Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Jul 16, 2026

Brunstatt

Brunstatt is a former commune in the Haut-Rhin department in north-eastern France. On 1 January 2016, it was merged into the new commune Brunstatt-Didenheim.

Last revised
Jul 16, 2026
Read time
≈ 3 min
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Citations
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Brunstatt
Brunstatt / Brunscht
Coat of arms of Brunstatt
Map
Location of Brunstatt
Brunstatt
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Brunstatt
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Coordinates: 47°43′26″N 7°19′24″E / 47.7239°N 7.3233°E / 47.7239; 7.3233
CountryFrance
RegionGrand Est
DepartmentHaut-Rhin
ArrondissementMulhouse
CantonBrunstatt-Didenheim
CommuneBrunstatt-Didenheim
Area
1
9.66 km2 (3.73 sq mi)
Population
 (2022)1
6,376
 • Density660/km2 (1,710/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+01:00 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+02:00 (CEST)
Postal code
68350
Elevation240–329 m (787–1,079 ft)
(avg. 245 m or 804 ft)
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

Brunstatt (French pronunciation: [bʁunʃtat]; Alsatian: Brunscht) is a former commune in the Haut-Rhin department in north-eastern France. On 1 January 2016, it was merged into the new commune Brunstatt-Didenheim.2

It is one of the southern suburbs of the city of Mulhouse, and forms part of the Mulhouse Alsace Agglomération, the inter-communal local government body for the Mulhouse conurbation.3

House of Besenval: A Swiss family, well conntected

The arms of alliance of the families de Besenval (quartered shield) and Bieliński. The horseshoe represents the Barony of Brunstatt. The silver doe represents Riedisheim and the silver mermaid Didenheim, the two other possessions of the family de Besenval in the Alsace. Engraving by Ricardo de los Ríos. source ↗

The communes of Brunstatt, Didenheim and Riedisheim once belonged to the Swiss patrician family von Besenval or de Besenval as they were called in France. The rich and powerful family from Solothurn had considerable influence at the royal court of France. A striking illustration of this is the elevation of the family de Besenval's possession of Brunstatt to a French barony by the King of France on 11 August 1726, from which the family derived the title Baron de Besenval de Brunstatt.4

Pierre Victor de Besenval de Brunstatt

One of the most prominent members of the family was Pierre Victor, Baron de Besenval de Brunstatt, a Swiss military officer in French service and a favorite of Queen Marie Antoinette. The baron received tout-Paris at his residence on the Rue de Grenelle, the Hôtel de Besenval. The hôtel particulier was also the setting for the affair known as: An Incident at the Opera Ball on Mardi Gras in 1778. The Hôtel de Besenval has housed the Embassy of the Swiss Confederation since 1938.567

See also

See also

References

References

  1. "Populations de référence 2022" [Reference populations 2022] (PDF) (in French). INSEE. December 2024.
  2. Arrêté 11 December 2015 (in French)
  3. "Mulhouse Alsace Agglomération". Mulhouse Alsace Agglomération. Retrieved 2011-04-07.
  4. Gabrielle Claerr Stamm: De Soleure à Paris : La saga de la famille de Besenval, seigneurs de Brunstatt, Riedisheim et Didenheim, Chapitre: Brunstatt devient une baronnie: Le 11 août 1726, Louis XV, roi de France, élève la terre de Brunstatt, propriété de la famille de Besenval, au rang de baronnie. Société d’Histoire du Sundgau, 2015, pp. 102–103
  5. Jean-Jacques Fiechter / Benno Schubiger: L’Ambassade de Suisse à Paris, Ambassade de Suisse, 2ème édition, août 1994, p. 11
  6. Gabrielle Claerr Stamm: De Soleure à Paris : La saga de la famille de Besenval, seigneurs de Brunstatt, Riedisheim et Didenheim, Société d’Histoire du Sundgau, 2015, p. 139
  7. Pierre Victor, Baron de Besenval: Mémoires de M. Le Baron de Besenval, imprimerie de Jeunehomme, rue de Sorbonne no. 4, Paris, 1805 – chez F. Buisson, libraire, rue Hautefeuille no. 31, Paris, tome II, pp. 282–329
Further reading

Further reading

In alphabetical order

  • Andreas Affolter / Guillaume Poisson: Pierre-Victor de Besenval (1721–1791) – Une vie au service du roi de France, Société d'Histoire de la Suisse Romande (Fonds Butticaz) / Schloss Waldegg, 2024
  • Gabrielle Claerr Stamm: De Soleure à Paris : La saga de la famille de Besenval, seigneurs de Brunstatt, Riedisheim et Didenheim, Société d'Histoire du Sundgau, 2015
External links
  • Media related to Brunstatt at Wikimedia Commons