who had the same rights everywhere, was in the middle of all the discussions always bitter, hard and skilful also often confused, without any conclusion as for: what would give exactly the emperor? Were they suzerainty rights or land rights? What will he give as he was the emperor of Austria?

Confusion was in all the text of the treaties. Confusion in the deeds about rights, lands, and the emperor gave and took back.

The 87 article and some others gave and took with an equal satisfaction for every part. Battles and treaties were the first interest of princes, and a mutual and undisclosed intention ran implicitly between paragraphs: to be opened to claim, and not to limit finally France for Germany or Germany for France.

When STRASBOURG began French in 1681, it was logically the result of a new state "from 1648" as told later Kratz the Mayor of Strasbourg «Strasbourg orbited to the centre which finall y absorbed it."...

One of the last pages of the Treaty of 1648 with stamps and signatories - facsimile - (C.Tomat-Mura’s personal collection)

In order to explain the dramatically vagueness of 1648, the King chose in the Courts of Justice from several towns some of their chambers which had to specify which of the articles were shady in the last treaties. They had also to search and to gather all what may be attached by virtue of old feudal deeds or recent treaties... The NIMEGUE Treaty (1679) confirming the WESPHALIA Treaties , the Sovereign Council of BRISACH wrote comments in order to unify the country: it proclaimed the absolute sovereignty of the King in Alsace and attached Strasbourg where royal troops were living in the following years (1681); the republic of STRASBOURG, in the influx of troops, hesitated, and was sometimes with one and sometimes with another, incidents were numerous and Louvois took the advantages in order to confirm what was decided in the Council of BRISACH.

The King maintained its Constitution and its religious freedom, which means freedom of Protestant religion. Catholics called for his: on October the 24th of 1681, when Louis XIV arrived with great pomp in front of the cathedral, bishop François-Egon from FURSTEMBERG, who was a devoted servant of the royal political, showed «such happiness as the one of the blessed Siméon receiving the infant Jesus in the Temple of Jerusalem".

An old picture of the Cathedral of STRASBOURG

From then on, "Gaul was closed to German" Clausa Germanis Gallia: these three words which were on the coin made in honour of the meeting represent how STRASBOURG was important for FRANCE. In 1697, the RYSWICK treaty devoted the all transfer to the town with all its outbuildings situated on the left bank of the Rhine and "and for this occasion STRASBOURG was wiped off the register of the Empire".

The feast of the Treaty of WESPHALIA 1648 (Anonymous engraving)

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