Taking the shape of a crescent, this “blue banana” is a continuous corridor of urbanisation with a population of 110 million, which adds up to three-quarters of the EU’s purchasing power. The Upper Rhine region, of which Alsace is part, is located at the heart of the European Megalopolis, which stretches from Liverpool to Geneva. Saint-Louis and its suburbs form part of the Basel agglomération in Switzerland, which comprises 830,000 inhabitants in Swiss and German towns.
PLACES TO SEE IN FRANCE
These gems of the wine country are often made up of old medieval ramparts, winding alleyways that bloom with magnificent geraniums, winstubs, vaults, half-timbered houses, and medieval churches. Several cities and villages along the Alsace Wine Route have since become famous and attract a very large crowd of visitors during the summer months and Christmas. 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.
Sundgau
- The capital, Strasbourg, is home to one of France’s most beautiful Gothic cathedrals, a pedestrian old town centre, and the country’s premier Christmas Market.
- For more than 300 years, from the Thirty Years’ War to World War II, the political status of Alsace was heavily contested between France and various German states in wars and diplomatic conferences.
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- The region’s location in northeastern France, near the Vosges Mountains, also influences its climate.
- Since the 1st January 2016, the administrative region of Alsace has been part of the new Grand Est region along with Lorraine and Champagne-Ardenne.
- That city’s Protestant influence was countered, however, by the resolute Roman Catholicism of the Habsburgs, who tried to eradicate heresy in upper Alsace.
In recent times, villagers started to paint the rendering white in accordance with Beaux-Arts movements. The traditional habitat of the Alsatian lowland, like in other regions of Germany and Northern Europe, consists of houses constructed with walls in timber framing and cob and roofing in flat tiles. While 39% of the adult population of Alsace speak the dialect, only one in four children speak it, and only one in ten children uses it regularly.
Though the ban has long been lifted and street signs today are often bilingual, Alsace–Lorraine is today predominantly French in language and culture. However, in a Decree of 18 December 1952, supplemented by an Order of 19 December of the same year, optional teaching of the German language was introduced in elementary schools in communes in which the language of habitual use was the Alsatian dialect. After World War II, the French government pursued, in line with its traditional language policy, a campaign to suppress the use of German as part of a wider Francization campaign. The population was forced to speak German and 'French' family names were Germanized. During a reannexation by Germany (1940–1945), High German was reinstated as the language of education. After 1918, French was the only language used in schools, particularly primary schools.
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- Although German dialects were spoken in Alsace for most of its history, the dominant language in Alsace today is French.
- The region was originally populated by Celtic tribes who founded Argentorate (now Strasbourg) towards the end of the 3rd century BC.
- A string of picturesque villages, well-known wine-producing towns and exceptional landscapes await you, for a delicious getaway.
- Alsace is generally seen as the most religious of all the French regions.
- Though the ban has long been lifted and street signs today are often bilingual, Alsace–Lorraine is today predominantly French in language and culture.
- The local microclimate is favourable for the slow and prolonged ripening of grapes and the formation of grapes of great finesse.
Travel through time at the Castle of Haut-Koenigsbourg
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Earthenware and crockery have been fashioned here for several centuries, and most Alsatian families still use a colorful Soufflenheim pot to cook choucroute (sauerkraut). This is a gentle, unhurried region of billowing hill country sprinkled with small lakes, carpeted with dense forests, laced by rivers and freckled with cute villages and hilltop castles. Consider dining at a winstub (wine room), a traditional Alsatian restaurant renowned for its warm, homey atmosphere. Take the spiral staircase that twists up to the viewing platform, from which you can enjoy unmatched views of the city, the Alsatian plain and the Massif des Vosges. No trip to Alsace is complete without a meander on the Route des Vins (Alsace Wine Route), one of France’s most cherished wine roads. Pick a destination, and let our local experts customize every detail of your adventure.
The Vosges Mountains
Both Alsatian and Standard German were for a time banned from public life (including street and city names, official administration, and educational system). The Ministerial Memorandum of 21 June 1982, known as the Circulaire Savary, introduced financial support, over three years, for the teaching of regional languages in schools and universities. In 1951, Article 10 of the Deixonne Law (Loi Deixonne) on the teaching of local languages and dialects made provision for Breton, Basque, Catalan and old Provençal but not for Corsican, Dutch (West Flemish) or Alsatian in Alsace and Moselle. During the Lutheran Reform, the towns of Alsace were the first to adopt the German language as their official language instead of Latin. Although Alsace has been part of France multiple times in the glitzbets casino registration past, the region had no direct connection with the French state for several centuries. As is customary for regional languages in France, neither Alsatian nor the Frankish dialects have any form of official status, although both are now recognized as languages of France and can be chosen as subjects in lycées.
Deep restructuring has affected main activities such as car manufacturing (Peugeot is the region’s first employer with an important site in Mulhouse). The alsatian industry has been facing diversification, particularly since 2004 when many potassium mines (Mines de potasse d’Alsace or MDPA) were closed for good. However, because of its concentration in wine-growing, tobacco, hop, hemp and sauerkraut cabbage production, agriculture in Alsace is reputed to be high-value-added. The region has one of France’s lowest unemployment rates (8.4% in 2011). Alsace is a prosperous region, ranking third in France after Ile-de-France and Rhône-Alpes. Alsace is the first export region of France based on the export value per inhabitant.
Here, the Latin and German worlds collide, and this is reflected in the city’s culture, architecture and inimitable Alsatian style. Nature lovers and outdoor enthusiasts will find invigorating escapes by heading further up to the Massif des Vosges (Vosges Mountains). With its splendiferous cathedral and irresistible backdrop of old half-timbered houses and canals, the city of Strasbourg sets the tone. Alsace is idiosyncratic and colorful at the same time, and that’s why it’s so appealing. With an intriguing mix of French and German influences, Alsace is a distinctive region that leaves you wondering exactly where you are. Join our community to get discounts, travel inspiration and trip ideas – just in time for summer!
The population grew rapidly, from 800,000 in 1814 to 914,000 in 1830 and 1,067,000 in 1846. At the same time, some Alsatians were in opposition to the Jacobins and sympathetic to the restoration of the monarchy pursued by the invading forces of Austria and Prussia who sought to crush the nascent revolutionary republic. Mulhouse (a city in southern Alsace), which had been part of Switzerland since 1466, joined France in 1798. "La Marseillaise" was played for the first time in April of that year in front of the mayor of Strasbourg Philippe-Frédéric de Dietrich. On 21 July 1789, after receiving news of the Storming of the Bastille in Paris, a crowd of people stormed the Strasbourg city hall, forcing the city administrators to flee and putting symbolically an end to the feudal system in Alsace.
If you’re after great white wines, you’ll be in seventh heaven. Vines march up the hillsides to castle-topped crags and the mist-shrouded Vosges, and every so often an exquisitely preserved medieval village invites you to stop and soak up the atmosphere. Corkscrewing through glorious countryside, the entire route stretches 170km (105 miles) from Marlenheim. This is certainly not your typical Alsatian destination, but the area around Ensisheim, north of Mulhouse, will appeal to travelers after something different.