lived in and took its name from the castle in town. When the last of the vassal family died, Großweier became the property of the Lords of Seldeneck whose kin sold it back to Baden in 1583. The moated castle was then the seat of the district court until it was moved to Bühl after the castle's destruction in 1689 by French troops during the Nine Years' War. Mösbach was first mentioned in 1386 as Mestbach. It belonged to Strasbourg before it became part of Baden. Oberachern was first mentioned in 1347 as Obernacher. Before that date no distinction was made between Oberachern and Niederachern. It belonged to the Staufenberg family as early as 1100 though parts of it belonged to the cloister in Hirsau. Before 1130 Oberachern belonged to the cloister St. Georgen. In the 12th century a noble and free family who apparently also supplied the judges for Achern, named itself after the city. This family lived in a moated castle the remains of which were later used in the construction of the Stephanus church tower in Oberachern. While Oberachern was part of the district court Achern und as such shared in Achern's luck, it had always been an independent village until it was annexed in 1971. Önsbach was first mentioned in the 13th century as Ongisbach. The cloisters in Honau, Ettenheim and Allerheiligen all owned property in the village. The village was part of the district of Achern. Sasbachried was first mentioned in 1697 as aus dem Rieth. It grew out of Sasbach and, like Sasbach, it used to belong to Strasbourg. In the 19th century, Sasbachried split from Sasbach and became an independent community. Wagshurst was first mentioned in 1136 as Wageshurst. It too belonged to Strasbourg and was part of the district court of Ulm. Religions In the beginning Achern was part of the diocese of Strasbourg. As a consequence of its belonging to Further Austria, the Reformation did not take hold. Achern and its surrounding area therefore remained almost exclusively Catholic throughout the centuries. In 1803 the communities were joined with the diocese of Konstanz before it became part of the newly created archdiocese of Freiburg in 1821 through 1827. The villages then belonged to the district of Ottersweier but in 1929 Achern became its own district with the Catholic city church (Stadtkirche) as its seat. Additional Catholic communities, whose churches were elevated to