Bischwiller is a commune in the Bas-Rhin department in Grand Est in northeastern France just west of the Moder River.GeographyThe city is 7.8km southeast of Haguenau, 8km west-northwest from the German border and the Rhine River (Rhin), and lies 22km north-northeast of Strasbourg.The Moder river, a Rhine tributary, flows across the town. Among the other streams which cross the area can be cited the following tributaries of the Morder: the Rothbaechel, the Erlengraben and the Waschgraben. The last one is formed by the confluence of two smaller streams named Weihergraben and Schnuchgraben.PopulationDue to its large Turkish minority, Bischwiller is often dubbed "Turkwiller".Personalities Henri Baumer, master carpenter Claude Vigée, poet Jacob Kirkman and Abraham Kirkman, harpsichord makers Jean Daum, glassware manufacturer Lucien Muller, footballer Otto Meißner, German politician Christian Goodnight (born Christian Gutknecht) is a direct-line ancestor of U.S. President Barack Obama.