The area was conquered by the Roman legions of Julius Caesar in the 1st century bce and had been profoundly Romanized by the time of the invasion of the Alemanni in the 5th century ce. A network of motorways traverses Alsace, and a regional airport is located in Strasbourg. Textile manufacturing, based in and around Mulhouse, is one of the region’s oldest industries, though now it has little importance. Parts of the alluvial plain of Alsace (e.g., west of Strasbourg) are devoted to cereals, but industrial crops are also widely cultivated and include sugar beets, hops, and tobacco.
Pamper yourself in one of Alsace’s 7 outstanding spas
Others ventured to Canada to settle in southwestern Ontario, notably Waterloo County. The German language remained in use in local administration, in schools, and at the (Lutheran) University of Strasbourg, which continued to draw students from other German-speaking lands. On the other hand, Mömpelgard (Montbéliard) to the southwest of Alsace, belonging to the Counts of Württemberg since 1397, remained a Protestant enclave in France until 1793. A stop on the Paris-Vienna-Orient trade route, as well as a port on the Rhine route linking southern Germany and Switzerland to the Netherlands, England and Scandinavia, it became the political and economic center of the region. Part of the province of Germania Superior in the Roman Empire, the area went on to become a diffuse border region between the French and the German cultures and languages.
However, the abandoned Maurice-Lemaire tunnel towards Saint-Dié-des-Vosges was rebuilt as a toll road. Thus, a proportion of the HGVs travelling from north Germany to Switzerland or southern Alsace bypasses the A5 on the Alsace-Baden-Württemberg border and uses the untolled slotrize casino no deposit bonus French A35 instead. At that time, the French trunk road left of the Rhine not been built, so that traffic would cross into Germany to use the Karlsruhe-Basel Autobahn.
Notable people
As in previous times, these castles still seem to dominate the Alsace Plain even today, watching over the Vosges valleys, communication channels and sometimes the abbeys. Even if they are for the most part in ruins, their silhouettes, perched at the top of the Vosges Mountains, have been a part of the countryside for centuries, thus defying time. More than 500 are situated here, mostly distributed from north to south, in the foothills of the Vosges. Alsace is one of the regions of France that has retained the most medieval castles.
Gastronomy & Wines of Alsace
Between 100,000 and 130,000 Alsatians (of a total population of about a million and a half) chose to remain French citizens and leave Reichsland Elsaß–Lothringen, many of them resettling in French Algeria as Pieds-Noirs. France ceded more than 90% of Alsace and one-fourth of Lorraine, as stipulated in the treaty of Frankfurt; Belfort, the largest Alsatian town south of Mulhouse, remained French. Antisemitic local riots occasionally occurred, especially during the Revolution of 1848. However, local antisemitism also increased and Napoleon turned hostile in 1806, imposing a one-year moratorium on all debts owed to Jews.
Émerveillement au Sommet de la Cathédrale de Strasbourg
At about this time, the surrounding areas experienced recurring fragmentation and reincorporations among a number of feudal secular and ecclesiastical lordships, a common process in the Holy Roman Empire. The Alemanni were agricultural people, and their Germanic language formed the basis of modern-day dialects spoken along the Upper Rhine (Alsatian, Alemannian, Swabian, Swiss). From the time of Augustus to the early fifth century AD, the area of Alsace was incorporated into the Roman province of Germania Superior. In 58 BC, after negotiations with Ariovistus failed, Julius Caesar routed the Suebi at the foot of the Vosges near what became Cernay in southern Alsace. The culture was characterized by "timber longhouse settlements and incised pottery … favoring floodplain edge situations for their permanent villages … and small clearings in the forest" for their crops and animals." By 4000 BC, farming arrived in the form of Linear Pottery culture in the region from the Danube and the Hungarian plain.
- The city of Colmar has a sunny microclimate; it is the second driest city in France, with an annual precipitation of around 550 mm (22 in), making it ideal for vin d’Alsace (Alsatian wine).
- The authentic historical flag is the Rot-un-Wiss; Red and White are commonly found on the coat of arms of Alsatian cities (Strasbourg, Mulhouse, Sélestat…) and of many Swiss cities, especially in Basel’s region.
- France continued to maintain its customs border along the Vosges mountains where it had been, leaving Alsace more economically oriented to neighbouring German-speaking lands.
- Several cities and villages along the Alsace Wine Route have become famous and attract a very large crowd of visitors during the summer months and Christmas, where they have beautiful Christmas Markets.
- Alsace is the first export region of France based on the export value per inhabitant.
- Strasbourg and the region of Wissembourg were the main bastions of Protestantism, while the rest of Alsace remained Catholic and loyal to the Habsburgs.
- In addition to the AOC, the notes “Late Harvest” (Récoltes Tardives) and “Selection of Noble Grains” (Sélection des Grains Nobles) designate rare wines, which are most often the most mellow or syrupy.
The touristic itinerary Route Romane d’Alsace (Romanesque Road of Alsace) links the region’s best examples of Romanesque architecture in Alsace. Like the rest of France, only the spire of the parish church signals the presence of colourful and elegant villages between two hills. At each mountainside, the road travels along bucolic countrysides, opening up views of mountain passes, rounded mountains, lakes, rocks, pastures and forests of majestic pines.
History
Many Alsatians campaigned to obtain some recognition of their local status concerning local administration and dialect. In the prosperous city of Strasbourg, the bourgeoisie took over the local authority of the bishop. In addition to these three dynasties, the region was divided into many territories meshed with each other, operating under the authority of little lords, laymen or clergymen. In 58 BC, Julius Caesar’s troops conquered the region and brought with them the Roman culture, built roads and imported vines.
Northern Alsace
- By 1790, the Jewish population of Alsace was approximately 22,500, about 3% of the provincial population.
- This tragic wartime episode gave them the name “les Malgré-Nous” (“in spite of our will”).
- Throughout its course, it is sometimes in Lorraine and sometimes in Alsace.
- The friendly white storks, the iconic emblem of Alsace, are found in large numbers throughout the region.
- The German language remained in use in local administration, in schools, and at the (Lutheran) University of Strasbourg, which continued to draw students from other German-speaking lands.
In spite of consecutive wars between Germany and France, which have severely affected Alsace, the region has been able to protect its rich heritage of churches and castles. The hilly region is covered with pine, beech and oak woods, orchards, pastures, fields and ponds filled with carp, dotted with a multitude of wealthy villages. Located between the Plain of Alsace, the Rhine River, the Vosges and the Jura mountains, the Sundgau region has its own distinctive geographic character. These villages are gems of the wine country and often comprise old medieval ramparts, winding alleyways that bloom with magnificent geraniums, winstubs, half-timbered houses and medieval churches. The position of Alsace within the Holy Roman Empire at the time of the Reformation further complicated the fragile political balance in the Upper Rhine region.
