Thann, Haut-Rhin

French commune
nomcommune=Thann
View of Thann, Haut-Rhin, France
région=Alsace
département=Haut-Rhin
arrondissement=Thann
canton=Thann (chief town)
insee=68334
cp=68800
maire= Jean-Pierre Baeumler
mandat=2001-2008
intercomm=C.C. du Pays de Thann
longitude=7.10527777778 |latitude=47.8072222222
alt moy=343 m
alt mini=328 m
alt maxi=922 m
hectares=1,251
km²=12.51
sans=8,033
date-sans=1,999
dens=642.1
date-dens=1999

Thann is a commune and a sub-prefecture of the Haut-Rhin "département", in France. In 2003, the population of Thann was estimated at 8,145. In French, its inhabitants are known as "thannois" (feminine "thannoise")

Geography

Thann is situated at the foot of the Vosges mountains, at the mouth of the valley of the Thur River. The Thur runs through the middle of the town.

Demographic evolution

Transport

; Road Network:Thann is 43km from Colmar and 21km from Mulhouse. The town is also well situated for the French autoroute network such as the A35 and A36.

The RN66 ("Route Nationale 66") passes through Thann, providing an east-west route between Mulhouse and Epinal.

; Rail network :
* Thann and the Thur valley is served by regular TER trains on a branch line running from Mulhouse to Kruth.
* from 2011, it is planned that Thann will be directly linked to the public transport network of Mulhouse via a new tram-train service.

Architectural heritage

Despite sustaining heavy damage in World War I and World War II, Thann contains several old buildings and monuments of significance.

; La Collégiale Saint-Thiébaut:

Situated in the centre of the old town, the church known as the "Collégiale" is good example of the style of gothic architecture that flourished in the Rhine valley in the late middle ages. The Cathedrals of Strasbourg and Freiburg in Germany are also built in a similar style.

The building owes its name "La collégiale" to the college of monks who moved to Thann from the nearby town of Saint-Amarin in 1442. Construction of the collégiale tooke more than 200 years, from the end of the 13th Century into the 15th Century, and was completed in 1516 with the 78m tall spire.

For an extensive study of the Thann collegiate church, circumstances of its erection, issues of patronage, and unique sculptural programs, see Assaf Pinkus, Workshops and Patrons of St. Theobald in Thann (Waxmann Verlag: Muenster, Berlin, New York, 2006).

; La Tour des Sorcières (The Witches' Tower)

This was a tower in the old town walls, and built in 1411. The bulbous roof dates from 1628. Today the interior houses a museum dedicated to winemaking.

; Le Château de l'Engelbourg (Engelbourg Castle):

The ruins of the Engelbourg Castle sit on a hill to the north of the old town. The castle was constructed in the 13th century by the Counts of Ferrette to control the entrance to the valley and ensure the paying of tolls by those wishing to cross the Vosges by way of the Thur valley and the col de Bussang. The castle was destroyed on the orders of Louis XIV. During demolition, one of towers overturned and cracked into sections, one of which forms a large stone ring known locally today as The Witch's Eye ("L'oeil de la sorcière").

Education

The town is served by 4 "écoles maternelles"; 3 "écoles élémentaires"; 2 "collèges" (Collège Charles Walch and Collège Rémy Faesch); and 2 "lycées" (Lycée Professionel Charles Pointet and [http://www.lyceescheurerkestner.fr | Lycée Scheurer-Kestner] ).

The "collèges" and "lycées" in Thann provide secondary education for pupils living in the surrounding rural areas, particularly the Thur valley.

Tourism

* Thann is the southern terminus of the route des Vins d'Alsace. The northern side of the town is overlooked by the Rangen vineyard, one of the few vineyards in Alsace to be classed "grand cru"
* Thann is well situated for access to the Parc naturel régional des Ballons des Vosges

People

* Ernst Robert Curtius
* Jean-Baptiste-Joseph Gobel

Twin towns

* - Gubbio, Italy
* - Tonneins, France

External links

* [http://www.ville-thann.fr Official site of Thann town council (in French)]
* [http://www.ot-thann.fr Tourist Office of the Pays de Thann (in French)]