RIBEAUVILL

German Rappoltsweiler, town, Haut-Rhin dpartement, Alsace rgion, in eastern France. It lies at the entrance of the valley of the Strengbach, under the Vosges Mountains, 33 miles (53 km) southwest of Strasbourg. It is distinguished by a medieval gate, the Porte des Bouchers (a relic of the ancient walls that surrounded the city), and it has many medieval houses and two fine Gothic churches, of St. Gregory and St. Augustine. The Carolabad, a saline spring with a temperature of 64 F (17 C), made Ribeauvill a watering place. It now has textile, printing, and photographic industries. Rappoltsweiler, known in the 8th century as Rathaldovilare, passed from the bishops of Basle to the lords of Rappoltstein, famous nobles of Alsace. The lord of Rappoltstein was the protector of wandering minstrels. When the family became extinct in 1673 this office of king of the pipers (Pfeiferknig) passed to the counts palatine of Zweibrcken-Birkenfeld. The minstrels had a pilgrimage chapel near Rappoltsweiler, dedicated to their patron saint, Maria von Dusenbach, and here they held an annual feast on September 8. Near the town are the ruins of a number of famous castles, including that of Saint-Ulrich (Ulrichsburg). Pop. (1982) 4,302.