Rougemont-the-Castle

Rougemont-the-castle is the chief town of one of the cantons of the department of the Territoire of Belfort. The village is located at the foot of the Vosges of the south, in extreme cases between the area of Franche-Comté and that of Alsace at the junction point of two old Roman ways of which one connected Langres to Strasbourg while skirting the Vosgean solid mass and the other came from Belfort after having crossed Offemont. Its name, in the beginning Rubromonte or Rubens Mons or Rotenberg or Rothenburg in German, is due to the color of the rock levelling at this place. In 1999 the village gathered 1198 inhabitants.

The village is crossed by the river Saint Nicolas's Day, which takes its source to 6 km in the hamlet of the same name, hamlet which depends on the commune of Rougemont-the-Castle.

History

Fine of XIe century: foundation of the priory of Saint Nicolas's Day in the valley which bears this name.
Fine of XIIe century: construction by the count de Ferrette of the castle-extremely located on a spur (Mountain of the Balls, 736m of altitude) dominating the village.
Medium of XIIIe century: fortification of the village of Rougemont and construction of the “Castle-low”. Although “located in Germany”, Jean de Ferrette is vassal of Othon, count de Bourgogne.
1295 Jean de Ferrette makes gift with his/her uncle Thiébaud of “… my châtel high of Rougemont, my châtel and my fortress located lower part the châtel high, the chatellenie…”.
1347 : Albert II of Habsbourg, archduke of Austria, inherits Rougemont and the county of Ferrette with died of his wife Jeanne de Ferrette. The seigneurery of Rougemont will remain Austrian until the end of the Guerre Thirty Year old, in 1648.
in 1350 exists a vault depending on the parish of Angeot.
Fine of XIVe century: sit and sets fire to castle-high by a band of mercenaries led by Arnaud de Cervole (known as the “Archpriest”) or by Enguerrand de Coucy. The objects found at the time of the excavations of release of the ruins carried out between 1977 and 1990 are with the Museum of History of Belfort.
1620 : to the parish of Rougemont are attached the villages of Romagny-under-Rougemont and Leval as well as the hamlet of Saint Nicolas's Day.
1696 : the stronghold of Rougemont returns to the marquis d' Huxelles.
1852 : beginning of the construction of the current church, dedicated to Saint-Pierre. Work is completed in 1868.
1870: November 2nd, at the time when the town of Belfort is invested, of the engagements take place on the road of Rougemont with Masevaux, the locality “the Field of the Forks” between the French national guards and a troop of Uhlans.
1871 : consequently from the signature of the Traité of Frankfurt signed the “French-speaking” on May 10th, Rougemont and the three other villages Leval, Petitefontaine and Romagny is detached from the canton of Masevaux to constitute what was at the time the smallest canton of France with 2681 inhabitants with the census of 1881

The XIXe century sees the village being industrialized, like the majority of those of the under-Vosgean countries located on rivers. Initially a mechanical weaving of 250 trades installed by Victor Ehrard about the middle of the century which manufactured banner but also a factory of spare parts for textile industry, hardware, iron work, small foundry, a tilery and a lime kiln towards the end of the century. The separation of the Territory of Belfort of Alsace in 1871 caused an massive arrival of Alsatian which refused the germanisation. The availability of this labor and the will of the Alsatian industrialists to keep an economic head of bridge on the French territory supported the establishment of new industries in the Territory of Belfort. In 1900 the population of the village exceeded 2300 inhabitants for a little more than 1200 in 2004.

1913 : Rougemont is connected to Belfort by the railroad of local interest. This metric gauge track which joined the line Belfort-Sentheim (Haut-Rhin) with the junction of Errues will have a key role during the conflict of 1914-1918.

In the surroundings

The vault Holy-Catherine is located close to the ruins of the castle-extremely, on the slope is valley of Saint Nicolas's Day. Many forest roads allow interesting excursions in the solid mass. The current building goes back to 1876, it replaced a vault belonging to a hermitage existing already at the 15th century. The foundations of the House of the monk and the Source Holy-Catherine are visible in the vicinity. The vault sheltered a pretty statue of Sainte Catherine dating from the 18th century out of polychrome wood. She was restored in the years 1980.

The convent of Saint Nicolas's Day, the Saint Nicolas's Day vault and the Keller Castle date from the middle of the XIXe century. They were built by Emile Keller (1828-1909) who was elected appointed of Belfort on several occasions.

The statue of the Holy-Virgin, high of ten meters was set up after the end of the Second world war and day before since the village top of the drills surrounding the commune.

Documentation

Photographs of the Old man-Castle

Bibliography: The Old Castle of Rougemont - medieval site, under the direction of Pierre Walter, with the Deval Editions in Belfort.

Random links: