Wikipedia
Alsace (French language French: ''Alsace''; Alsatian languageAlsatian/German languageGerman: ''Elsass'') is one of the 26 ''régions'' of France. Originally part of the Holy Roman Empire and inhabited by people speaking a dialect of Upper German, Alsace gradually passed under French sovereignty in the course of the 17th century, and became one of the provinces of France. It is located on the eastern border of France, adjacent to Germany and Switzerland. Its capital and largest city is Strasbourg.
Geography - , Spechbach-le-Bas, and the Vosges mountains.]]Alsace has an area of 8280 km², making it the smallest ''Région in Francerégion'' of metropolitan France. It is almost four times longer than it is wide, corresponding to a plain between the Rhine in the east and the Vosges mountains in the west.It includes the ''départements'' of Haut-Rhin and Bas-Rhin. It borders Germany on the north and the east, Switzerland and Franche-Comté on the south, and Lorraine (région)Lorraine on the west.It contains many forests, primarily in the Vosges and in Bas-Rhin (Haguenau Forest). Several valleys are also found in the ''région''. Its highest point is the ''ballon de Guebwiller'' in Haut-Rhin, which reaches a height of 1,426 m.Alsace has a semi-continental climate with cold and dry winters and hot summers. There is little precipitation because the Vosges mountainsVosges protect it from the west. The city of Colmar has a sunny microclimate; it is the driest city in France, with an annual precipitation of just 550 mm, making it ideal for ''vin d'Alsace'' (Alsatian wine).
History - In prehistoric times, Alsace was inhabited by nomadic hunters, but by 1500 B.C. Celts began to settle in Alsace, clearing and cultivating the land. By 58 B.C., the ancient RomeRomans had invaded and established Alsace as a center of viticulture. To protect this highly valued industry, the Romans built fortifications and military camps that evolved into various communities which have been inhabited continuously to the present day.With the decline of the Roman Empire, Alsace became the territory of the Alamanni. The Alamanni were agricultural people, and their language formed the basis of the modern-day Alsatian dialect. The Franks drove the Alamanni out of Alsace during the 5th century, and Alsace then became part of the AustrasiaKingdom of Austrasia. Alsace remained under Frankish control until the Frankish realm was formaly dissolved in 843 at the Treaty of Verdun in which the grandsons of Carl the Great-formally known as the founder of the Frankish realm-divided the realm into three parts.The Benelux states, Alsace and Lorraine formed the new Frankish Middle realm which was ruled by the youngest grandson Lothar.Lothar died early in 855 and his realm was divided into three parts. The part known as Lorraine was given to Lothar's son. The rest was shared between Lothar's brothers Carl the Bald (ruler of the West Frankish realm) and Ludwig the German (ruler of the East Frankish realm)Lorraine was annexed later by the Holy Roman Empire.In time, Alsace became part of the Holy Roman Empire and was under the administration of the Austrian House of Habsburg. Alsace experienced great prosperity during the 12th and 13th centuries under the Hohenstaufen Emperors, but this prosperity was terminated in the 14th century by a series of harsh winters, bad harvests, and the bubonic plague. These hardships were blamed on Jews, leading to the vicious pogroms of 1336 and 1339. During the Renaissance, prosperity returned to Alsace under Habsburg administration. Most of Alsace was ceded to France at the Peace of Westphalia in 1648, the conclusion of the Thirty Years War, which marked its start, along with Lorraine (province)Lorraine, as a contested territory between France and Germany. The City of Strasbourg was annexed by France during the reign of Louis XIV of France. Since 500, the area had been predominantly populated by Germans and they resisted efforts to have the French language and customs imposed upon them. Both Alsace and Lorraine were ceded to the new German Empire after the Franco-Prussian War of 1870 to 1871 causing an estimate of 50,000 people (of a total population of about a million) to emigrate to France. Alsace remained a part of Germany until the end of World War I, when Germany ceded it back to France under the Treaty of Versailles. However, U.S. President Woodrow Wilson believed that the region was self-ruling by legal status, as its constitution had stated it was bound to the sole authority of the Kaiser and not to the German State. Correspondingly, the regional government of Alsace-Lorraine declared independence, but could not resist the French who overtook it a week later. They offered no chance of a plebiscite, granted to some eastern German territories at this time.After World War I the re-establishment of German identity in Alsace was reversed, as Germans who had settled in Alsace since 1871 were expelled. Policies forbidding the use of German languageGerman and requiring that of French were introduced. Curiously, the region was not considered to be subject to some changes in French law from 1871 to 1919, such as the Law of Separation of the Church and the State. series (1933-1936), overprinted "Elsaß" in ''fraktur (typeface)fraktur'' for the Nazi occupation, 1940]]The region was effectively annexed by Germany in 1940 during World War II and reincorporated into the Greater German Reich. Alsace was merged with Baden and Lorraine with the Saarland. The annexation, while putting a halt to the anti-German discrimination, subjected the region to the Nazi dictatorship, which was loathed by most of the people. The German government never negotiated or declared a formal annexation, however, in order to preserve the possibility of an agreement with the West. France regained control of the war-torn area in 1944 and resumed its policy of promoting the French language with uncompromising vigour. For instance, from 1945 to 1984 the use of German in newspapers was restricted to a maximum of 25%.In more recent years, as nationalistic emotions have ceded, cultural freedom has gradually been restored. Thus for instance, isolated citizens' initiatives promoting the teaching of German in some form in local kindergartens and schools have been tolerated by the Paris government. At the same time however, its strict measures during the past decades have born fruit in that the younger generations of Alsatians now speak and feel French.
Politics - Alsace is one of the most conservative ''régions'' of France. It is one of just two ''régions'' in metropolitan France where the right won the French regional elections, 20042004 regional elections and thus controls the conseil régional of Alsace''conseil régional''. The president of the ''conseil régional'' is Adrien Zeller, a member of the Union for a Popular Movement.
Economy - According to INSEE, Alsace had a gross domestic product of 44.3 billion euros in 2002. With a GDP per capita of 24,804 €, it was the second-place ''région'' of France, losing only to Île-de-France (région)Île-de-France. 68% of its jobs are in the services; 25% are in industry, making Alsace one of France's most industrialized ''régions''.Alsace is a region of varied economic activity, inluding:viticulture (mostly in the centre of the region, between Sélestat and Colmar);hop (plant)hop harvesting and brewing (half of French beer is produced in Alsace, especially in the vicinity of Strasbourg, notably in Cronenbourg, Schiltigheim and Obernai);forestry developmentautomobile industry (Mulhouse)life sciences, as part of the alsace-biovalley.com - Alsace Biovalley andtourismAlsace has many international ties and 35% of firms are foreign companies (notably GermanyGerman, SwitzerlandSwiss, United StatesAmerican, JapanJapanese and Scandinavian).570 million tonnes of potassium chloride and phosphates have been mined in the past century and a museum of the industry can be found in Wittelsheim.
Demographics - Alsace's population increased to 1,734,145 in 1999. It has regularly increased over time, except in wartime, by both natural growth and human migrationmigration. This growth has even accelerated at the end of the 20th century. INSEE estimates that its population will grow 12.9% to 19.5% between 1999 and 2030.With a density of 209/km², Alsace is the third most densely populated ''région'' in metropolitan France. The population is mostly of Germanic peoplesGermanic origin.
Transport -
The road network - Most major car journeys are made on the A35 motorway (with intermittent areas of dual carriageways), which links Saint-Louis on the Swiss border to Lauterbourg on the German border.The A4 toll-road (towards Paris) begins 20 km northwest of Strasbourg and the A36 toll-road towards Lyon, begins 10 km west from Mulhouse.Spaghetti-junctions (built in the 70's and 80's) are prominent in the comprehensive system of motorways in Alsace, especially in the outlying ares of Strasbourg and Mulhouse. These cause a major build of traffic and are the main sources of pollution in the towns, notably in Strasbourg where the motoroway traffic of the A35 was 170,000 per day in 2002. Urban crossings on the A36 near Mulhouse also cause regular disturbances and a lack of communication between driver and road conditions can be seen in the absence of message boards and speed cameras.At present, plans are being considered for building a new dual carriageway west of Strasbourg, which would reduce the build up of traffic in that area by picking up north and southbound vehicles and get rid of the build up outside of Strasbourg. The line plans to link up the interchange of Hoerdt to the north of Strasbourg, with Innenheim in the southwest. The opening is envisaged at the end of 2011, with an average usuage of 41,000 vehicles a day. Estimates of the French Works Commissioner however, raised some doubts over the interest of such a project, since it would pick up only about 10% of the traffic of the A35 at Strasbourg.To add to the buildup of traffic, the neighbouring German state of Baden-Wurttemberg, plans to impose a tax on heavygoods vehicles using their roads. Thus, HGVs travelling from north Germany to Switzerland or southern Alsace would most probably bypass the A5 on the Alsace-Baden-Wurttemberg border and use the untolled, French A35 instead.
The train network - Because the Vosges are surmountable only by the Col de Saverne, it has been suggested that Alsace needs to open up and get closer to France in terms of its rail links. Different plans are due to be implemented:the TGV Est (Paris - Strasbourg); (ongoing, to be brought into service by 2007);the TGV Rhine-Rhône or a Dijon-Mulhouse line (to start in 2006);an interconnection with the German InterCityExpress, as far as Kehl and/or Ottmarsheim;a tram-train system in Mulhouse (in the stage of realization), then that of Strasbourg (2011).However, the abandoned Maurice-Lemaire tunnel towards Saint-Dié-des-Vosges is intended to be rebuilt as a toll-road.
The river network - Port traffic of Alsace exceeds 15 million tonnes, of which about three quarters is cented on Strasbourg, which is the second busiest French fluvial harbour. The enlargement plan of the Rhine-Rhône channel, intended to link up the Mediterranean Sea and central Europe (Rhine, Danube, North Sea and Baltic Sea) was abandoned in 1998 for reasons of expense and land eriosion, notably in the Doubs valley.
Air traffic - There are two international airports in Alsace:the international airport of Strasbourg in Entzheim;the international EuroAirport Basel-Mulhouse-Freiburg, which is the seventh largest French airport in terms of traffic.
Religion - Most of the Alsatian population are Roman Catholic, but there is a significant Protestant community. Unlike the rest of the country, the Alsace-Moselle region continues to follow the NapoleonNapoleonic Concordat of 1801, under which public subsidies are granted to Roman Catholic, Lutheran, and Calvinist churches, and to Jewish synagogues, and public education in those faiths is offered. This discrepancy with the rest of the country is due to the fact that the region was administered by Germany at the time of the 1905 law separating the French church and state. Controversy erupts periodically on the appropriateness of this legal disposition, as well as on the exclusion of other religions from this arrangement.
Culture - Historically part of the Holy Roman Empire, the region has passed between French and German control numerous times, resulting in a rich cultural blend. It traditionally belongs, however, to the German ''Kulturkreis'', as any glance at traditional buildings in the towns and villages and at placenames will confirm.
Language - In the beginning of the 21st century, the language most spoken in Alsace is standard French.The traditional language of the region is Alsatian languageAlsatian, an Alemannic dialect of Upper German. Alsatian is closest to Swiss German. Some Frankish languageFrankish dialects of West Middle German are also spoken in the extreme north of Alsace. Neither Alsatian nor the Frankish dialects have any form of official status, as is customary for regional languages in France, although both are now recognized as languages of France and can be chosen as subject in French high schools.A few valleys in the west of Alsace, at the border with Lorraine (province)Lorraine, were always outside of the Germanic languages area, and dialects of Lorraine French were spoken there ever since the Middle Ages.It is important to understand that since 1945 the influence of standard French has been ever increasing in Alsace, and today Alsace is largely a French-speaking area. More often assumed to be a bilingual area (French/Alsatian), Alsace is actually evolving fast toward a situation of total French monolingualism. People above 70 still speak Alsatian at home, but the younger generations use French even at home, and the vast majority of people below 30 do not understand Alsatian anymore. This situation has provoked a sort of desire to preserve the traditional Alsatian language, which is perceived as in danger in front of French, a situation paralleled in other regions of France with regional languages such as Brittany or Occitania. Alsatian is now taught in French high schools, but the overwhelming presence of French media make the survival of Alsatian uncertain among younger generations.The linguistic situation of Alsace can be summed up like this: the region is fast evolving toward a situation where standard French is the only language used at home and at work, whereas an increasing number of people have a good knowledge of German languagestandard German as a foreign language learnt in school.
Cuisine - CommonscatCuisine of Alsace Alsatian cuisine, strongly influenced by the Germanic culinary traditions, is marked by the use of pork in various forms. Traditional dishes include ''baeckeoffe'', ''tarte flambéetartes flambées'' (''flammekueche''), ''sauerkrautchoucroute'', and ''fleischnackas''. The south of Alsace, also called Sundgau, is characterized by ''carpe frite''.The festivities of the year's end involve the production of a great variety of biscuits and small cakes called ''brédalas'' as well as ''pain d'épice'' (gingerbread), which are given to children starting on Saint Nicholas Day.A list of wine-producing regionswine-producing region, Alsace wines are primarily white. Its wines, which have a strong Germanic influence, are called ''vin d'Alsacevins d'Alsace''. It produces some of the world's most noted dry rieslings and is the only ''région'' in France to produce mostly varietal wines, typically from grapes also used in Germany.Alsace is also the main beer-producing ''région'' of France, thanks primarily to brewerybreweries in and near Strasbourg. These include those of Kronenbourg, Fischer (beer)Fischer, Heineken, Météor, and Kanterbräu. Hops are grown in Kochersberg and in northern Alsace. Schnapps is also traditionally made in Alsace, but it is in decline because home distillationdistillers are becoming less common and the consumption of traditional, strong, alcoholic beverages is decreasing.Additionally, Alsace is known for its fruit juices and its mineral watermineral and spring (water)spring waters.
Architecture - The traditional habitat of the Alsatian lowland is constituted of houses constructed with walls in half-timbering and cob and roofing in flat tiles. This type of construction can be seen in other areas of France, but their particular abundance in Alsace is owed to several reasons:#The proximity to the Vosges where the wood can be found.#Due to earthquakeseismic risk, wood was more adapted than stone because it was more flexible, and resisted better.#During periods of war and plague, villages were often burned down, so to eliviate the collapse of the upper-floors, stone ground floors were built and the upper-floors built in half-timberings once the fire passed.However, the half-timberings increased the risk of fire, which is why from the 19th century, they began covering them with industrial renderingrendering. In recent times, villagers started to paint the rendering white in accordance with Beaux-Arts movements. To discourage this, regional authorites gave financial grants to inhabitants, to paint the rendering in various colours, in order to return to the more ancient usage of the substance and many inhabitants accepted (more for financial reasons than by firm belief).
Symbolism - The stork is a main feature of Alsace and was the story of many legends told to the children of families. The bird practically disappeared around 1970, but repopulation efforts are ongoing. They are mostly found on roofs of people's houses, churches and other public buildings in Alsace. These animals are sexually excitable, as every Alsatian can attest.
Tourism - Château du Haut-KœnigsbourgMusée de l'automobile de MulhouseUngersheim open air museumCité du train museum in MulhouseThe EDF museum in MulhouseChristmas markets in Kaysersberg, Strasbourg, Mulhouse and ColmarDepartmental Centre of the History of Families (CDHF) in GuebwillerStruthof concentration campSchoenenbourg fort of the Maginot lineMount Ste Odile: see Odile or www.mont-sainte-odile.com
Administration - ''See the main article: Alsace Regional Council''
Notable Alsatians - | Jean Arp Frédéric Bartholdi Sébastien Brant Martin Bucer Robert de Cotte Frédéric de Dietrich Gustave Doré Bruno d'Eguisheim-Dagsbourg Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Johann Gutenberg Counts of Habsburg Charles François Hannong Rouget de l'Isle Alfred !Kastler | Jean Geiler de Kaysersberg François-Christophe Kellermann Jean-Baptiste Kléber Joseph Massol Pierre Pflimlin Maurice, comte de Saxe Albert Schweitzer Rohan de Soubise Gustave Stoskopf Jacques Sturm Tomi Ungerer Sébastien Le Prestre de Vauban Jean-Georges Vongerichten Jean-Jacques !Waltz | < ;/table>''See? also'': List of Alsatians and Lorrainians
See also - Alsace-Lorraine
External links - region-alsace.fr - Official website of Alsace (in English, French, and German) alsace.net - Alsace.net: Directory of Alsatian Websites (in French)alsace-passion.com - Alsace Passion : tourism in Alsaceelsassexpat.com - Elsass Expat : elsassexpat are régional news for alsatian expats----Regions of France Category:AlsaceCategory:French wine regionsCategory:NUTS 2 Statistical Regions of EuropeLink FAfr !als:Elsassca:Alsàciaco:Alsazi acs:Alsaskoda:Alsacede:Elsasse t:Alsacees:Alsaciaeo:Alzacofr: Alsacegl:Alsaciahr:Elzasid:Els assit:Alsaziahe:אלזסka:ე ლზასიla:Alsatiahu:El zászms:Alsacenl:Elzasja:ア ザス地域圏no:Alsacenn:Al sacepl:Alzacjapt:Alsáciaro:Al saciask:Alsaskofi:Elsasssv:Als acezh:阿爾薩斯
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Websites
Come-To-France.com : Experience authentic France
Come-To-France.com is your one stop shopping place for France. Experience authentic France with the Most Beautiful Villages of France, hotels all over France, activities
http://www.cometofrance.com
**** Netcomete - Haguenau
About the 4th town from Alsace-France and fascinating people...
http://www.netcomete.com/
France-Bike, bike tours in France, Germany and Netherlands
France-Bike organizes high quality bike tours in France, Germany and Netherlands
http://www.france-bike.com
Conseil Régional d'Alsace
Site officiel.
http://www.cr-alsace.fr/
Alsace On Line
History, geography, hotel guide, send a postcard.
http://www.visit-alsace.com
Les dernières nouvelles d'Alsace
L'actualité de la région Alsace, mais aussi française et internationale. Rubriques Actu en temps réel, Entreprises, Sport, petites annonces, programmes télé et courrier des lecteurs. Pages spéciales sur l'information vidéo et le multimédia. Recherche gratuite dans l'édition du jour et recherche payante dans les archives depuis septembre 1996.
http://www.dna.fr
Alsace Regional Tourism Committee
Fares, press corner, history, photos
http://www.tourism-alsace.com
L'Alsace
Le journal de l'Alsace et de la Franche-Comté propose ses 14 éditions du jour et ses archives depuis juillet 1996 en ligne. Des pages thématiques, sports, TV loisirs, des dossiers, une boutique et les petites annonces complètent le tout. De nombreux liens vers les sites de la région.
http://www.alsapresse.com
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