Ensisheim is a
commune in the
Haut-Rhin department in
Alsace in north-eastern
France.
On 7 November 1492, a 250 pound
meteorite fell there, and since then it has attracted many meteorite enthusiasts. It was described in detail by the contemporary poet
Sebastian Brant.
Ensisheim is also the birthplace of the composer
Boëllmann. The
Germanic origins of the village's name reflects the area's
history.
Among the earliest-known clear examples for the practice of
trepanation was identified from a
Neolithic burial site near the town. Researchers from
Freiburg University reported in 1997 an analysis of the well-preserved skeletal remains of an approximately 50-year-old man, whose
cranium showed clear evidence of two trepanation procedures. One had fully healed and the other partially so, indicating the subject had survived the operations. The remains were dated to between 5100 and 4900 BC.
See also
