According to a document drawn up in 1106 by Emperor Heinrich V in SPEYER, the former name was GREWENBACH. The first oil wells were drilled by the Bonne Espérance company in 1891, the refinery was built in 1903, and the Deutsche Tiefbohr Aktiengesellschaft of Berlin was authorized to exploit the oil in 1908, followed by the construction of a paraffin plant. The MERKWILLER mines and mineral oil plants become tenants for 99 years.