Katzenthal

Cats Thal is a commune with 544 inhabitants (as of January 1, 2011 ) in the department of Haut-Rhin in the Alsace region. She is a member of the Communauté de communes de la Vallée de Kaysersberg.

Geography

The approximately seven kilometers north- west of Colmar, situated on the western edge of the Upper Rhine Plain village is flanked on the west by wooded mountains of the Vosges. The municipality is part of the Regional Natural Park of Ballons des Vosges.

History

Skeletal remains dating from 1899, which were dated to the period from 2000 to 1700 BC, prove that the area had been settled Katzenthal already in the Neolithic period. The present town was built around the castle was built in the late 12th century Wineck. The first time was the place as Chacindale in a document by Pope Lucius III. mentioned.

In the Middle Ages the village belonged to the reign Landsberg, who went to Lazarus of Schwendihotel in the 16th century, which was in 1568 charged by Emperor Maximilian II as " Baron von Landsberg " ( 1572 " baron of Hohenlandenberg "). In the Peace of Rijswijk (1697 ) the area was finally French.

In the First and Second World War the place was each scene of fighting that left especially towards the end of World War II during the Battle of the Colmar pocket of big damage.

Since 1986 Katzenthal heard with several Alsatian communities where Lazarus Schwendihotel Cities collar, echoing a particularly happy period of his history.

Economy

In Cats valley viticulture plays a prominent role. The individual layer Wineck - Schlossberg is an Alsace Grand Cru. Logically, therefore, the place is located on the Alsace Wine Route.

Attractions

• The Wineck castle was built around 1200, but was destroyed again in 1502 already. Since 1972, an association takes care of the preservation and partial restoration of the castle, the keep is visible from afar.
• The church of Saint Nicolas was built in 1719 after cats valley was in 1690 became a separate parish. The tower, however, was not built until 1895. The severe damage to the building by fighting in World War II could be definitively resolved until 1955.