By Societe D’Histoire Et
D’Archeologie Du Reid Nord. Translated by Marie Odile Peres.
Chapter Two
·
The Grangia Of The Abbey Of Neubourg
·
Soufflenheim - Imperial Village
·
The Potters In Soufflenheim
·
Church And Parish
The village has formed itself in the first
centuries of the Middle Ages, at a time when the Merovingian and Carolingian
kings ruled the new born France, as its name can prove, probably around the
Vlllth century. The historians indeed admit that the places whose name ends in
“heim” are older than those whose names end in “bach, feld, dorf, haus, hof”
and who formed themselves in the lXth and Xth centuries.
What does the name Soufflenheim mean? It will be
written from the Xllth century in different ways : Sufelnhem, Suvellheim,
Suoflenhem, or Sauflenheim. It has been thought that the root could be the
Celtic “sawell” which means burning oven and could apply to the old Soufflenheim
potteries (1). It could so mark a continuity in settlement and life, this
industry of baked clay having been exerted without interruption.
The name of the village is found in documents
beginning in the Xllth century. A Bull of Pope Eugene III confers to the
Cistercian abbey of Neubourg several properties in the area, among them a “grangia” in
Suvelnheim (1147).
The Cistercian order had been founded by St. Bernard
in the beginning of the XIIth century. Its origins consisted in the creation of
convents surrounded by properties or domains (grangia), in which a specific
attention was given to agriculture (2). The first creation of this order was
founded in Lucelle, in southern Alsace, in the Alsace Jura, close to
Switzerland. From this point the monks left to establish themselves on the
outskirts of the forest of Haguenau, called by mighty count Reinhold de
Lutzelbourg (region of Saverne) and by the Duke of Alsace and Swabia, Frédéric
the Borgne (One Eyed). In the year 1133, they founded the Abbey of Neubourg
west of the Sacred Forest, and the founders donated them with large “grangiae”
with farms, barns, stables, fields, meadows, grazing places, often assorted with
financial and judiciary rights. There laïc brothers worked in the fields,
furnished the abbey with the products necessary for life, cleared woods and
made agriculture prosperous. Many fields were gained on forests, others in the
Rhine depth, the Ried, in spite of important humidity and danger of floods. The
old names of Oberfeld, Mittelfeld and Niederfeld are characteristic for old
places of culture where the triennal assolement was practised. So that by the
agricultural work in its grangia, the abbey of Neubourg had a beneficial
influence on the region of Soufflenheim and on the agglomeration that started
to develop from that moment.
Pope Eugene III confirmed the properties of
Neubourg as early as 1147 (3); pope Alexander III made the same in the year 1177,
and this bull describes the goods depending of the abbey and consisting in
fields, meadow, waterways, forests, and the cultivated or virgin meadows (4).
In the year 1208 pope Innocent III confirmed those goods and repeated the same
dispositions : each time the “grangia” of Soufflenheim is mentioned (5).
These dispositions and confirmations of the
emperors are of main importance, mostly so those given by emperor Frederic I
Barbarossa. The document dated 1156 confirmed the properties of the abbey and mentioned
the “curia” of “Suvenheim” (6). But one event, date unknown, was to the
disadvantage of the abbey and of Soufflenheim; there is just a “notitia” of the
monks in Neubourg (no official document); the initial donation by Count
Reinhold de Lutzelbourg to which the Duke of Alsace and Souabe, father of
Emperor Frederic Barberousse, had participated, included the property of “the
third tree” of the sacred forest in favour of the abbey, so this meant the
property of a third of this forest. But the right of the count to this part of
the forest was not so clear, had not been inherited), so that the Hohenstaufen
noblemen cancelled this right and took back this complete forest, and gave in
compensation to the abbey the domain of Selhofen (near Rothbach in southern
Vosges). The monks accepted reluctantly ; the document lets us understand their
regretful feeling ; they say “the property we had enjoyed, near Soufflenheim
and in the Sacred forest given by count Reinhold and especially there the right
of the third tree along with other rights”. This loss concerned very directly
Soufflenheim, though the large farm continued
to be affiliated with the abbey and to operate near Soufflenheim (7).
Another document, dated 1158, written by Emperor
Frederic I Barbarossa concedes to the abbey of Neubourg the right of pasture
(means that the cattle of the abbey may use the grazing pastures inside the
forest), and to take the firewood inside the forest (8). But there is no
mention of the property of the third tree, so that the forest remains an
imperial domain.
Later on, the emperors continued to confirm the
rights of the abbey under this same form ; in year 1196, emperor Henry VI, son
of Barberousse (9), and in year 1209, emperor Otton IV (10). In the year 1219
emperor Frederic II takes the abbey under his protection and confirms all its
rights along with right of grazing inside the forest and the right to gather
firewood in the forest (11). The “curia” in Soufflenheim is always mentioned in
these documents.
Abbé Grandidier adds that this imperial diploma
dated 1219 contains an important sentence in regard to the curia of
Soufflenheim “having claimed this curia, we have built it for our personal use
with consent of the brothers of Neubourg and with the will of the abbey” (12). So
that the curia seems to be more imperial
or perhaps common to both.
However, king Rodolphe of Habsburg reconfirmed
the properties of the abbey in the year 1291, and among them the curia
Soufflenheim (13). In the XIVth century too, in the year 1356, emperor Charles
IV confirms on his side the properties of the abbey, among them the curia
Soufflenheim with rights and dependences (14).
In the year 1215, the Abbé of Neubourg acquired
two swamps named the large and the small Hundelouve. Brother Hartung, cellarer,
and brother Rodolphe, master of the named “grangia” have examined them and
found them useful ; they acquired them definitely from Lampertus “de
Suovilheim” (Soufflenheim) (15).
A mill is mentioned in Soufflenheim in the year
1338 (16) ; the Abbé of Neuvourg dug a pond with the sovereign permission of
Louis de Bavière.
In year 1245, the abbot of Seltz sold to the
abbot of Neubourg the dime in the ban of the village of Soufflenheim (17).
The Abbé of Neubourg owned in Soufflenheim a
number of properties and rights that we unfortunately do not know for sure ;
the register that held all copies of documents consulted by Grandidier before
the French Revolution does no longer exist, eventually destroyed at this same
time, or later on occasion of the fire of the Library of Strasbourg in 1870, as
Lucien Pfleger believes. Grandidier writes indeed that inside this cartulary of
the abbey of Neubourg, folios 29 and 30 concern these indications entitled
“this concerns the properties that the church of Neubourg owns in the village
named Suvelheim”.
Concerning these properties, L. Pfleger in his
study, speaks about the decline of the abbey in the second half of the XIVth
century (invading “Englishmen” who wasted the properties and the abbey in years
1365 and 1375 again.)
Nevertheless, in year 1417, emperor Sigismond
confirmed the properties of the abbey but without specification. The various
curiae are no longer named. Later, we assume that the “grangia” of Soufflenheim
was given in loan, as often the custom was for ecclesiastic properties, or even
sold (as the grangia of Laubach was, for instance). Grandidier says, but does
not name documents, that the abbey kept for further centuries a domain in
Soufflenheim. The abbey itself began to decline at the time of the French
Revolution, and the convent was totally destroyed.
Besides the so named “grangia” of the abbey of
Neubourg existed the village of Soufflenheim, which does not let hear of itself
before the XIIth century, but did exist, as its names proves, a long time
earlier.
It is named in 1245 as surrounded by its ban or
“outskirts”. As the document concerns the dime, the tax that the people in the village had to pay to the church
and to the vicar, we can say that for sure the village had for a longer while
before this, its own church or at least a chapel.
In year 1251, young king Conrad IV proclaimed
that, for sake of the rest of the soul of
emperor Frederic II (who died in year 1250) his father, he freed the
abbey of Neubourg of the annual cens (rent) that was owed on the fields between
his castle (“castrum” of Soufflenheim) and the forest, and between the
waterways Brumbach and Eberbach on the other side. He forbid to the Schultheiss
of Haguenau to “bother” the abbey in these properties in fields (19). The
document uses the word “castrum” that describes a castle in Soufflenheim. Did
the sovereign start building a fortification, as cited in document dated 1219
above mentioned could indicate (“aedificavimus”). In any case, the village was
the property of the sovereign. Later documents confirm so.
After the downfall of the dynasty of the
Hohenstaufen and after the long Interreign from 1250-1273, king Rodolph de
Hapsburg (1273-1293), united the properties that had belonged to the family of
Hohenstauften to those of the imperial crown. He organized them into a “grand
bailliage impérial” or Reichslandvogtei or bailiff’s court, where from would
depend, besides the imperial towns, about forty villages round Haguenau, among
them Soufflenheim.
In year 1333, the sovereign, Louis de Bavière,
(Ludwig of Bayern) decided that the burghers of Haguenau had to free from
their pledge the villages of Mommenheim
and Soufflenheim that had previously been given in mortgage to Peter de
Duntzenheim, knight in Strasbourg. From now on they will depend of the office
of the Schultheiss of Haguenau and no longer submitted to mortgage (20).
As a matter of fact, in year 1334, Petermann de
Duntzenheim, knight, declared he renounced to all rights on both villages, and
freed the “Gebürschafft” or all peasants in Soufflenheim, of any pretension on
his part. This community of peasants became the municipality of Soufflenheim.
In year 1370, the imperial upper bailiff, prince
Wenceslas (of Luxemburg) promised ten imperial villages, among them
Soufflenheim, that they would stay inside the “Pflege” and “Schultheissenamt”
of Haguenau (21) as long as he would be maintained head in this function. Soon
afterwards, in year 1372, emperor Charles IVth ordered that under his imperial
authority these villages were to depend for ever from the “Pflege” of Haguenau,
would not be separated from it in any way, nor given for pledge or loan (22).
In the XVth century we can learn more on their
organization. The villages depended of the imperial upper bailliffwick and more
directly of the imperial provost (Reichsschultheiss) who, being the head of the
local justice, presided the court of justice of Haguenau, court of appeal for the
villages. The imperial provost was assisted by counsellors (Räte), according to
the rule of 1527. A receiver
“Zinsmeister”, was in charge of financial matters. He gathered the taxes and
the rent “Zinse” this word derived from the French “cens”, managed the income
in money and nature, took part to the administration of the Holy Forest, and
held the accounts of receipts and expenses. Forest clerks (Forstmeister,
Förster) looked over the forest applying the forest regulations, watched over
cuttings of trees, punished violations
of forest rule (Frevel), and took care of the game (23).
The imperial villages had to take an oath of
obedience and faith to the upper bailiff, same as the burghers of Haguenau had
to. In order to be sworn in, they had to present themselves in the abbey of
Neubourg, about 20 km away from Soufflenheim. This may remind of the former
dependence from the abbey. Each time a new upper bailiff took his functions,
the village people took this oath in front of him and of the under-bailiff (Unterlandvogt).
The villages had their own court of justice with
a provost (Schultheiss). This was the case in Soufflenheim, but not for the
small villages, some of which had to send to their justice cases to
Soufflenheim, which proves the importance of this court of justice.
The court was composed of seven municipal
magistrates (Schöffen), chosen among the population. The provost presided and
led the sittings, and oversaw the execution of the awards. Concerning his
nomination, the village community proposed three persons, the upper bailiff
named one. The provost took an oath to work for the good sake of the Empire and
the of the village, and to dispense good justice.
Over the village court was the court of Haguenau
(named Lauben or Arkadengericht), presided by the imperial provost and which
served as a court of appeal for the imperial villages.
The provost of Soufflenheim had to look for
order and public security, watch over forced labour and dispense justice. A
regulation in year 1560 gives more detail on the provost’s office in
Soufflenheim ; Henri Schlipper has been named ; he must keep a horse, have a
gun, an armour, lance and all that makes part of a good equipment. He swears
obedience to the upper-bailiff, the receiver of rent and the counsellors of the
upper baillifwick, to fulfil his charge, to dispense justice to all equally, to
protect the village people in their rights and freedom. He must also care for
his service in the forest with the master (Fortsmeister) and the forest-guards,
condemn the violations in forests and poaching. As wages, he receives 25 Rhine
florins (gold coins), 5 ells of toil, 6 ells of toil for the lining of a winter cloth. To keep his
horse, he receives 30 bags of oats, and 200 straw bundles. He receives a fourth
of the fines inflicted to poachers. He has a right for pasture of four pigs,
and full user’s right on 10 meadows. In the year 1600, his fees will reach 40
florins in hard money, and the other rights kept the same (25).
Besides the provost or Schultheiss, another village
authority was the Heimburger, a type of a mayor which existed in almost all
Alsace villages. In Soufflenheim in the year 1476 are named the provost, the
magistrates of the court and besides them three “Heimburger” of the village and
dependences of Sufelnheim (26). This mayor (with or without assistants) was
elected each year by the people of the village. He fought for the benefit of
the village, managed the village’s wealth, made an account of income and
expenses, raised the taxes and rents due to the seigniorial authority, and
represented the community outside.
There is no indication concerning the dates of
existence of the provosts and Heimburger. As the “imperial baillifwick” has
been created by Rodolphe of Hapsburg in the end of the XIIIth century, the
different organisms were formed gradually from the beginning of the XIVth
century. The upper baillifwick surrounded by the imperial villages existed from
that time, and lasted that way for centuries, with the same administrative and
judiciary mechanisms. So in the year 1447 there is a note mentioning that the
provost of the court is also in charge of health policy : as soon as he
suspected a resident to suffer an attack of leprosy, he would notify it to
the receiver of rents in Haguenau who
came along with two barber masters (Scherermeister) to examine him. If he was
judged sick “unrein”, the provost and the court excluded him from the community
(27).
The provost was in charge of public order and watched
for morality : In the year 1616 (28), archduke Maximilian of Habsburg, upper
bailiff, having asked the provosts of the imperial villages to report to him
disorders and abuses, the provost of Soufflenheim complained about the large
feasts on occasion of marriages and baptisms, same of excesses on the eve of
marriages, about drinking bouts, songs, dances, swearing, blasphemies and riots
in the inns. In this document there is a reference to a “village regulation” or
“Souffelheimer ordtnung” which has never been found. The provost also
complained in neglected forced labour, on time when “die glocken zum frohnen
leuttet : when the bells ring to call for forced labour, some come in time,
others do not hurry and arrive belated “uber ein stundt hernach” more than an
hour later.
At this time, a few years before the Thirty
Years War, the material welfare of village people seems quite good as time is
given to feasts, and at the same time the regulations concerning duties towards
the authorities is overseen.
These duties are the payment of taxes and rents
of the village to the “reiche pflegede zu der statt Hagenau gehörig” possessors
of the town of Haguenau. There were
several sorts of them. We learn about them in the account book of the
receiver “Zinsmeister büchel von den Gefällen” in years 1454-1456 (29).
According to this book (folio 12-15),
Soufflenheim had to pay a Christmas tax (Wynacht bette) of 14 livres (29a), and
for the Harvest tax (Erntebette) 10 livres, then there was a personal tax
(Schultheissen Wynacht lipbette) to be paid to the provost in amount of 2
livres, 10 sous, 6 deniers. Other taxes, concerning the forest rent
(forstzinse), for gardens and meadows were of 3 sous [cents], 5 deniers
[pence], the tax on houses (Rauchgelt) is of 8 sous 8 deniers. Another tax is 3
livres [pounds ]due to the receiver of rents when potters take away clay and
wood, a regular tax, mentioned as late as
1576 (see chapter on potters).
A register in year 1500 gives the same
indications : Christmas tax, leipett (or body tax), Harvest tax. The body tax
mentions the number of persons in the commune obliged to pay it : they are 116.
Another document in the archives of Haguenau counts 126 heads of family in year
1476. As each family counts about 5 members at least, the total population is
of about 600 to 650 (to them we can add a number of servants, and apprentice
potters and workmen in potteries) ; so that around 1500 Soufflenheim counted at
least 700 persons. If we examine the numbers of other imperial villages, we see
that the number of heads of family is much smaller (for instance 33 in
Mommenheim ; 30 in Ohlungen, 24 in Batzendorf, 23 in Niederschaeffolsheim). In
the XVth century, Soufflenheim was a large village, and this until the 17th
century.
Other taxes were due by people of the locality :
the Carnival hen (118 in year 1576). The rent on the forest’s right (Forstrecht
zins), on the ponds, on the kennel’s house (Hundtshuss) where the forest guards
lived in, on the mill ( 8 bags corn).
Then the people in Soufflenheim had to serve
forced labour, as those of other imperial villages. As they found shelter and
help in case of danger in Haguenau from the authorities of the upper
baillifrick, they had in return to bring help with men, horses and carriages.
They were submitted to forced labour for the higher clerks (order of 1527) to
fell their trees and furnish them with wood, and hay (18 measures “Mannsmatten”
in Schirried), to carry corn and wine.
The forced labour consisted also in cutting and
carrying wood. So in the XVIth century we find “for cutting wood, we gave to
eat to 80 persons of Soufflenheim” and in year 1536, for carrying wood we used
“75 carriages and 250 persons of Soufflenheim who helped load and unload the
wood" (30). But the number of days of forced labour by the residents is
not mentioned.
The record of 1459 mentions the fines risked by
the residents of the imperial villages, and due to the tax receiver. On
different occasions, he writes down in his record the fines imposed for
violations : to have drawn a knife and have quarrelled, for grazing pigs in
forbidden districts inside the forest (überlouff des swine im forste), for
violations on wood and for having taken clay from a potter (als der eyne hafner
sin erde nam).
Sometimes disputes burst out between
Soufflenheim and Haguenau. It happened in year 1496 (31), when the upper
bailiff, the palatine Elector Philippe, wrote to the under-bailiff, Jacques de
Fleckenstein, to ask him to negotiate with the town of Haguenau in regard of a
quarrel concerning grazing and firewall wood which divided the city and the
village people. He asks him to obtain that the town releases the prisoners,
restitutes horses, and to conclude an arrangement between both parties. On
another occasion, a dispute bursts out between the residents of Soufflenheim
and the family Niedheimer de Wasenbourg (1606-1608) concerning a district with
a pond on the ban of Soufflenheim, which had been plundered by the village
people, in spite of the rights that the Niedheimer also enjoy there (32).
The XVIIth century was an unhappy period for
Soufflenheim. The Thirty Years war had burst out in 1618, and in year 1622 the
village was plundered and set on fire by the troops of Ernest von Mansfeld
(33). The commune house was in flames, and all documents were destroyed, so
that we know little on the history of the locality. A letter addressed by the
Upper-bailiff wick of Haguenau to the Habsburgian Regency, notifies that it is
impossible to raise taxes, the villages having been ruined by war. Ten years later,
in 1632, the Swedes invaded Alsace, occupied it and lived on the country,
burning the villages, and torturing and slaughtering the people. In the
following years, Alsace became the theatre of a war where the armies of all
fighting parties battled, so that the country was terribly wasted. We know
nothing on Soufflenheim, we guess that the population had certainly to suffer
badly and was decimated.
During the Middle-Ages, the industry of pottery
in Soufflenheim which origin goes back to prehistorical time, continued,
probably hindered by the war events which several times mishandled Alsace. But
documents for a long time do not mention it. There are just a few information's
in the XVth century.
Let us remind however, echoing a long gone
tradition, the legend according to which emperor Fredéric l Barbarossa, who had
built a palace in Haguenau and given to this city the statute of imperial town
(1164) would have given to the potters of Soufflenheim the right to extract
freely and forever the clay they needed for their handicraft (33) : The legend
has two versions : Frédéric I Barbarossa (or his son) hunting in the sacred
forest was attacked by a wild pig and found himself in danger for his life. A
potter, working not far, ran and saved the sovereign. The favour cited was
granted to the potters of Soufflenheim as a reward. The second version tells
that the potters of Soufflenheim had offered their sovereign at Christmas time
a crib with the figures of the Holy couple and characters in clay ; the
privilege cited was a reward for this gift. A document, kept in the town hall,
would have existed on this subject, but has been destroyed by a fire. The
tradition of this free clay has remained very lively.
What information is given by documents from the
XVth century?
In the year 1435 an agreement passed between
Palatine Count Louis, imperial upper bailiff (1437-1449) and the city of
Haguenau establishes what follows : the potters of Haguenau and Soufflenheim are
allowed to carry away for their use the stumps of fallen trees, and other
remains of cuttings, as well as wood unfit for building, and dead wood (33a).
The potters, named “Schüsseldreher” in fact had this right previously, as the
people of the “grangia” were allowed access to free firewood for their use,
taken out of the forest of Haguenau.
In the year 1454, the potters of Soufflenheim
had to pay to the upper bailiff of Haguenau, or more exactly to the receiver or
Zinsmeister, a tax of 3 pounds, paid yearly, for extracting the clay (3 pounds
we potters have given for clay and wood right). This is also noted same in year
1576, in an account record held by the secretary of the receiver (Zinsmeister)
“from clay in Soufflenheim ; received as right on clay 2 pounds 10 pence”. So
that, though the clay itself was free, the right to take it away was submitted
to payment by the workmen.
At the end of the Middle Ages, the workmen in
Alsace had their own organization in confraternities and corporations. So was it for the potters of Soufflenheim
though we do not know the time of their
creation. In the year 1442, a letter written by the city of Strasbourg is
addressed to the “corporation of potters in Soufflenheim” ; the potters have
changed the old sizes of their pots, and Strasbourg asks that the same sizes as
forty years ago would be maintained. The potters have also raised their prices.
Strasbourg asks for adjustment. So that the corporation of potters in
Soufflenheim will have to send three members to discuss and find a compromise
(34). This proves that the association of potters is well organized enough to
be in stand to discuss with the city of Strasbourg.
At that time there is a large groupment of
potters involving the region of Strasbourg and extending to Ravensburg
(Northern Lake of Constance). It so unites the potters of Alsace and of a large
part of southern Germany ; the yearly assembly takes place in Brisach (35). But
it has not been proved if the potters of Soufflenheim were part of it. During
the following period, pottery survived with difficulty to the Thirty Years’
war, as it is hardly mentioned again.
The first mentions go back to XIII and XIVth
centuries (40). The dime is mentioned in 1245, but the origin of the parish is
very likely prior to this. It is not known if, as often was the case, the
“grangia” of the Abbey of Neubourg had its own chapel.
About 1350 are named : Ludovicus, rector of
Soufflenheim” acquires the burgher’s right in Haguenau, as well as “Arnoldus,
vicar” (41), The title of rector refers to a well organized parish, having at
its disposal a “plebanus” or priest in charge of offices “for the people”. In
year 1371 are named the church, with a priest in charge of people, along with a
“promissory”, a priest who reads the morning mass (42). In the XVth century,
King Sigismond raises a royal tax on parishes, named “Königszehnt” (1419) where
the mention of : Conrat Schilling, upper vicar and main priest in Soufflenheim”
is found, along with his “primissary” (43). These indications prove a large
parish with good number of priests. This parish first depends of the priesthood
of Beinheim, then in year 1454 it belongs to the rural chapter of “Under
Haguenau”. In year 1486 there is the presence of a chapel St. Wendelin, saint
patron of domestic animals. In year 1492, the chaplain and an altar dedicated
to Saint Wendelin are mentioned further (44).
As to the dime, raised by the sovereign, Emperor
Frederic III granted it to several persons in families Reinhold, Goss and
Huffel (as well as the dime in Sessenheim, Rountzenheim and Dalhunden). It
comes to them in 1540 as a right of succession. Emperor Ferdinand confirms this
possession to members of the Hüffel family (45).
Reformation did not enter in Soufflenheim, the
archdukes of Habsburg, possessors of the imperial bailiff wick, were defenders
of Catholicism. The patronat right (or right to name the vicar) belonged
primitively to the abbey of Surbourg, and to the chapter of Haguenau.
There was a necessity to restore the religious
situation, after the Thirty Years war and its terrible destructions.
On the church itself, we have no indication, or
on its saint patron. An altar exists, dedicated to Saint Wendelin, but it was
not the master altar of the sanctuary. This structure was for sure very ancient
and small.
Chapter 3
·
The Village Administration
·
The Population And Economic Life Of Soufflenheim In The Second Part Of
The 17th Century
·
The Communal Accounts
·
The Trials Of Soufflenheim During The Wars Of Louis The XIV
·
Religious Life And School
·
The Potters
By
the treaty of Munster in Westphalien (1648) the large imperial bailiwick
(Reichslandvogtei) that the forty imperial villages depended on, passed from
the Empire to the Crown of France. Its name will from now on be Grand-bailliage
of Haguenau or Prefecture of Haguenau. It is granted by the royal government
first to the count of Harcourt, then from 1661, to the Duke of Mazarin who
bears the title of grand-bailli. But from 1672-73, the grand-bailliage is in
the hands of the Intendant of the Alsace Province and will stay so for over
fifty years. Soufflenheim so becomes a royal French village depending on the
bailiff or Oberamtmann, on his services, and mainly on his treasurer
(Zinsmeister), for financial questions (1).
How
did Soufflenheim pass from the old to the new administration? Documents start
only in 1666. The communal accounts tell us about the village fifteen years
after the establishment of the royal government (2).
From
the information supplied by the communal accounts, the village authority has
stayed the same as in ancient times. At the head of the village is the
Schultheiss, called prevôt in French documents. He is named by the royal
bailiff for an undetermined period. The justice is in his hands, and his
authority is exercised on all types of various communal problems. The first
Schultheiss named is Hans Heinrich Schaeffer from 1664-1667. He is succeeded by
Lorentz Schaeffer, from 1668 to 1671. As documents are lacking for a period,
the next one mentioned is Hans Jacob Schaeffer from 1680, and he remains active
until 1699. These people are probably from the same family.
Their
remuneration is modest, 9 florins each year. He gets additional money for the
cost of trips and meals (Zehrkosten) each time a task is performed. In 1702 for
instance, he gets 60 florins for the cost of trips and 48 florins for the cost
of meals.
In
the justice court, he is supported by 4 to 6 assistant magistrates named
Gerichtschöffen. The law court handles questions of low justice, that is to say
misdemeanor, the criminal suits being handled by the royal bailiff.
Besides
the Schultheiss is the Heimburger, as in the past. This man is a communal administrator
and is found in most of the Alsatian villages. He is the agent of the commune
and looks over, very often in collaboration with the Schultheiss, the ban, the
financial questions and the raising of taxes. He directs the forced labor
(corvée) due to the lord (5 days in the year due by burghers). In the 17th
century Soufflenheim had two Heimburgers who both manage together the communal
questions, which give an idea of the importance of the village. From 1673, one
Heimburger remains and from 1690 he is also named Burgermeister, or in French
bourguemaistre, which then is the current way to name him and describes well
his function as mayor.
He
is the mayor for one year and is rarely re-elected. His major function is to
write down the town accounts or Gemeinderechnungnen, kept from 1666 to 1789,
the first source of information for us on the communal life.
How
is the Heimburger selected to his position? Each year an open meeting (offener
tag) takes place, a day of reunion of burghers [legal citizens]. The sitting of
the communal justice court goes on first, then the official rule is read aloud
that all listen to (gemeine Dorf ordnung in hörung der ganzen bürgerschaft).
Then the functions are sorted out (werden die ämter gezogen). Was it in fact an
election or a simple sorting out among the burghers able to hold these
functions? The day ends, as the custom is, by a distribution of refreshments
(1665: 6 florins 4 sous to give wine to the burghers; 1685 to the burghers on
the open day their drink 6 florins expense; to the burghers, a drink paid 4
florins 9 sous; 1694: the communal assembly has spent in meal 11 florins).
Sometimes it is mentioned that only the officials had access to drinks (the
Schultheiss, Heimburger and the assessors of justice) and they spent 4 or 5
florins; at the end of the century this expense reaches 10 or 12 florins. From
1697 and for a certain time, the communal accounts do not mention the open day
any longer, nor the sorting out of functions, nor the expenses.
The
function of the Burgermeister continues on. He receives very scarce money: 4
florins 5 sous a year when there are two Heimburgers. When there is only one
left, 2 florins. Then, following the former custom, 4 florins. He too gets more
out of expense in meals.
Both
officials, the Schultheiss and the Heimburger, are narrowly related to the
Haguenau city administration. Several times, the accounts mention that they are
called to the chancellery in Haguenau (Ganzlei), sometimes they are called to
Strasbourg where the Intendant resides; they bring the taxes collected to the
authority.
To
the Schultheiss and assessors is joined a scribe of the court, whose
remuneration reaches 4 florins in the 17th century. A bookkeeper (Rechner)
becomes the assistant of the Heimburger.
A beddel,
called in documents Pittel or Bittel (Büttel in German), executes the orders or
judgments; he receives 4 to 8 florins, and in the 18th century it can reach
from 10 to 16 florins; he is also given a pair of shoes each year.
The
communal staff is completed by three foresters who look after the communal
forest, and by shepherds and one swine-herd. Another man, the Friese, sees
after the waters, the rivers and ditches. Another man, the Landgraben, was an
important man, because there was a constant need to care for the dangers of
overflows and prevent them by digging ditches and clean rivers. Soufflenheim
has no physician; but a midwife is named and receives each year 2 then 4
florins. The commune also has the midwife’s chair (Hebammen stuel) in 1683, also
called in 1673 a birth chair (Kindbettstuhl). A school teacher is mentioned
permanently.
The
communal accounts give much information about the commune buildings and life in
the village. Besides the church, often mentioned is the communal house (called a
gemeine stube or a burger stube), also known as
the Rathaus [town hall]. After a long period of war, it needs
repairs. As soon as 1666, tiles and lime are bought for repairs. At other times
boards (1695). In 1699 it is again mentioned the necessity of repairs in the
same town hall, another time (1703) again more work. In 1714 the mason receives
76 florins for repairs to the town hall.
Another
building is the Laube, a house with open arcades, which also existed in
many other villages. It also needs frequent repairs, and this from 1664 when
expenses for boards, nails, and windows are specified. There is also mention
made of a chimney and of a stove, tables and benches, repairs to the roof with
2500 shingles, then again with 3000 shingles (Schindlen). In 1680 it is
decorated on occasion of the visit of General de Montclar (für den Herrn
General de Montclar zugerüstet). Repairs go on: a potter builds a new stove, on
other occasions the building is rented, for instance to the cartwright who pays
a rent for it (Laubenzins).
There
is also a guard-house, rented several times for 4 or 8 florins. Also mentioned
is a jail (Blockhaus), where work is done by carpenters in 1684. A new door is
installed in 1700. The shepherd’s house is built in 1683 (hirten Haus aufgeschlagen),
and a tiler brings tiles to it for 20 florins. A carpenter is asked to build
two rooms in it. An oven (Backofen) and a new stove (Stubeofen) are added. In
1700, it is referred to as the cowherd’s house (Kuhirten). It is also question
of a communal cow-shed (gemeine stall) in year 1698, that also gets repaired in
year 1705. The swine-herd eventually also lives there, while the lumbermen stay
in a small communal house (Gemeindehauesl).
To
provide the water needs of the population there is the communal well (gemeine
Brunnen) which has been improved several times. Tiles and stones are carried to
the communal well (zu einem gemeinen Brunnen) for a sum of 169 florins. As
soon as 1669, a well maker (Brunnenmacher) is recruited to repair it (den Brunnen
auszubessern).
The
bridge is important; it needs repairs several times; carpenters are busy
working on it (1668, 1683).
A
clock existed before 1660, but needs several revisions and is repaired on many
occasions. In 1667 a clockmaker (Uhrenmacher) from Woerth is asked to restore
it. On other occasions it needs to be cleaned or oiled. An expense for oil
(Baumöl) is mentioned. A locksmith is busy with this. Finally, the authority
asks the schoolteacher to care for it and to wind it up regularly. We don’t
know where it was placed, probably in the church’s bell-tower.
As
a consequence of the terrible conflict of the Thirty Years War, the Alsatian
population decreased strongly. It was probably also the case in Soufflenheim.
As the war continued at a slower pace from about 1640, life took back its
rights progressively, mainly after the peace treaty of 1648 (Treaty of
Wesphalie).
Exact
statistics are lacking for a long time. From 1662 we have some indications that
the village counted 60 farms (3). If on each 5 persons were living, a medium
size family, the total population can be evaluated to about 300 persons. This
number however does not correspond to what is supplied by the parish visitation
asked by the bishop of Strasbourg in 1666, which mentions no more than 40
persons (4).This report may well be inaccurate and wrong, as it also makes a
mistake about the Patron Saint of the church, for instance.
The
town accounts, a major source of documentation, gives more precise information
in the year 1680. It concerns a tax raised (heiligenrechnung) for
the saint, to which all parishioners had to contribute. This list, on
which several persons are mentioned on more than one occasion, is reduced to 40
names, which would mean about 200 people, if we again apply the number of 5 per
family. There may also have been poor people who did not contribute, and so are
not inscribed on this list.
In
1693 the parish counted 60 catholic families, the number of those receiving
communion on Easter was 200, which leads us again to about 300 people at that
time.
In
1701 the tax named Capitation (on each head), initiated for the first time in
1695, names 117 people, but we should leave aside the servants and widows, so
that the number of families is in fact 93; with 5 persons in each family we
reach about 450 to 500 people. This increase, in regards to the 1680 number,
seems reasonable.
In several
instances the communal accounts name new burghers (neubürger) who pay a tax
(Bürgergeld) to be allowed to settle in the city. In 1670 there are two new
burghers. In 1671 nine men and three boors (Schirmverwandte) give 4 or 8
florins, the boors just 1 florin 5 pence. In 1672 there are named 5 boors and
one burgher [Barthel Jorger] who pays 4 florins. This amount seems to be the
average one. In 1681 a Swiss gave 3 florins to be allowed into the community
(ein Schweitzer Hans hat sich hier wollen bürgerlich einlassen). In 1684 new
burghers are admitted for 40 florins 5 sous (pennies), so ten more new
burghers. After the War of the Augsbourg League in 1702, a number of young men
pay more than 200 florins (neue junge und fremde), and are inscribed. They would
so be around 50. In 1707 eleven new burghers pay 45 florins and two foreign
women pay 16 florins for this right. In this way the population of
Soufflenheim increases in the beginning of the 17th century, so that the number
of 500 is justified.
This
increase probably started as early as 1650. The presence in the village of a
number of craftsmen before 1670 proves this, as it would not have been the case
in a very small community.
As
early as 1670 the town accounts mention masons, carpenters, one tiler, one
locksmith, one blacksmith, one cartwright, all occupied in various works
ordered by the commune. Potters are seldom mentioned. They do not work for the
community. Inn landlords are mentioned as early as 1660 and probably before
this. There are two of them: Lorentz Schaeffer, who is at the same time the
Schultheiss, and Lorentz Cron. From 1681, there are three. After 1700, four are
named, which bares witness to the growth of the village. These inn landlords
furnish the burghers with wine. The amount for which they have to pay the
prescribed tax (or Umgeld) is considerable. In the 1660’s the average yearly
amount is 351 measures (Ohmen). In 1680: 366 measures for three inn landlords.
In 1690: 400 measures in the year for four innkeepers. In 1699 it is mentioned
for the first time a sale of 50 measures of beer by one of them. The amount of
wine drunk is significant; the village is a rich one.
The
presence of many craftsmen bare witness to an important activity. But this is
not the main aspect of life in the village. Life there is mainly based on
agriculture and cattle breeding, providing food to the population.
The
extended communal ban is composed of three parts: the ploughed land, the
meadows and the forest. Each of them has its importance. After the long period
of war, they are busily exploited. But they need to be reshaped. On the 10th of
November 1658, an order of the authority announces that the communal ban will
be "renewed" under a survey of Schultheiss Hans Heinrich Schaeffer,
with no more details. In 1662 the ban is re-examined; it contains 511 Acker of
fields, and 291.5 Acker of meadows, among them 169 are communal meadows
(Allmendwiesen). The well to do burghers own 56 Acker, 47 Acker, 29, 28, 24 and
21 Acker (6). In 1688, under the authority of Schultheiss Hans Jacob Schaeffer,
the ban is again renewed, and again once more in 1722.
The
revision of the ban depends on the Schultheiss. To establish the land records,
he is helped by men known as Merker in 1673 and 1680. These men, numbering
eight, receive 1 florin 6 sous. They drive stakes to delineate the fields, the
limits of the ban (Scheidtgang) and the communal landed property (Allmendt). In
1682 they walked around the meadows; in 1683 they order the fields to be
cleaned (butzen); in 1709 they measure the land and set landmarks.
Documents
give little information on agriculture. The many fields are owned either by
farmers or by the commune. There is no mention of what is cultivated. The
commune has the obligation to furnish the military authorities with oats, hay
and straw, and also with green beans and peas.
Cattle
breeding is an important matter. The horse, cows and swine herds prove so, as
does the communal herd house and stable. The communal bull is often mentioned;
when he needs to be cared for or when it is time to acquire another one. The
number of head of cattle is not mentioned. According to the communal accounts,
the provost and the municipal magistrates wrote down the [number of]
cattle (1697, 1698). On this occasion, the shepherds who counted the
cattle in the grazing places receive a salary (1699).
The
meadows must be well kept and the ditches cleaned out because of the overflows.
A specific employee, named the Friese is appointed to the draining. He is in
charge of the main ditch, named the Landgraben that needs periodic
dredging. In 1683 and 1684 he receives a salary to measure it (abzumessen), to
dig it (aufzuwerfen) and to improve it. He does the same for the
Stockmattengraben (ditch), and receives payment to create a new ditch (den
neuen Graben zu friesen): 83 florins. He plots the new ditches for a payment of
167 florins (1699), and digs a ditch in a place named Ridenberg and
receives 122 florins therefore. He surveys the building of bridges such as the
one on the way to Rohrwiller, for a salary of 92 florins. Considerable expense
is granted by the commune to pay day workers (Taglöhner) who clean out and
repair ditches and drains in the limits of the area.
This
amounts to 598 florins in 1700, 463 florins in 1701, and 143 florins in 1715,
as mentioned in the communal accounts for the ditches.
These
works on the ban have created old and new terms to describe them (Flurnamen):
Mittelfeld, Niederfeld (which proves the usage of three course rotation),
Bergacker and Imberacker. Then, the many meadows: Niedermatt, Obermatt,
Riedmatten, Stockmatter, Schlangenmatt, Neumatte, Schofmatten, Stortzmatten,
Rammelshauermatt, Schnepfenmaten, Hattermatt, Pfaffenheckmatten, Federlesmatt,
Klossmatten, Dieterswördtmatten, to which can be added the damp places Ecklach,
Herzlach, Bubenlach, or Buchensee, Rote Pfuehl; Sigelgericht means a plot that
has been eroded (gereut, gerodet), Geiswöll, or Gysswöll am Landgraben, and
Klingen complete this list.
The
meadows belong to private persons but mainly to the commune who rents them to
get the hay and aftermath and receives important income for those. In the year
1666 for instance, 63 florins from the butchers of Strasbourg (von den Metzgern
zu Strasbourg für die Riedmatten).
The
third part of the communal ban includes the communal forest, east of the
village in the direction of Rountzenheim, in the lower part of the area. It
brings to the commune important income through the sale of wood, oaks and
beeches, and on the other hand, firewood. In 1700 the sale amounts to 500
florins. In 1702: 881 florins. It climbs to 1500 florins in 1703, but reaches
an average amount of 800 to 1100 florins in the beginning of the 17th century.
Three foresters look after the forest and receive a salary, and specific pay at
the time of hunting. The customers are not mentioned, except one Dutch man in
1685 (vom Hollender für Eichbäume 30 florins: received from the Dutch man for
oak trees: 30 florins). Let us note in 1710 the sale of wood to a "wooden
shoes maker". The woodcutters work all year long.
The
acorn crop (Ecker) was of some importance for the breeding of swine. For this
too the commune gets income, but must pay swine herds therefore named
"Eckerhirte" or "Eckerknecht". The benefit amount in 1664
for example was over 100 florins, and in 1697 was 325 florins. This acorn
harvest takes place in the communal forest, and also in the large forest of
Haguenau where specific authorizations are needed.
The
yearly labor was broken by one or another day of leisure. Among them we can
cite the religious feasts with their processions. On Sundays, one would visit
the inns. A number of customs going back earlier than the 17th century
authorized a number of amusements. The main day was the village feast named
Mestag or Messti. It seems that it was a very noisy feast and the source of
many disturbances. On this day, specific people must watch and see to the good
order: the Pitel in 1664, the Waechter in 1665, 1666, and 1673, the
Messtag huter in year 1674. In 1682, the feast of the consecration of the
church (Kirchweih) takes place at the same time as the Messti and lasts three
days. In 1698 and 1699 the accounts speak about the guardians of the fairy who
receive a salary at the occasion, same in the year 1701. But later, after the
war of the Succession in Spain, there is no such inscription left, times were
too hard. The custom of the Messti however was renewed later.
Carnival
is also a feast. In 1702 the town accounts mention an expense for wine drunk in
the commune on carnival’s day, but this does not last. On the contrary, the
women’s carnival (Scheuertag) makes more noise; in 1664 the accounts mention
"to the burgher’s women for wine on the carnival day, given 3 florins 5
sous" (den burgers weibern uff die Fassnacht zur Neuen wein geben 3
florins 5 sous), in 1665 "to the burgher’s women on carnival for meal
given 2 florins 6 sous (auf der Fastnacht den burgers weibern zu verzehren
geben 2 florins 6 sous), and in 1671 "to the women’s carnival day given to
spend 4 sous" (am Scheuertag den weiern zum besten geben 4 sous), the same
in 1673. In 1681 at Carnival’s time "given to the women as from old usage
as they made the Heimburger a prisoner" (die Weiber altem gebrauch nach
den Heimburger gefangen); he has to pay to be set free a sum of 4 florins 9
sous, and in 1689 "given by the Heimburger to the women on Carnival’s day,
to spend on meals, 3 florins 8 sous" (der Heimburger an der Fastnacht den
Weibern zu verzehren geben 3 florins 8 sous). After this date, and because
of the war period, the custom stops or decreases. The town accounts do not in
any way mention them any longer. In 1683 a small note mentions: Ordre gebracht
wegen der spilleuth das Dantzen zu verbieten: order is given to the musicians
to forbid dancing.
One
of the major duties of the Heimburger was to establish the yearly accounts.
These give an idea of the financial situation of the commune from year to year.
Written down by the Heimburger, they are checked by the Schultheiss and the
local magistrates in Soufflenheim’s local justice court until 1685. Then the
control gets more strict. It is made by the superior authority in Haguenau.
Present to hear the account are the bailliff, scribe, Schultheiss, and local
judges (die Rechnung abzuhören Oberamtmann, Landschreiber, Schultheiss,
Gerichtschöffen). Later again and from 1699, the delegate of the Intendant, the
royal prosecutor, and the scribe, sometimes in Strasbourg, control the account.
All of them get a salary for attendance; the bailiff receives 6 florins, the
prosecutor 3 florins, the scribe 1 florin.
The
general amounts given by the accounts, income and expenses, for the years 1660
to 1670 are limited, and do not reach 400 florins, but they increase
considerably around 1680 (up to 700 florins) as a consequence of the royal
taxes raised by the royal authorities. After 1680 a total amount of 1000
florins is reached, and after 1700 it amounts to 2000 to 3000 florins, and on
average 2500 livres until 1715 (refer to sketch).
The
section on income mentions the sales of wood in the communal forest, the hay
and second harvest in the meadows, and the tax on wine sold in the inns (the
Umgeld tax).
The
expenses consist of work performed on town buildings, repairs to the same after
the damage of the Thirty Years War, the salaries and expenses of the
Schultheiss, Heimburger and communal clerks, for the vicar and the religious
feasts, and for work performed in the village and on the ban.
Until
1670, the accounts do not mention the expenses for taxes and fees paid to the
seigniorial authority (the Prefecture of Haguenau). The royal administration in
the financial organization starts in this year.
The
first tax raised is the Subvention, a contribution to be paid four times in the
year (Quartalgeld) [Quarterly Tax] or quarterly, to the Zinsmeister [receiver]
of Haguenau. Added to this are the seigniorial fees going back to the middle
Ages, named Bethe (taille or toll), and the harvest toll (Erntebeth). The
Schultheiss and the Heimburger make the trip to Haguenau several times to get
information on the subject and receive the necessary instructions.
From
1670, the Quarterly Tax is raised regularly. From 1672 are raised the taxes due
for forced labor of those in the village who must go to Philippsbourg to work
on the fortifications. The Dutch War breaks out and the financial needs of the
King become more pressing. From 1673-1674 the royal contribution reaches 205
florins. The commune faces difficulties in raising this amount and is obliged to
borrow 100 florins from the Marzolf brothers and from Daniel Baur. Then the
communal accounts disappear for several years.
When
they start again in 1680, mention is made of a new extraordinary tax added to
the royal contribution called the Foraging Tax, primarily meant for the
cavalry. Concerning this new tax, the Schultheiss and Heimburger go several
times to Haguenau and are obliged to accept the conditions fixed by the Amtmann
and Landschreiber who also occasionally come to Soufflenheim to instruct criminal
cases (frevelthätigung gehalten).
The
royal contribution is raised every three months. In 1681 it amounts to 178
florins. In addition to the harvesting toll, the Christmas toll is raised.
From
1685 appears a new seigniorial tax, called the Frohngeld, or tax on forced
labor, also raised every three months, and supplemented by the population.
Very
hard years follow, as a consequence of the War of the Augsbourg League
(1688-1697). There are no town accounts from 1686 to 1689. In 1690 the military
taxes are heavy: the Winter Garrison Tax (Winterquartiergeld) amounts to
126 florins, and 53 florins must also be paid to the companies settled on the
Rhine (von den Gombeneyer am Rhein). Forage must be sent to the fortress of
Fort-Louis: 100 florins.
Taxes
are always higher. In 1691 the Subvention Tax is 100 florins, the
Frongeld Tax (Forced Labour Tax) is 260 florins, and the Christmas Toll
and Harvest Toll equal 28 florins. In 1692 another important increase is noted:
Foraging is 95 florins, Subvention 261 florins, and the two Bethe taxes are 37
florins.
Interesting
to note in 1694: the equivalent of French money is fixed: one florin is 2
French livres: (zu renovation in Französicher valor gelifert 656 livres, thut
in hiesiger wehrung 358 florins), [the renovation tax has been discharged here
for an amount of 656 livres, which is the equivalent of 358 florins in local
money].
The
increase in royal contributions [taxes paid to the King] put the communal
administration in a very difficult position. In 1685 the commune pays to Walter
Weber rent on an amount of 300 florins borrowed since the Dutch War. In 1694
the commune pays to Josel, the Jew, 24 florins and 5 sous interest. In 1695 she
reimburses a sum of 48 florins borrowed in Haguenau, and at the same time an
installment of 75 florins to the miller, J.P.Meyer, an amount on the sum of 354
principal borrowed to pay the debt (qu’on avait faite lorsqu’il fallait livrer
les grains au roi) [made on occasion of payment to deliver the royal
corn-harvest], same to Augustin Underkirch, to reimburse a debt of 224 florins.
In
1695, to the existing taxes is now added the Capitation (Kopfgeld), a tax on
each head. This amounts to 96 florins in 1695, to 136 florins in 1696, to 145
florins in 1697, and to 515 florins in 1701 and 1702.
The
commune also pays the Subvention (also named Schatzung): 420 florins, the
Capitation: 136 florins, the Frongeld: 198 florins, the seigniorial fees (beth
of Christmas and of Harvest, and on grazing in meadows): 67 florins, then the
supplies for the military needs, the foraging, the safeguard, and the militia
(1696). All soon exceeding 1000 florins each year. In 1701: a new regulation
concerning foraging by royal decree: a tax to pay for the troops in their
winter garrisons. Soufflenheim is taxed for 340 livres in the money of France,
to be paid in two installments, on the 15th of January and the 1st of March.
The
situation gets worse during the war of the Spanish Succession (1701-1714),
painfully experienced in the North of Alsace in the military and financial
fields. The commune has to sell a large amount of wood and of the acorn
harvest. She has to get the most out of the rented meadows and gather from the
population the necessary payments for taxes. After 1701 the communal accounts
mention an average expense of 2500 florins a year.
The
weights of war are heavy on the region. The enemy invades Northern Alsace and
occupies it for a time, raising important contributions. In spite of this,
Soufflenheim also has to pay the royal taxes. This is only possible by
borrowing more money and so to also have to pay the rent [interest] on this: in
1705 to Isaac Heysch is paid: 300 florins, to Christian Moser: 177 florins, to
Daniel Hug: 400 florins. In the next year she pays 10 florins and then 24
florins to Heysch as rent. In 1709 she pays rent on a capital of 184 florins to
Bartholome Querquer, the butcher in Fort-Louis; in 1710, 20 florins for rents
to the widow of Martin Bruckert, for a similar capital borrowed, and same to
others. In 1709, 143 florins of rents are paid to seven different creditors.
These rents continue to run over the years. But the commune is able to balance
the budget, with a remainder that could be used the following year. In 1714 the
royal taxes and seigniorial fees amount to nearly 2000 florins, to which are
added the 440 florins of military supplies and payment for winter garrison of
troops.
After
peace has come back (Peace of Utrecht, 1710; Peace of Rastatten, 1714) the
taxes remain high and will even be increased. From year to year the population
of Soufflenheim, mainly lower and middle class peasants, will suffer under the
heavy load that the royal government imposes, just as the rest of the country,
by the way.
The
Dutch War (1673-1678) does not greatly affect the area of Soufflenheim. However
it makes the population feel insecure and generates new financial burdens. In
1672 and 1673 the communal accounts mention that fruit, hay and oats were
delivered to the fortress of Philippsbourg, occupied by the French troops. A
first group of residents is working there on forced labor (fröhner), then a
second group was sent to work in Philippsburg (die andere rott burger nach
Philippsburg zu frohn gemüsst), and a third group some time later, causing an
expense of 36 florins.
In
1673 and 1674, the accounts refer that the troops of Marshall Turenne are
lodged in the village for two days (die Turennische völckher) causing an
expenditure of 15 florins 8 sous. A short time later, the Prince of Condé
spends a night with his troops and drinks wine for 15 florins. Several times
the French troops go to billet [camp/lodge] in Soufflenheim and this is
expensive. The following years, the Imperial troops invade Alsace, but the area
of Soufflenheim is not affected, until Marshal Turenne is victorious over the
Imperials and Brandeburgers in the battle of Turckheim (January 1675), obliging
these armies to cross the Rhine in a hasty retreat. Then the region is occupied
by French troops, who in 1677 set the city of Haguenau on fire. After the peace
of Nimègue (1678) Alsace is bound more strictly to the Kingdom of France,
especially after the annexation of Strasbourg in 1681. The troops are still
lodging there, and the headquarters are in Soufflenheim in 1680, causing damage
there (als das Hauptquartier zu Sufflenheim gestandten, für das fourage un
erlitten schaden empfangen 20 florins) [as the headquarters were in
Soufflenheim and needed foraging and caused damage, received: 20 florins].
A
new war bursts out between Louis the XIV and the Empire, named the League of
Augsburg War (1688-1697) and is a new trial for the village.
From
1690 the communal accounts mention the many obligations due by the village. At first
were the military supplies sent to the fortresses of Philippsburg and mainly
Fort-Louis, built on order of Louis the XIV, according to the drafts of Vauban.
Then the winter garrison of the troops, swallowing the finances of the
villages. The Salva Guardia (sauvegarde)[safeguard], the troop to protect the
communal goods, spends over 120 florins in a year. Then the expenditure of 30
sacks of oats sent to "Monsieur le General" in Beinheim: over 100
florins worth. Then 27 carriages are driven to Fort Louis for the
transportation of goods. A new winter quarter costs 1226 florins; the
furnishing to the Rhine companies (zu den Companien am Rhein): 53 florins. The
soldiers, the foragers (fouragschirer), commandeer food and plunder the church
and houses (die kirch und heiser beraubt).
In
1691 and 1692, to supplement the money necessary for the winter quarters, the
creation of a militia by the government is the occasion of new expenditures.
The Schultheiss and Heimburger make the trip to Haguenau concerning the volunteers
(frey willingen) and pay the necessary price for the horses and cloths
(monture) for these men, allotted among the single men in the village. Again
more oats are sent to Fort-Louis, and straw and foraging to Wissembourg.
In
the following years the military expenditures remain very high, to pay for the
10 companies on the Rhine, for the soldiers passing by, and for the safeguard
(170 florins). For the maintenance of the militia are bought stockings, gloves,
jackets, and bags (over 100 florins in year 1695; more than 120 florins in year
1696; and over 150 florins in year 1697). Supplies in straw and oats to be sent
to Fort Louis and Surbourg cost 177 florins. The endless military requirements
makes the population anxious, as they are obliged to make very important
sacrifices.
The
Treaty of Ryswick [1697] is welcomed with huge relief by the villagers of
Northern Alsace. But the peace does not last long. In 1701 the War of the
Spanish Succession bursts out. It will lead to a dangerous situation in the
region and will be followed by considerable devastation and impoverishment.
Soufflenheim is badly touched and undergoes important damage, occupied now and
then by the French, the German or enemy, according to the accounts whose report
is made regularly to the French authority in Haguenau or in Strasbourg.
In
1702, Prince Louis de Bade takes Wissembourg and Landau, marches up to the
Moder river and establishes his headquarters in Bischwiller. Soufflenheim is under
the occupation of the allies, and the accounts mention the expenditures for
"teutsche parthy" for the German army, providing bread to the Germans
of the area and besieging the town of Landau. The commune is required to
furnish carriages (196 florins), to pay the German safeguard, (22 florins), and
to provide Wissembourg in wine and bread (over 40 florins). In 1703 the same
important expenditures were made for the safeguard, the carriages to Landau,
bread, oats, wine, a total of 350 florins, whereas the German soldiers eat in
the four inns for an amount in meals of 170 florins. More than that, the
commune has to pay to the Germans for the prisoners required to work on the
entrenchment of Wissembourg (Allemands pour les prisonniers qui doivent
travailler aux retranchements de Wissembourg) and for the burghers made
prisoners in Lauterbourg (180 florins), for the safeguard of the village: 244
florins. The commune is obliged to pay 300 florins for the freedom of poor
prisoners, and to send men to forced labor (fröhner) in Landau (145 florins),
and to provide firewood and candles to the Germans in Wissembourg (30 florins).
Finally, Marshal Villars beats the Germans back across the Rhine borders.
In
1704 the allies invade Northern Alsace again, and make way to Haguenau, which
surrenders. Fort-Louis is besieged. Marshall Villars tries to resist the lines
at Haguenau and to prevent the loss of Fort-Louis. In December 1704,
Soufflenheim is requested to provide forage and victuals to the Germans (429
florins) In January and February of 1705 they provided large sums, nearly 1200
florins, as well as furnishing wood, meat, oats, wheat. The cost for the
Schultheiss who was made a prisoner in Seltz amounted to 30 florins. In these
worst periods of 1705, the two bells were sent to Bischwiller for safekeeping.
In
1706 and 1707 the region is relieved by the French and Fort-Louis is
disentangled. But for Soufflenheim, expenditures remain important. Safeguard,
winter quarters, officers and supplies continue to cost just as much, and these
expenses continue in 1707and 1708. The German danger is avoided in 1708, but
war goes on. Soufflenheim is still under occupation of troops. It is only in
1709, a cold and miserable year, that the expenditures start diminishing. But
as always (in 1710) the safeguard must be paid as well as the winter quarters.
Expenses for candles, salt, butter and meat are required by hussard officers,
and reach more than 500 florins, especially to Monsieur de Ferrette, Colonel of
the hussard company (170 florins) and his Commander (Capitaine), working on the
fortifications (40 florins). In 1711, the military expenditures still remain
important and amount to more than 1500 florins.
Is
it surprising that in 1707 the commune needs to borrow money? In this year, she
borrows 300 florins from Isaac Heysch, 177 florins from Christian Moser, and
400 florins from Daniel Hug, which will need reimbursing in the rents in 1708
and 1709.
In
the following years the situation improves, but still requires major
contributions; in 1712 the winter quarters cost 170 florins, and in
1713 cost 347 florins. Moreover, the safeguard requires nearly 350
florins. But "when the army has passed" the expenditures for soldiers
are 373 florins. In 1714 the winter quarters need 440 florins. Happily, the
treaty’s of Utrecht in 1713 and of Rastatt in 1714 put an end to this long war
which has exhausted the whole country.
The
sacrifices have been very important. Indeed, Soufflenheim had not to grieve
over victims, nor undergone destruction’s. But the village has suffered from
the occupation of enemy troops, requesting all type of supplies, constant
forced labor, and much money. And the situation is not better when the French
come back. From year to year, the impoverished village had to find important
royal taxes. And never was exempted from them! One wonders how the population,
with hard farming on fields for subsistence, could suffer all these expenses.
The village is much poorer, and the wars of Louis the XIV during the last years
of his reign were a considerable trial.
The
communal accounts give many indications about religious life, because the
commune assumed all expenditures for the church, the priests in charge, and the
celebrations. In 1664 lime is bought to repair the bell-tower. Processions take
place during the year: Around the ban on the 1st of May; with cross and banners
to Marienthal. Upon there return, the priest and the civil authorities that
took part in the celebration, the choir and the banner bearers, take a meal
that the commune pays for. The dime is set on auction (1665-1666). This is
mentioned as early as 1660. The vicarage needed repairs. A dispute on the
subject placed the commune of Soufflenheim in opposition to the dime
collectors, who as they collected dime, were in charge of the repairs to
religious buildings (7). At this time the dime was granted in part to the
vicar, to the church council, and to the noblemen de Huffel and Steincallenfels
(8). Later there is no further mention. In the 18th century some precise
information will be given. In 1662 the church owned 22 fields (Acker), and the
vicarage consisted of a house, a barn and stables.
During
the years 1664-1665 Soufflenheim still had no vicar. But the parish life was
well organized. The processions are a proof of this. The Jesuit fathers in
Haguenau read mass, or sometimes the Capucin fathers did so. In Christmas of
1665 it is interesting to note that a play is organized (probably the play
of Nativity), and the young persons who participate are offered a meal (als uf
Weihnachten das Spill gehalten, ist von den jungen Gesellen verzehrt 4 sous 3
deniers) [on occasion of the Christmas play has been offered to the young
persons a meal paid 4 sous, 3 deniers]. The organization of the Christmas play
is typical of the Jesuit religious action.
The
same year, the Schultheiss and church bedel (kirchenschaffner) go to Haguenau
to meet the father (Rector) to discuss about a vicar for the parish. The town
account mentions that the parish is looked after by Jesuits who now ask fees
therefore. They also mention that the Capucin fathers eventually read mass.
Those too get paid therefore, but finally leave. So a vicar now is installed,
and is in charge of religious ceremonies and processions around the ban and to
Marienthal. He receives a small payment: 8 florins in 1667 and 15 florins in
1662. For the small dime he receives 15 florins (1666). Other processions lead
to the convent of Koenigsbruck, same on St. Wendelin’s day, saint patron of
shepherds and cattle, already celebrated in old times. In 1668 another play
takes place, to honor Saint Joseph, and a meal is offered to the young persons
who participated. The veneration of Saint Joseph is more vivid since this
period.
In
1669 the remuneration paid to the vicar is fixed at 30 florins. At Christmas he
receives a compensation for having made a crib. In 1670 a benediction of cattle
is mentioned. On Saint Sebastian’s day, the vicar who celebrated a solemn
office receives bread and wine. There is also mention of a fund for the
sanctuary that holds accounts (heiligen rechnung). At the same time, the
commune buys some tiles for the bell-tower.
In
1671, Ascencion’s Day is celebrated in a brilliant service. Afterwards, the
authorities spend 4 florins 5 sous. On St John’s Day, and on All Saints Day the
vicar receives wine (for communion and blessing). One more time a play is
organized, those who took part receive payment in wine. This is the time after
the Thirty Years War, a disaster in religious life. Restoration of Catholicism
is very actively pursued by Jesuits and Capucin fathers, and also by the vicars
who re-awaken religious life and restore faith with solemn celebrations and
many festival days; pilgrimage, processions, even scenic plays of religious
character. The yearly processions are regularly cited: the 1st of May,
Rogations Day (around the ban), the one leading to Keonigsbruck, the one
leading to Schirrhein, the very solemn Corpus Christi day, and the procession
or pilgrimage to Marienthal.
In
1680 the religious account (heiligen Rechnung) is presented by the accounter
(heiligen Meyer or heiligenpfleger) in charge of the prebende of Our
Holy Lady and St. Wendelin funds (unser lieben frawen und sankt Wendelin
pfrundt geld). These accounts are receipts and expenditures of the religious
accounts. The receipts name the contributions due by the people of Soufflenheim
asked to pay this fee: 64 names figure on it, this is the oldest list of the
residents paying their share, 1 or 2 florins sometimes, more often 3, 5 or 7,
up to 10 sous, or part in wheat. The total receipts amount to 107 florins 4
sous. The expenditure concerns all that has been paid during the past year for
the church: services, oil, incense, candles, eternal lamp, alms, offices on Eastern
(ostertauff), Corpus Christi, Whitsun, expenses for wine and for meals that
follow these ceremonies, and also emoluments to those who assisted the account
reading: the Schultheiss, the bailiff, and the scribe, also the sacristan who
creates the figures of the Christmas crib out of baked clay: this is a
characteristic of Soufflenheim. This account is rendered on the 11th March 1681
in the presence of the vicar (H. Robert Biehler), of the Schultheiss, and of
the new and former church accounter. This last man goes to Haguenau with the
Schultheiss to the Chancellery to take an oath. The importance of this prebend
is attested by the presence of bailliff and scribe.
In
the following years the same processions are still mentioned: to Marienthal,
Koenigsbruck, round the ban, and to Schirrhein, whereas people from Schirrhein
come in procession to Soufflenheim on Rogations week. Repairs to the bell-tower
are necessary. In 1682 a shingle roofer works for 105 florins on the
bell-tower. In the graveyard is a large crucifix which needs new paint. In 1682
the Capucins fathers give their blessing to the cattle, a very common custom in
Alsace. A new vicar comes in 1683. His name is not known.
In
1685 the commune pays for a new chasuble. To brilliantly celebrate Corpus Christi
Day, powder is bought for gun shots, a custom still in use to this day in some
places. A small bell is bought, and the Heimburger goes to Seltz to purchase
it. Some more chasubles are bought and new banners, especially a red one,
because in this year the general vicar of the bishopric came to visit the
parish.
In
1690 the parish welcomes a new vicar. The processions go on as usual, one of
them to Roeschwoog. The church needs repairs; tiles are bought in 1693 for the
roof, and in 1698 tiles, boards and stained glass windows. The vicar receives
30 florins a year. Later, he will receive 60.
In
1700 the pulpit is repaired by a joiner from Beinheim for 43 florins. Other
repairs are necessary. The authorities know this, but the war means that the
repairs cannot be made. In 1714 soldiers, and even officers, take part in the
repairs of the church and receive 30 florins for their time. Other persons also
work on it and receive 39 florins. The stained glass windows are also repaired,
and a bell is bought (295 florins); 108 florins are spent for the clock and for
its solemn blessing.
In
these times of wars and crisis, there is no more mention of Christmas plays nor
of a crib.
In
the first communal accounts, the schoolmaster (schulmeister) is already
mentioned. In 1665-1666 the former schoolmaster is dismissed and replaced by a
new master agreed to by both the Schultheiss and the Heimburger. So proving
that the school existed for some years before this. The salary of the new
schoolteacher is partly in money; 8 florins, and partly in agricultural goods;
4 sacks of wheat and 3 measures, which later is just paid in money. This
schoolmaster stays for twenty years, his name is not given.
In
1683 the accounts mention a new schoolmaster. In 1693 they mention the same
schoolteacher. From 1699 he is named as in French, "Mestre
d’école". He teaches in a house that the commune has designated for this
purpose and called a school house (Schulhaus). Nothing is known on what is
taught, nor on the number of pupils. We know just that he teaches students to
read, write, count and sing.
In
1701 he receives a salary of 14 florins and 6 measures of wheat or 30 florins
value. In 1702 the cost of repairs to the school house amount to 130 florins.
Each year his salary is mentioned, money and cereals. He is also in charge of
the clock.
The
schoolmasters stay for years and it is very interesting to note that just after
the Thirty Years War, Soufflenheim already had a schoolmaster and kept him
without interruption until the last years of the 17th century. So we may well
assume that the village already had a school in the beginning of the century,
and even in the 16th century.
Potters are mentioned just a few times in the 17th century. In 1682, the Court of Jus