Kutzenhausen is a commune in the Bas-Rhin department in Grand Est in north-eastern France.
Kutzenhausen lies to the south of Wissembourg, but still within the Northern Vosges Regional Nature Park ().This commune is located in the historic and cultural region of Alsace.
Geography
Location The commune is 2.3 km from Soulz-sous-Forêts, 2.6 from Merkwiller-Pechelbronn, 5.8 from Lobsann and 6.5 from Surbourg.
The locality is part of the Outre-Forêt nature reserve.
Geology and relief Commune member of the Northern Vosges Regional Nature Park.
Geological formations in the commune present at outcrop or subsurface level.
High point: Grand Wintersberg.
Seismicity The commune is located in a moderate seismicity zone.
Hydrography The commune is located in the Rhine catchment area within the Rhine-Meuse basin. It is drained by the Seltzbach stream, the Froeschwillerbach stream and the Sumpfgraben stream..
The Seltzbach, which is 33 km long, rises in the commune of Gœrsdorf and flows into the Sauer at Seltz, after passing through 14 communes.
Climate In 2010, the commune's climate was classified as that of the Montargnard margins, according to a study by the French National Centre for Scientific Research, based on a series of data covering the period 1971–2000. In 2020, Météo-France published a typology of climates in mainland France in which the commune is exposed to a semi-continental climate and is in a transition zone between the ‘Vosges’ and ‘Alsace’ climatic regions..
For the period 1971–2000, the average annual temperature was 10.6°C, with an annual temperature range of 17.8°C. The average cumulative annual rainfall is 820 mm, with 10.6 days of precipitation in January and 10.2 days in July. For the period 1991–2020, the average annual temperature recorded at the nearest Météo-France weather station, in the commune of Preuschdorf, 4 km away, was 11.3°C, and the average annual total rainfall was 834.2 mm. The maximum temperature recorded at this station was 39.8°C, reached on 4 July 2015; the minimum temperature was -19.9°C, reached on 8 January 1985...
The commune's climate parameters have been estimated for the middle of the century (2041–2070) according to different greenhouse gas emission scenarios based on the new DRIAS-2020 reference climate projections.. They can be consulted on a dedicated website published by Météo-France in November 2022..
Communications and transport
Roads Situated between Soultz-sous-Forêts and Merkwiller-Pechelbronn, it is crossed by the D 28 departmental road.
D 52 towards Soultz-sous-Forêts. D 28 towards Merkwiller-Pechelbronn, Dieffenbach-lès-Woerth.
Public transport
Transport in Alsace. Fluo Grand Est.
SNCF
Soultz-sous-Forêts station, Hoelschloch station, Hoffen station, Walbourg station, Hunspach station.
Neighbouring communes
Lobsann (North) Soultz-sous-Forêts (East) Surbourg (South) Merkwiller-Pechelbronn (South West) Lampertsloch (North West)
Intercommunality Commune member of the Sauer-Pechelbronn community of communes.
Town planning
Typology As of 1 January 2024, Kutzenhausen is classified as a rural town, according to the new seven-level communal density grid defined by INSEE in 2022.. It is located outside an urban unit. The commune is also part of the Haguenau catchment area, of which it is an outlying commune. This area, which includes 34 communes, is categorised as having between 50,000 and less than 200,000 inhabitants..
Land use The commune's land use, as revealed by the European biophysical land cover database Corine Land Cover (CLC), is characterised by the importance of agricultural land (67.7% in 2018), a proportion roughly equivalent to that of 1990 (68.5%). The detailed breakdown in 2018 is as follows: arable land (56.3%), forests (23.7%), urbanised areas (8.7%), grassland (6.3%), permanent crops (5%).. The evolution of land use in the commune and its infrastructure can be seen on the various cartographic representations of the area: the Cassini map (18th century), the staff map (1820–1866) and the IGN maps or aerial photos for the current period (1950 to the present)..
Commune covered by the Pechelbronn inter-municipal local planning scheme.
Toponymy From Goten hause, a possession of the nearby abbey of Wissembourg; another Kutzenhausen was located near Drusenheim and probably owes its name to the former abbey of Arnulfsau. In the past, the abbeys were also called Goten hause, an old form spelt Chuzichusi.
History The municipality of Kutzenhausen originated from a former bailiwick and, at the beginning of the 19th century, included the towns of Niederkutzenhausen and Feldbach (now the village of Kutzenhausen), Oberkutzenhausen, Merkwiller and Hoelschloch. In 1888, these two districts formed the new commune of Merkwiller consisting of Merkwiller and Hoelschloch. Oberkutzenhausen was its own commune until the early 1790s. On 1 January 2015, Kutzenhausen was transferred from the arrondissement of Wissembourg to the arrondissement of Haguenau-Wissembourg.
In France, the first oil wells (mainly oil sands) were sunk in Kutzenhausen. Oil production, together with a refinery, continued until the 1970s.
Heraldry +Coat of armsQuarterly:
First quarter: A gold field with a black saltire Second quarter: A green field with a gold sheaf of wheat Third quarter: A green field with three silver bars Fourth quarter: A black field with a gold ploughshare positioned diagonally (bend sinister) with the point facing upwardDetails
Politics and administration List of mayors From 1797 to 1888 (including Merkwiller and Hoelschloch) NameTerm of officeTime in officePolitical PartyNotesStartEndJean Georges Eyer4 April 17971797Less than a yearIndependentJean Michel Pfitzinger18 September 179730 March 1798IndependentInterim mayorChrétien Weiss30 March 1798180810 yearsIndependentJacques Wolff1808183022 yearsIndependentChrétien Pfitzinger183018311 yearIndependentMichel Hey1831185221 yearsIndependentAntoine Haller185218553 yearsIndependentGeorges Pfitzinger185518605 yearsIndependentJacques Wolff186011 October 187010 yearsIndependentDied in officeFrédéric Roessel1870188818 yearsIndependent
1888–present (current territory) PortraitNameTerm of officeTime in officePolitical PartyNotesStartEndFrédéric Roessel18885 septembre 18946 yearsIndependentDied in officeGeorges Wagner1894 or 1895190611 yearsIndependent1906191711 yearsIndependent191719247 yearsIndependent1924194420 yearsIndependent19451945Less than a yearIndependent1946March 1971 25 yearsIndependentMarch 1971March 198918 yearsIndependentMarch 198928 March 201425 yearsIndependent28 March 201420 March 2026Independent20 March 2026PresentIndependent
List of First Deputy Mayors since 1977 PortraitNameTerm of officeTime in officePolitical PartyNotesStartEndMarch 1977March 198912 yearsIndependentArmand BraconnierMarch 1989200718 yearsIndependent200728 March 20147 yearsIndependentMarie-Louise Roth28 March 201418 May 2020IndependentPhilippe Mall18 May 202020 March 2026IndependentSerge Zeidler20 March 2026PresentIndependent
Budget and taxation 2022 In 2022, the commune's budget was made up as follows:
Total operating income: €596,000, i.e. €642 per inhabitant; Total operating expenses: €441,000, i.e. €475 per inhabitant; Total investment resources: €727,000, i.e. €783 per inhabitant; Total investment expenditure: €625,000, i.e. €672 per capita; Debt: €684,000, i.e. €736 per capita.
With the following tax rates:
Council tax: 8.50%; Property tax on built-up properties: 25.67%; Property tax on non-built-up properties: 48.00%; Additional tax on non-built property: 0%; Business property tax: 0%.
Key figures Household income and poverty in 2020: median disposable income per consumption unit in 2020: €25,020.
Economy
Business and commerce
Agriculture
Growing cereals, pulses and oilseeds. Associated crop and livestock farming.
Tourism
Traditional restaurants. Restaurants and accommodation in Merkwiller-Pechelbronn, Soultz-sous-Forêts.
Shops
Shops and services in Soultz-sous-Forêts.
Population
Demographics Source: +YearPopulationEvolution1793997N/A18001,156 15918061,310 15418211,444 13418311,559 11518361,487 7218411,370 11718461,391 2118511,297 9418561,063 23418611,040 2318661,038 218711,050 1218751,049 118801,013 3618851,062 491890692 3701895730 381900722 81905754 321910752 21921756 41926828 721931922 941936965 331946958 71954823 1351962806 171968785 211975719 661982713 61990740 271999783 432006830 472007837 72008874 372009909 352010906 32011902 42012899 32013904 52014927 232015923 42016919 42017915 42018912 32019913 12020917 42021921 42022924 32023928 4
Education Educational establishments :
Primary school. Nursery school.
Health Health professionals and establishments:
Doctors in Merkwiller-Pechelbronn, Surbourg, Soultz-sous-Forêts, Goersdorf, Durrenbach, Woerth; Pharmacies in Merkwiller-Pechelbronn, Soultz-sous-Forêts, Woerth, Lembach; Hospitals in Lobsann, Goersdorf, Wissembourg, Haguenau.
Worship
Catholic worship, Les Prairies de la Zorn parish community, diocese of Strasbourg. Protestant worship.
Twin towns Kutzenhausen, Bavaria since 31 May 1987.
Places and monuments
Religious heritage
Protestant church, rue de l'église, built between 1763 and 1765, used alternately by Protestants and Catholics until a Catholic church was built in 1905. Great organ on gallery. Orgue de l'église paroissiale Saint-Georges
Catholic church, rue des Acacias, built to plans by architect Bruno Steller between 1903 and 1905. Consecrated in 1905 by the bishop-coadjutor Zorn von Bulach, the patron saint of the church is St George. Organ on gallery.
Chapel Notre-Dame-de-la-Paix.La chapelle Notre-Dame-de-la-Paix à Oberkutzenhausen à KutzenhausenChapelle Notre-Dame-de-la-Paix (Oberkutzhausen)Historique de la chapelle d'Oberkutzenhausen The former synagogue.Ancienne synagogue Destroyed in 1940 by the Hitler Youth, the youth wing of the Nazi party, it was destroyed in 1957 because it was in danger of collapsing. War memorial: conflicts commemorated: World War I – World War II – Algerian War. Calvary.
Other heritage
Mining remains, including a wooded slag heap. The commune is home to a museum of folk arts and traditions, the Maison rurale de l'Outre-Forêt, now a heritage interpretation centre. Porch tower at no. 26 route de Soultz. Bench known as the King of Rome bench. Well known as the pendulum well.
Personalities linked to the town
Annie Boulanger, former headmistress of the Kutzenhausen school, member of the Ordre des Palmes académiques, class of 1 January 2013. Edmond Fabacher, honorary mayor of Kutzenhausen, member of the Ordre des Palmes académiques, awarded on 1 January 2008. Barbe Roth, born 5 June 1924 (age ), oldest-living person in Kutzenhausen since Marguerite Wenner's death on 25 January 2020.
Oldest living people in the town Source: RankNameAgeBirth dateSex1Barbe Roth (née Weimer)5 June 1924F2Marguerite Braeunig (née Hoeltzel)12 September 1925F3Caroline Lang (née Durban)2 July 1928F4Suzanne Stephan (née Erhart)19 August 1933F5Marie Ratzel (née Zirnheld)16 September 1934F6Joseph Heideyer2 February 1935M7Christiane Moser21 May 1935F8Bernadette Magnée (née Schweitzer)Bernadette Magnée, 90 ans https://www.dna.fr/societe/2026/03/02/bernadette-magnee-90-ans11 February 1936F
Chronological list of the oldest known living person in Kutzenhausen FromDurationNameSexAge(s) when oldestLifespan Salomé Mall N/A–9317 May 1891 – 1 December 1984 1 December 1984 Franziska Michel 93–968 June 1891 – 15 March 1988 15 March 1988 Hélène Marx 92–949 December 1895 – 25 October 1990 25 October 1990 Marie Kuhn 93–9530 January 1897 – 1 January 1993 1 January 1993 Françoise Schwartzenberger and Joséphine Schwartzenberger 91–927 December 1901 – 22 May 2007