Obernai, l'un des plus beaux villages de France

Description :

Obernai is a commune in the Bas‑Rhin department of Alsace, situated on the eastern slope of the Vosges Mountains. The town has grown steadily, with its population rising from 6,304 in 1968 to 11,279 in 2017. Archaeological finds reveal a Neolithic necropolis dating from 5,000 to 4,600 BCE, indicating early settlement in the region. Historically, Obernai was part of the Duchy of Alsace in the 7th century and is the birthplace of Saint Odile, the patron saint of Alsace. The town first appears in records in 1240, when it gained city status under the Hohenstaufen family, and later joined the Décapole in 1354, an alliance of ten cities in the Holy Roman Empire. Its prosperity peaked in the 15th and 16th centuries, with Emperor Ferdinand I visiting in 1562. The Thirty‑Years’ War devastated the city, which was occupied by Imperial and Swedish troops before being ceded to France in 1679. Obernai was annexed by Germany in 1871, returned to France after World War I, and during the Nazi occupation in World War II, a Waffen‑SS training center for women was established there. Today, Obernai remains one of the most beautiful villages in France.