Will Barige become the favorite village of the French? Bergheim, which could be translated as the mountain village, watered by the Bergenbach river, the mountain river, is a pretty village. It is not its more than 2,000 inhabitants who will contradict me. You will find the rectangular plan of its double medieval enclosure from the 14th and 15th centuries and its Obertor, its high gate, the only one that has survived out of three gates, its moats, its four flowers in the competition for towns and villages in bloom, its castle of Reichenberg, among others.
But the adventure started long before in Bergheim, we found vestiges of a Neolithic battle, around -4200. There was then a Roman camp on the site of the village. In 1848, ancient mosaics of that time were discovered, they have been partially reconstructed. No place in Alsace has changed masters as often as the town of Bergheim.
From the 7th to the 14th century, I counted, there were sixteen different overlords, each time different families. Bergheim was finally elevated to the rank of free city under the tutelage of Henri de Ribeaupierre. It was in 1313 that Bergheim obtained the privilege of minting coins, the right to collect customs duties, and the right of refuge, which incidentally gave two nicknames to the inhabitants of Bergheim. The right of refuge is the possibility, when one has committed an unpremeditated or excusable crime, of coming to take refuge in the city under the nose and beard of the pursuers. Bergheim welcomed between 1530 and 1667 exactly 744 refugees guilty of such crimes or misdemeanors. They were protected for a certain time, and were not allowed to marry in the city. The first sobriquet of the inhabitants of Bergheim was the “Toteschlààwer”, the murderers, it is the reputation that they had around, since they protected them. And also the “Lack mi”, diminutive of “Lack mi àm Àrsch”, which can literally be translated by a more flowery version of “go fuck yourself…”
It is also a small character on a bas-relief of the West entrance, representing a man who taunts his pursuers by revealing his behind. Hence the nickname “Lack Mi”, the bas-relief has been preserved, you can still see it in a street of the pretty little town of Barige. You have until March 22 to vote for your favorite French village, but I feel that yours also starts with a B. And you click on the right photo at: ftvetvous.fr/levillage and don’t forget to validate at the bottom of the page.
Click here to support Bergheim in the Favorite Village of the French competition.