In the middle of the 13th century, Obernai freed itself from the monastic tutelage of Saint Odile and her father to become a city with the support of the Hohenstaufen. This allowed it to erect fortifications, to have its own judicial and fiscal organization, and to hold a market and fairs.
It was only during the following century that the municipal organization was put in place, within a Decapolis resulting from the coalition of the nine other imperial cities of Alsace: Wissembourg, Haguenau, Rosheim, Sélestat, Kaysersberg, Colmar, Turckheim, Munster and Mulhouse. The primary objective was to free the city from the authority of the Emperor's delegate while neutralizing the influence of the numerous nobles of the city.
The 16th century was the golden age of the development of the city of Oberno: crafts and wine production were prosperous and exported. The Renaissance left its architectural mark on the Town Hall (1523 and 1610), the Corn Exchange (1554), the Belfry - Kapellturm and the Well with Six Buckets (1579) and many private buildings.
During the Thirty Years' War, which ravaged the region, the city was occupied and ransomed. Following the treaties of Westphalia in 1648, Louis XIV annexed the ten cities of the Decapolis to the Crown of France in 1679. Obernai became a royal city and lost its autonomy.
The 18th century was again a prosperous period. After the Revolution, the history of Obernai merges with that of Alsace. During the 19th century, the urban landscape underwent decisive transformations: the city gates were destroyed, roads and railroads were developed. Obernai was annexed to Germany in 1871.
The turn of the 20th century was marked by a new period of modernization. Spared by the destruction of the Second World War, despite the incorporations of force to which the Mont National Memorial bears witness, the town experienced a remarkable economic and tourist boom from the 1960s onwards. In twenty years, its population doubled and Obernai became an important employment area.
Type
Tourist areas : Route des vins
SVG coordinates : 915,634
