Solbach is located on the boundary between the Rothaine and Schirgoutte valleys. Overlooking the forests of Fouday, it is near Col de la Perheux, a high hill in Ban de la Roche with an altitude of 699 meters. The highest point of the commune is Mont Saint-Jean (altitude 750 m), a large meadow-covered hill which overhangs the village. Many routes linking the village to Col de la Perheux skirt around this hill, which is a favorite of hikers.
Solbach borders on the communes of Rothau to the north, La Broque to the northwest, Fouday to the west, southwest, and south, Waldersbach to the southeast and east, and Wildersbach to the northeast.
Notably, Solbach is currently the least populated of the eight former subdivisions of Ban de la Roche, and has the second lowest population of the 23 communes of the cantons of Schirmeck and Sâales together, ahead of Blancherupt.
For the 1971-2000 period, the mean temperature was 8.3 °C, with a mean yearly temperature range of 16.1 °C. The mean annual precipitation was 1287 mm, with 13.6 days of precipitation in January and 12 days in July.[6] For 1991-2020, the annual mean temperature observed at the nearest Météo-Franceweather station the Belmont station in Belmont (3 km) from Solbach as the crow flies),[8] was 7.0 °C and the mean annual precipitation was 1341.9 mm.[9]· .[10]
The climatic parameters of the commune have been estimated for mid-century (2041-2070) according to different greenhouse gas emissionscenarios based on the new DRIAS-2020 climatic reference projections.,[11] available on a website set up by Météo-France in November 2022.[12]
Settlement
Typology
As of 1 January 2004, Solbach is categorized as a rural commune with dispersed settlement according to the new seven-level commune classification defined by Insee in 2022.[13]
It is not part of an urban unit.[14] However, it forms part of the Strasbourg functional area (French portion), in which it as an outer circle commune[Note 2]· .[14] This area, which includes 268 communes, is categorized as one of the areas other than Paris with 700,000 inhabitants or more[15]· .[16]
Land use
The commune's land use, as given in the Europeanbiophysical land use databaseCorine Land Cover (CLC), is marked by the importance of forests and semi-natural landscapes (81.9% in 2018), up from 77.8% in 1990. The detailed breakdown in 2018 is as follows:
forests 60.1%, woody and/or herbaceous plant cover 21.8%, urbanized areas 9.3%, grassland 8.8%.[17] The changes in land use and infrastructure in the commune over time can be seen in the various cartographic representations of the territory: the Cassini map (18th century), the General Staff Map (1820-1866) and the IGN's contemporary maps and areal photos.[Maps 1]
Name
"Solbach" is an Alsatian compound meaning "salty brook," from sol "salt" and bach "brook".[18]
History
The history of Solbach is closely tied to that of Ban de la Roche, since the commune formed part of its territory before the French Revolution. The village formerly lined the side of the Schleiffe de Berhine, which runs from the local road to the current Rue Principale, about 150 meters above the village entrance sign.
Since no textile factories have been installed as in most of the neighboring villages, agriculture has always been a major presence.
Heraldry
Solbach's coat of arms are blazoned as follows: "Parti : au premier de gueules aux trois rocs d'échiquier d'argent, au second d'argent à la fasce de sinople, à la bordure de gueules.".[19]
Carlos Fischer, Alsace Champêtre. Le parfait village, E. Sansot, Paris, 1907, 95 p., (réédité : Le parfait village. Solbach, Ban de la roche, 1904, Jean-Pierre Kruch éd., 1979, 91 p.)
R. Godié et J. Elringer, « De "pile" en fontaine », L'Essor, No. 181
ISC, « Ah ! qu'il est beau mon village (Solbach) », L'Essor, No. 16
Arnold Kientzler, « Jean Bernard, de Solbach. Le dernier sabotier du Ban de la Roche », L'Essor, No. 133
Denis Leypold, Le Ban de la Roche au temps des seigneurs de Rathsamhausen et de Veldenz (1489-1630), Oberlin, Strasbourg, 1989, 119 p.
Denis Leypold, Solange Hisler, Pierre Moll, Eva Braun, Jean Frédéric Oberlin au Ban de la Roche, Association du Musée Oberlin, 1991, 89 p.
Claude Mayens, « Une commune d'ouvriers paysans : Solbach », L'Essor, 97 p.
« Les anciens commerces disparus », L'Essor, No. 200 (travail réalisé par les écoles primaires)
« Solbach », in La Haute vallée de la Bruche, Patrimoine d’Alsace, Inventaire général des monuments et des richesses artistiques de la France, Éditions Lieux Dits, Lyon, 2005, p. 64-66 ISBN978-2-914528-13-9
Daniel Mehl, "Solbach historique et pittoresque" (74 pages) ; réalisation graphique et impression par Pointillés à Bischheim - Dépôt légal 2018.
Daniel Mehl, "Promenade illustrée par les cartes postales" 87 pages - 110 cartes. Réalisation graphique et impression par Pointillés à Bischheim. Dépôt légal 2021 ISBN979-10-976034-03