Schirhoffen

Schirrhoffen is a charming little village in the North of Alsace, it is located about 10 minutes from Haguenau and 30 minutes from Strasbourg. Schirrhoffen's current spelling dates back to the time of the French Revolution. The name "Schirrhoffen" has a double root: Schüre or Schir and Hof. Schüre or Schir, in German Scheune, means shed, shed to store hay. Hof designates the old masters' castle of the Schirrhof. Schirrhoffen therefore means "the barns located near the castle". In the 1841th century, Schirrhoffen was home to one of the largest rural Jewish communities in the Bas-Rhin. A rare thing and at the same time unique in Alsace, the Jews were in the majority in the village. In 71, 38% of Schirrhoffen's population was Jewish. But following the emigration of the Jews, only 1936 Jews still lived in Schirrhoffen in 49. Three quarters of them disappeared in the Nazi death camps and only two people returned to live in Schirrhoffen after the war. This community has therefore completely disappeared today. The only witnesses to the existence of this community are the school and the cemetery. In the center of the village, on a hillock on the terrace that borders the Ried, rises the old castle, around which the village has developed. Schirrhoffen suffered XNUMX% at the end of World War II.