Description
The origin of the name of the locality does not have an obvious explanation. The most likely theory is one that attributes the name to one of the first leaders of a “ Dinghof ”, an ancient Germanic institution, located in Beblenheim.
The name of Babilenheim can be found in 1128, followed by a number of variants till the current name was settled upon.
Like many neighbouring villages, Beblenheim changed hands often in the Middle Ages, between the Lords of Horbourg and the Dukes of Württemberg. The village experienced several difficult and tumultuous times, the first of which came with the black plague, the great calamity that hit Alsace from the mid-14th century. In 1525, some of the people of Beblenheim also got caught up in the Great Peasants’ War, which was sparked by their excessive labour obligations and the ever increasing strain of taxes. It ended with the battle of Scherwiller, won by the troops led by the Duke of Lorraine.
Lastly, the village also experienced the horrors of the Thirty Years’ War and later on, as it was overrun by many armies, till Alsace was made part of France by Louis XIV in 1680. That period of war, plague and famine was so difficult that the village lay empty for seven consecutive years. The village went through another difficult period at the time of the fighting in and around Colmar, as it was on the front line from early December 1944 to the end of January 1945. It was miraculously spared the destruction that was seen in some of the neighbouring villages. Since that time, the village has been thriving around its traditional activity of wine-growing.
