A CITY IN ITS WALLS

History of the commune of Villé
A the time when the Duke Aldaric, father of Ste Odile, reigned on Alsace, Villé was a Lordship. At the heart of the Valley the "Villa” stood up " by excellence already towards 829. At that time state of the name of Villé is called Weiler, Wilre or Willer. The borough was the center of the valley and not the chief town.
In the year 1000, Villé was under the domination of noble, rich and powerful Lord, Wernher, who resided at the castle of Ortenberg.
About 1300, the borough was presented with a flanked rampart of quadrangular towers, dominating a broad ditch and walls carrying 9 towers. Previously the fortifications in the Schlössel locality already surrounded the church and the rectory. There remain some sections of wall around the church
In 1374, Jean 1st, Duke of Lorraine, made irruption in the valley that he wrecked completely. The enclosure of Villé was destroyed in 1414 by the Armagnacs, in 1474 by the Burgundians (the Duke of Burgundy entered with 5000 horses to Alsace by the Collar of Steige) and in 1633 by the Swedes (they reduced in ashes several villages of the valley and devastated Villé).
The borough breathed again departing from 1640; the treaties of Westphalia (1648) gave the Valley of Villé to France. To reward Conrad III of Zurlauben, Louis XIV gave him into 1681 the lordships of Ortenberg and Villé that became barony in 1686, county in 1692.
The Choiseul-Meuse succeeded Zurlauben; the "Amtsleute" were the Masters of Villé: at the head the baillif, first magistrate in the administrative and legal order, then the tax prosecutor, then the fiscal district attorney, the royal sergeant, sergeants of the baillage, people of the local police force.
1789: the news of the storming of Bastille left Villé peaceful, but the night of August 4 when any local privilege was abolished, found its echo there. The Choiseul-Meuse were eliminated by a feature of feather, Villé was dispossessed of sound baillage and became chief town of canton. In August 17, 1793, a levy in mass is ordered; the men armed with spades and forgery left towards Sélestat, then returned to Villé, glad to have made act of presence!
Under the Restoration, Austrian soldiers were installed in Villé until September 1815. In 1816, the bad harvest entailed the famine.
Villé was preserved from the atrocities of the wars 1870 - 1871 and 1914 - 1918. In June 20, 1940, the German troops occupied the borough until November 26, 1944. Today, in spite of a modest demography of 1740 inhabitants, Villé remains the administrative and commercial center of Canton (9756 inhabitants)