contact usDambach, drawing by Matthias Merian, 1644.
Origins During the Gallo-Roman period, there was an estate on the site of Dambach. The name Dambach,Tambacum, finishing with -acum, suggests that the village has roman origins.Tambacum was given to the church of Strasbourg in around 1029. The bishop of Strasbourg decided to use this site as a fortress and the base for his attacks on his rival, the Lord of Bernstein, whose castle was situated on the mountain above Dambach. In the middle of the 12th century, he forced the inhabitants of several small villages in the area (the old parishes of Altenwiller and Oberkirch) to move into the city surrounded by thick granite walls which he built in this intention. The bishop finally succeeded in conquering the castle of Bernstein a few years later, in 1227.
The walls around Dambach were extended progressively, at least 3 times. The final construction, which you can still visit when you come to Dambach, has been built in 1323. The date can still be seen on the gate towards east, the "porte d'Ebersheim". The thick wall was guarded day and night and the four gates were shut for the night.
Organisation of the medieval city The village was organised into 6 communities, and each one was commanded by a burgomaster, or "Burgermeister" who organised the defence of the quarter. The village council obeyed the bishop's bailiff. In the old regulations of the city of 1464 and 1562 which Yvette read, one of the main subjects is the organisation of the wine-trade. The most important was selling the wine which was -and still is nowadays- the main part of the local economy. The coopers formed a very important trade guild (about 20 families in Dambach). They made the casks, but also helped the winegrowers in their cellar with the wine-making. Sometimes a buyer came from outside the village with his carriage and horses to buy some wine from the vinegrowers. The cooper on duty in the market place rang the town hall bell to call the wine producers home from the vineyards. The local wine broker guided the buyer to the cellars and had him taste the wines.
St Sebastian Chapel
loading of wine from the cellar to the carriage with a hod carried on the back. Dambach, first half of the 20th century
There is a bear on the arms of Dambach: the castle of "Bernstein", the "stone of the bear" in Alsatian dialect, perches on the mountain above the village.
back to the english home pageThe ramparts of Dambach have seen a lot of action. The most well-known occasions were: - The attack of the "Armagnacs" in 1444, during which the future king Louis the XIth was wounded. Louis washed his wound at a spring in the vineyards (near to our vineyard of Sylvaner, close to the northern remparts). The bishop of Strasbourg had to give Louis two beautifully harnessed horses as a gift for saving his village. - The 30 years war from 1618 to 1648: Dambach was besieged and held by the swedish army. Every week the inhabitants had to pay a tax in wine or money to preserve their village. Many people died from the war and diseases. The fields and vineyards were abandoned. At the end of the war, all the land register had to be re-drafted.
the south-east corner of the rempart
pilgrimage of St Sebastian on 20 January
back to french home pageRecent history Another difficult period was the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century, when phylloxera overtook the vineyards. This was a disaster for all the wine producers, as all their vine stocks had to be torn out. The wine growers who chose to keep their previous grape varieties had to learn how to graft them onto a resistant stock. The first industry appeared at the end of the 19th century. First they made brushes and cigars, than hosiery. Now the socks factory "LABONAL" is still working in Dambach. Nowadays Dambach is a very important and dynamic wine-growing village in Alsace and many people earn their living from vines and wine: about 50 independant wine growers, 6 large wine merchants and a cooperative.
The history of Dambach has always been interwoven with that of the vineyards and their wine: the main activity in the village.
Florian Beck-Hartweg's winery history of Dambach
Later Dambach became French under King Louis XIV. The french royal administration controled Alsace and collected the taxes.The inhabitants, who spoke Alsatian dialect and wrote in German, had to learn french. The french Revolution This was the passage from the ancient to the new regime, a period difficult to live. In Dambach, some people knew the ideas of french revolution and agreed with them. They hoped, to pay less taxes and to live better after the revolution. Others didn'nt agree with the unrespect of the King and of the religion. 30 inhabitants of Dambach, who refused to accept the sale of the church's goods by the revolutionaries, put together the money to buy St Sebastian Chapel and founded the "St Sebastian brotherhood". This brotherhood exists today and its members are responsible for the maintenance of the chapel.
our vineyards and our cellar welcome actualities 2015 the vine-growers family our vineyards, the way, we are working the wines of our vineyards, Grand Cru FRANKSTEIN, our Terroir available wines press and wine-guides how to visit our cellar order and information by e-mail the 2014 grape-picking our vineyards environment the granite of Dambach, geology flowers of granite, botany history of Dambach Bernstein, a granite castle links to friend websites Video vineyards
If you are interested to know more about Dambach history, this book is available in some shops in Dambach. It is written in french. Yvette is one of the authors.