Boofzheim

Boofzheim Boofze
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Coat of arms of Boofzheim Coat of arms
Boofzheim
Location within Alsace region Boofzheim
Coordinates:
Country	France
Region	Alsace-Champagne-Ardenne-Lorraine
Department	Bas-Rhin
Arrondissement	Sélestat-Erstein
Canton	Erstein
Intercommunality	Rhin
Government
• Mayor (2008–2014)	Eric Klethi
Area1	11.94 km2 (4.61 sq mi)
Population (2006)2	1,201
• Density	100/km2 (260/sq mi)
INSEE/Postal code	67055 / 67860
Elevation	155–161 m (509–528 ft)
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries. 2 Population without double counting: residents of multiple communes (e.g., students and military personnel) only counted once.

Boofzheim is a commune in the Bas-Rhin department in Alsace-Champagne-Ardenne-Lorraine in north-eastern France. Its name is probably derived from the French "bœuf" (bull or ox). Variants of the name include Boofi - Boffesheim - Bofftsheim - Boffsheim - Bototzheim - Booftzheim - Booffzheim.

History

It is said that, from the fifteenth century the village belonged to the Mieg family. In 1545 they introduced the Protestant Reformation into the village and the village church of St Etienne was turned into a Protestant chapel.

According to another source, Sebastian Mieg (Mueg), from a Strasbourg merchant family, bought half of Boofzheim in 1567 from the Abbess of St Etienne and built a castle on the land. This castle was burnt down by the Swedes in 1636 and was rebuilt in 1642. It was to the east of the Catholic Church, but no trace remains today. Église Saint-Étienne de Boofzheim was last built in 1684.

From 1687 to 1854 the Church was shared by Protestants and Catholics, after which the Protestants built their own church and St Etienne's was given back to the Catholics. In 1852 there were 953 Protestants and 200 Catholics in the village.

See also

• Communes of the Bas-Rhin department

References

• INSEE commune file