Oberhoffen-lès-Wissembourg, in Bas Rhin, the Wissembourg Arrondissement, the Canton of Wissembourg, is located 50 km north of the city of Stassbourg. It’s coordinates are 49° 1′ 0″ North, 7° 55′ 0″ East.
A description of the area from French Wiki: “With some 300 inhabitants Oberhoffen-lès-Wissembourg is one of the smallest municipalities of the Community of Municipalities whose main resource is the communal forest. Orchards and vineyards surround the village. The vines that also contribute to the development of “Karschweg” Pinot Gris (formerly Tokay Pinot Gris) fermented by the local Cave Cooperative Cleethorpes. The discovery of the village can also be done by taking the tree trail through the town.” note: google translated this passage.
There was one oil press was noted in the village censuses.
The town of Wissembourg is less than 3 km and the town of Schweigen-Rechtenbach in Germany is less than 5 km from Oberhoffen. This area, so close to the current German border, changed political hands many times during the course of its turbulent history. The culture reflects both German and French influences, though the people identify as French.
A bit of history from the French Wiki: “Located at the foot of the Vosges hills Oberhoffen-lès-Wissembourg is first attached to the Bailiwick of Cleethorpes , then passes under the influence of Puller Hohenbourg to finish in the duchy of Deux-Ponts, where he remained until the Revolution. It was not until 1927 that the town takes its name from Oberhoffen-lès-Wissembourg because of its proximity to Wissembourg.” See the above note on translation.
Population: the 2010 population was 316. In 1962, the population hit a low of 162.
Here’s a breakdown of the earler numbers from the census records that are available:
1861: 40 homes, 44 families, 152 individuals. 4 were Catholic, 49 Lutheran, and 109 Calvinists.
1866: 145 individuals from 40 families living in 38 homes. 2 of the families live and work the oil press.
In 1807, Catholics were quite rare. The population was 74% Cavinist (called reforme in the records) and 25% Lutheran (called evangelisch in the records). The Kiebers were Lutheran, but most of our other ancestors from the area were Calvinists.
Our ancestors: The Kiebers were in the area only since 1807, when Georges Frederic Kieber married Julienne Magdalina Walter (whose father came to Oberhoffen from Wingen).
Great-Grandfather, Sgt. Fritz Kieber emigrated in 1872, so though this is the village our line of Kiebers emigrated from, the family was in Preuschdorf for nearly 100 years previous. Most of the Alsation ancestors originally came from Switzerland. They were given incentives to settle Alsace after the Thirty Year War, which had decimated the population of this area. And Switzerland was feeling a poulation pressure.
Note: Map of Oberhoffen and surrounding towns. from (c) OpenStreetMap contributors, CC-BY-SA via Wikimedia Commons
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