Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The Bouxhof estate, located in Mittelwihr in the Haut-Rhin, is a former wine estate dependent on the Cistercian Abbey of Pairis, founded in 1138. Attested from 1168, it was given by Ulrich d'Eschenbach to the abbey, becoming a major agricultural and winery. The first buildings date back to the late Middle Ages, with a Sainte-Barbe chapel mentioned in 1474, enlarged in 1507, then sacked during the Peasants' War in 1525. The estate, surrounded by a wall of enclosure as early as 1438, was abandoned during the Thirty Years War (1618-1648) before being restored by the Cistercians from 1703.

Between 1706 and 1711, the medieval ruins were replaced by the present two towered house bodies, accompanied by a well dated 1707 and an outbuilding rebuilt in 1747, as evidenced by an engraved beam. The chapel, which was restored in the 18th century, disappeared later, but its door was re-used in the outbuildings. The estate, sold as a national property in 1791 to Jean David Hanhart, changed hands several times before being bought in 1925 by the Edel family, the current owner, who made it a winery after the Second World War.

The only ancient building preserved in Mittelwihr after the 1944 fighting, the Bouxhof served as an American command post during the Liberation. Its architecture combines medieval elements (towers, stoneware pillar pantry) and classical elements (crope roofs, perron). The site, which was listed as historic monuments in 1996, also includes remains of the fence wall, a curved gate, and protected elements such as the cellar, the large living room, and the beam dated 1747. Today, it combines historical heritage and wine-growing activity, continuing its original vocation.

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