# Bischwiller, Bas-Rhin, Alsace, France in the 1730s

> A small Alsatian textile town under Protestant princes, French sovereignty, and a mixed French-German religious life.

- Place: Bischwiller, Bas-Rhin, Alsace, France (48.768, 7.854)
- Years: 1730 to 1739
- Page: https://yorehistory.com/place/bischwiller-alsace-france/1730s
- Step into it (interactive): https://yorehistory.com/?step=Bischwiller%2C%20Bas-Rhin%2C%20Alsace%2C%20France&at=48.7683,7.8541&year=1735

## Looking around

You stand in Bischwiller, a former princely seat that belonged to the dukes of Deux-Ponts[2] but by the 1730s is no longer their capital. Near the center is the Protestant church enlarged in 1722[1], with a ducal gallery above the south transept[1] and an Andreas Silbermann organ installed in 1723[1]. Around it are households divided among French Reformed, German Reformed, and Lutheran congregations[1]. Along the old Welschgass, later Rue Française, work is tied to wool cloth, tanning, stockings, and knitting[2]. The place has been shaped by Huguenot and Walloon refugees[1], and by newer arrivals from Switzerland, Austria, and Germany[1]. On 15 August the town can fill for the Pfeifertag fair of Lower Alsatian musicians[2]. Beyond the streets are fields where Christian III encouraged oil crops, madder, and potatoes[2].

## Work: Wool and leather work

The most distinctive work was textile and wool production: refugees and their descendants helped establish a wool and textile industry in the Welschgass. The prince also favored drapery, tanning, stockings, and knitting[2].

## Faith: Three Protestant congregations

A Sunday in town is divided by language and confession: French Reformed, German Reformed, and Lutheran communities[1] shared the religious landscape. The church itself had just been enlarged, with new transepts added in 1722[1] and a Silbermann organ installed in 1723[1].

## Law & power: A princely town under France

Authority is layered: the dukes of Deux-Ponts owned Bischwiller[2], while French sovereignty had been recognized in 1680[2]. The duke’s presence is built into the church through the Herzogstuhl, a ducal gallery[1].

## In the air: Refuge and confession

The town’s arguments and identities were shaped by refuge: Huguenots and Walloons had been received here[1], and Alsace was comparatively protected because Westphalia limited royal interference in religion[1]. Confession was not only Catholic versus Protestant, but also French Reformed, German Reformed, and Lutheran[1].

## Home & table: Languages in one town

Ordinary households lived among overlapping languages: French Reformed, German Reformed, and Lutheran congregations[1] each wanted worship in its own tongue. Newcomers came not only from France but also from Switzerland, Austria, and Germany[1].

## Money: Prices still hidden

The local economy clearly included drapery, tanning, stockings, and knitting[2], but no online source found here gives wages or bread prices for the 1730s. The annual Pfeifertag fair on 15 August[2] would have been one moment when goods, credit, and strangers concentrated in town.

## Who lived here: A refugee-made town

The town’s population had been transformed by Huguenot and Walloon refugees[1]. Many came from Lorraine, the Ardennes, and Picardy, while other immigrants came from German-speaking lands[1].

## Roads & news: Strasbourg is close

Bischwiller stood within the orbit of Strasbourg, about 25 kilometres away. News and strangers also arrived through the annual fair linked to the musicians of Lower Alsace[2].

## Year by year

- **1733** (here): Christian III acquired the duchy of Deux-Ponts by succession, adding to the standing of the ruling house.[2]
- **1733** (nearby): The War of the Polish Succession began, a European conflict especially relevant in Alsace because former Polish king Stanislas Leszczynski was nearby at Wissembourg.[2]
- **1734** (here): Bischwiller lost its rank as capital of the princely house.[2]
- **1735** (here): Christian III died and Christian IV succeeded him.[2]
- **1738** (the world): The Treaty of Vienna settled the War of the Polish Succession and confirmed Stanislas Leszczynski in Lorraine, a settlement people in Alsace would have heard discussed.

## What the sources say

- Bischwiller was a possession of the dukes of Deux-Ponts; Christian III inherited the Alsatian territories in 1698 and acquired the duchy of Deux-Ponts by succession in 1733. (from the sources)[2]
- French sovereignty over Bischwiller had been recognized by the Birkenfeld-Bischwiller line for its Alsatian territories in 1680. (from the sources)[2]
- Bischwiller lost its rank as the capital of the princely house in 1734, during Christian III's rule. (from the sources)[2]
- Christian III of Birkenfeld-Bischwiller died in 1735 and was succeeded by his son Christian IV. (from the sources)[2]
- Huguenots and Walloons were received in Bischwiller from 1617, and later Huguenot refugees continued to arrive after the 1685 revocation of the Edict of Nantes. (inferred)[1]
- In this period Bischwiller's Protestants were split into French Reformed, German Reformed, and Lutheran communities, each wanting worship in its own language. (inferred)[1]
- The main Protestant church had been enlarged in 1722 with north and south transepts because the congregation had outgrown the building. (inferred)[1]
- The prince of Deux-Ponts had a ducal gallery, the Herzogstuhl, built on the first floor of the south transept in 1722. (inferred)[1]
- In 1723 the parishes bought an organ by the Strasbourg organ-builder Andreas Silbermann and installed it on a gallery in the choir. (inferred)[1]
- Catholic families in Bischwiller worshipped at the chapel of Hanhoffen rather than in the Protestant church. (inferred)[1]
- Besides Huguenots, the growing population included immigrants from German-speaking lands such as Switzerland, Austria, and Germany. (inferred)[1]
- By the 1730s Bischwiller's favored trades included drapery, tanning, stocking-making, knitting, and later tobacco manufacture. (from the sources)[2]
- Huguenots from Lorraine, the Ardennes, and Picardy were often tanners, cloth-makers, and cloth merchants, and they established a wool and textile industry in the Welschgass, later Rue Française. (inferred)
- The church kept visible reminders of princely status: several Birkenfeld family members had been buried in the church vault before the Revolution. (from the sources)[1][2]
- Since 1687 Bischwiller had the right to hold an annual fair on 15 August, Pfeifertag, linked to the gathering of the musicians of Lower Alsace. (from the sources)[2]
- Christian III encouraged the cultivation of oil crops, madder, and potatoes, the last noted locally from 1720. (from the sources)[2]
- Alsace had been relatively protected from Louis XIV's anti-Protestant religious policy because the Treaty of Westphalia obliged the king not to disturb religious affairs there. (inferred)[1]
- Bischwiller was about 25 kilometres north of Strasbourg, the chief city whose markets, administration, and news mattered to the region. (inferred)
- No online source found in this search gives a population total for Bischwiller in the 1730s. (not known)
- No online source found in this search gives ordinary wages or bread prices for Bischwiller in the 1730s. (not known)
- No online source found in this search describes the ordinary houses, street paving, or water supply of Bischwiller in the 1730s. (not known)

## Sources

1. Paroisse protestante de Bischwiller: Histoire. Paroisse protestante de Bischwiller. https://www.protestants-bischwiller.fr/p/histoire.html
2. Birkenfeld-Bischwiller. Fédération des Sociétés d’Histoire et d’Archéologie d’Alsace. https://www.alsace-histoire.org/netdba/birkenfeld-bischwiller/

## The same place in other decades

- [Bischweiler in the 1660s](https://yorehistory.com/place/bischwiller-alsace-france/1660s/md)
- [Bischwiller in the 1680s](https://yorehistory.com/place/bischwiller-alsace-france/1680s/md)
- [Bischwiller in the 1700s](https://yorehistory.com/place/bischwiller-alsace-france/1700s/md)

## Nearby, about the same time

- [Bad Dürkheim, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany in the 1710s](https://yorehistory.com/place/bad-durkheim-rhineland-palatinate-germany/1710s/md) (81 km)
- [Wachbach, Germany in the 1720s](https://yorehistory.com/place/wachbach-germany/1720s/md) (160 km)

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Researched by Yore's AI historian (gpt-5.5) on 2026-10-13 from the sources listed. It is about the place and the time, not about any person. Statements marked "inferred" are conclusions, not records. Cite as: Yore, "Bischwiller, Bas-Rhin, Alsace, France in the 1730s", https://yorehistory.com/place/bischwiller-alsace-france/1730s