Perhaps Bollschweil appears to be just a long stretched out village to people passing through. But away from the Hexental road are many cozy residential areas. They make life worth living next to the new town center with the old schoolhouse and the old town hall.
Bollschweil was first mentioned in records as Puabilinisvilare in the year 838 AD. A childless resident of Bollschweil donated his entire property to the monastery of St. Gallen for the sake of his soul. His property included vines and an orchard as well as stables meadows and fields. Thus fruit growing and wine growing have an ancient tradition here.
In 1807 Bollschweil with 411 inhabitants came to the newly created Grand Duchy of Baden like the entire Breisgau region. Before that it was under the aristocratic Snewlin Bernlapp von Bollschweil family for 600 years. They had the castle built around 1770 or 1780. In the 19th century the estate then went to the originally Alsatian noble family von Berstett.
Until the Second World War village life was mainly shaped by the Catholic Church. The traffic routes were poorly developed. The municipality was relatively secluded and self-contained. Bollschweil can be described as a farming community. This changed significantly within 30 years after the end of the Second World War. The number of livestock farms decreased from 90 in 1945 to 47 in 1977.
In the same period the number of inhabitants rose from 718 to 981 in 1961. In 1963 a fruit growing cooperative was founded. Technification and mechanization found their way into agriculture. There was no real industrialization. Since 1920 the Koch Kalk lime works later Marmorit was based in Ellighofen. At times it had 200 employees. Since the 1970s Bollschweil has developed into an attractive residential community.
The municipality changed its face through the construction of apartment buildings road construction and sewerage. Many newcomers only live and sleep in the village. They do not actively participate in the village community. Church life no longer primarily shapes village life. Political and social groups join the clubs such as Agenda 21. A culturally open community life is developing around the new old town center with the regular market and meeting opportunities.
In 1974 1364 inhabitants lived in Bollschweil on an area of 1186 hectares. Today around 2277 people live in Bollschweil. The earliest surviving written record of the settlement appears in the records of the monastery at St Gallen. It was dated 838. At this time Bollschweil was named Puabilinisvilare.
The town’s subsequent history is closely entwined with that of the aristocratic Snewlin-Bernlapp family. This family was a branch of the Snewlin family which was extremely influential throughout the Breisgau region. When the Snewlin-Bernlapps died out in 1837 the castle and settlement came into the hands of the von Holzing-Berstett family. Their descendants still inhabit the castle.
Between 1087 and his death in 1093 Ulrich of Zell established here the Priory convent of St Ulrich in the Black Forest. But this was relocated to Sölden in 1115. Bollschweil Priory was a Cluniac monastery of nuns. It was founded to complement the monastery he had founded for monks at Grüningen. The priory was moved to nearby Sölden probably due to the unsuitability of the site. After that time the monastic community became known as Sölden Priory.