Riquewihr

French commune
nomcommune=Riquewihr
Main street of Riquewihr
région=Alsace
département=Haut-Rhin
arrondissement=Ribeauvillé
canton=Kaysersberg
insee=68277
cp=68340
maire=Jean Buttighoffer
mandat=2001-2008
intercomm=Communauté de communes
de Ribeauvillé et environs
longitude=7.29777777778
latitude=48.1672222222
alt moy=295 m
alt mini=230 m
alt maxi=936 m
hectares=1,704
km²=17.04
sans=1,212
date-sans=1999
dens=71
date-dens=1999

Riquewihr ( _de. Reichenweier) is a village and commune in Alsace. A popular tourist attraction for its historical architecture. Riquewihr is the jewel in Alsace - famous for the Riesling and other great wines produced in the village. Riquewihr looks today more or less as it did in the 16th Century. Riquewihr is a wonderful little medieval city hidden between mountain and vineyards. Although in a very preserved area, Riquewihr is only 7 miles from Colmar and minutes from other famous alsatian villages like Ribeauvillé, Hunawihr, Eguisheim or Kaysersberg. Riquewihr had a population of 1,212 in 1999.

History

Originally the property of the Dukes of Württemberg, the town was converted to Protestantism in the 16th century. Historically, Reichenweiher served as a Winzerdorf or "wine village" as a trading hub for Alsatian and German wine.

ights

The town is surrounded by its medieval fortifications and is overlooked by a castle from the same period that is today a museum.

Riquewihr was one of the few towns in the area not to be badly damaged during World War II.

There is a museum about Alsace during World War II and a torture chamber ("La salle de torture").

Press Review

Within the town’s well-preserved walls, are tight alleys and uneven streets void of cars, with the exception of the few natives’ vehicles, town’s people who live in charming half-timbered homes, each one a different hue of the rainbow. Yes colorful dwellings not just the typical off white plaster straw and dark beamed homes of European medieval villages one sees on TV. Riquewihr‘s homes and stores range in light shades of baby blue, pale yellow, mauve, faded turquoise and light green. Their steep roofs bump against one another like unevenly aligned town houses, with tall chimneys, raised from the tiled roofs upon which roost storks, a hallmark of the Alsacian region. Within these alluring buildings operate a myriad of businesses, from wineries, French cuisine, jewelry and pewter and pottery stores, tourist shops, bakeries, bars and clothing boutiques, all of which sell some shape or form a traditional icon of the Alsacian region. There is no shortage of bed and breakfasts in Riquewihr, which are quaint and reasonably priced. "Michael J. Meese" [http://www.oconus.com/Main/eArticle.asp?205 Read full article about Riquewihr]

Riquewihr is certainly the object of an enchantment which lasts for centuries. Its layout and structure have not changed since the Middle Ages, and every piece of architecture is miraculously preserved. If today’s Riquewihr resembles the Middle Age town so much it is because people have not changed much either, for they have the same lifestyle and their existence revolves around the industry of winemaking. It is the aroma of this particular wine that you smell in every ‘Winstub” of the main street. Wine is everywhere and everything in Riquewihr and may be the cause of the enchantment. "George Kassianos, wine expert Cyprus".

If there’s a more delightful prospect anywhere in Europe than the Alsace wine route, I’d like to hear about it. I mean, consider: we have, first, the Vosges mountains — rounded, forested and with just enough drama to give matters an edge. Up top, castles look out from craggy summits, their sting now drawn. Down below, vineyards unfurl right to the gates of villages whose half-timbered streets tell tales stretching back to the middle ages. - "James Preston, Sunday Times, JAN 7, 2007" [http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/travel/article1265041.ece The flavour of vintage Alsace]

External links

* [http://www.riquewihr.fr/index2.htm/ Official website of the municipality, in French]
* [http://www.ribeauville-riquewihr.com/ Tourism office website]
* [http://www.i-love-riquewihr.com Romantic holiday apartments in the ramparts]
* [http://www.hotel-le-riquewihr.com/ Hotel le Riquewihr]