Sainte-Marie-aux-Mines owes its fame to its mines. All the evolution is so conditioned in the exploitation of mines. These mines would have been discovered with
Gallo-Romans which had already begun the exploitation of mines at the beginning of the 2nd or 3rd century CE. This hypothesis had been suggested, but was very fast abandoned for lack of serious documents.
Robert Forrer put handed her in value in 1927 by basing itself on the presence of antimony in the currencies of and the valley of
Lièpvre of which depended more or less, antimony, which according to him, could come only of Sainte-Marie-aux-Mines's region, which would have so known mines from this time. It is then the black hole until the 10th century when according to the monk of the abbey of whom lived in the 13th century, a named monk Blidulphe based Echéry's convent, situated right by the current Sainte-Marie-aux-Mines. The monks noticed soon that the valley abounded in mine fertility. The
monks of Echéry are soon threatened in their possessions and their rights by the family of Echery which builds in the 13th century, the castle of Hoh-Eckerich. This family eventually monopolized the mines which the monks exploited. The first mention of the town dates from the time of
Theodoric II, Duke of Lorraine, who returned in 1078 to Lièpvre's convent Sainte-Marie-aux-Mines's tithes and that of the
Saint Blaise's nearby village. These possessions made left for
Lièpvre's convent which had been deprived of him in 1052 by Gérard d'Alsace, his father. Gérard d'Alsace descended from the family who reigned over
Alsace in the 7th century, the name of which is connected with that of
Etichon which was also the father of
Sainte Odile. The predecessor of Gérard d'
Alsace, Adalbert, was the son of another Gérard who had married Gisèle, niece of the emperor. The new hereditary Duke of Lorraine, Gérard d'Alsace, belonged so to an illustrious lineage solidly provided in
Alsace, that is in the southwest of the realm of
Germania. Links between the
Lorraine, realm of Germania and Holy Empire became close. It was supported by the emperor
Henry III because Etichonides had always served loyally Empire and had supplied him the devoted civil servants. It is very likely that Gérard d' Alsace had knowledge of the rich mines of the Valley of Lièpvre, because according to Schoepflin it is question from 963 of the time of
Gérard,
bishop of Toul (963–994) of the silvermines of the Valley of Lièpvre fame of which exceeded
Lorraine. In this time it is already question of the tithe which have to pay the monks of the Valley of Lièpvre. The bishop Gérard
bishop of
Toul named in 963 will be canonized in 1051 by whom was his 5th successor on the seat of Toul's bishop's palace under the name of Léon de Dabo. In the collection Evangelienbuch, poem in popular language finished towards 865 and dedicated to
Louis the German,
Wissembourg's
Otfrid praises the country of
Franks, for which he praises, in four towards, the mineralogical wealth of the region vosgienne. Monk of
Wissembourg, convent is which possesses properties to the south of the former duchy, not far from
Sélestat, and appears to have shown for this region a very deep interest. (1048–1070), Duke of Lorraine from 1048 and nephew of (1047–1048) appears he so disturbed with these mines which are on the lands of his ancestors, Etichonides. In 1055, this duke frees
Saint-Dié's
abbey of the custody of the bishops of Toul and proclaims himself dedicated with this abbey. It charges dearly this protection. So the chapter loses gradually its rights to preserve only a moral and spiritual authority. Sainte-Marie-aux-Mines, levy in Latin Sancte Maria ad Fodinas, and in German Markirch, owes her name and her origin to exploitation of mines and to the church of
Sainte Marie Madeleine who was the parish of the part of
Lorraine and who was built in 1757. The big altar was under the invocation of this saint and the two others collateral under the invocation of the Virgin Mary and other one of Holy Sébastien. The town of Saint Marie-aux-Mines is mentioned for the first time in 1317.
Eddie Slovik, the only U.S. soldier of
World War II to be executed for
desertion, suffered the fate by
firing squad near the town on 31 January 1945. ==People==