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From 1982 to 2016, Alsace was the smallest administrative région in metropolitan France, consisting of the Bas-Rhin and Haut-Rhin departments. Territorial reform passed by the French Parliament in 2014 resulted in the merger of the Alsace administrative region with Champagne-Ardenne and Lorraine to form Grand Est.
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Alsace, historical region and former région of France, incorporated since January 2016 into the région of Grand Est. As an administrative entity, it encompassed the départements of Haut-Rhin (“Upper Rhine”) and Bas-Rhin (“Lower Rhine”) and was bounded by the régions of Lorraine to the west and Franche-Comté to the southwest. Switzerland lies to the...
Natural boundaries in Alsace include the Vosges Mountains to the west and the Rhine River to the east. The massif of the Vosges gradually gives way eastward to the plain of Alsace, while to the south the region of Sundgau in southern Haut-Rhin rises to the Jura Mountains. Alsace is one of the more fertile regions in central Europe. The hills are generally richly wooded, chiefly with fir, beech, and oak. Annual precipitation is relatively low, ranging from 20 to 28 inches (500 to 700 mm).
Alsace has a rich, highly intensive agriculture characterized by small farms. This is particularly true of the vineyards that dominate the foothills of the Vosges. Riesling, Gewürztraminer, Sylvaner, Auxerrois, and Pinot Blanc are among the notable white wines produced. Colmar is the principal centre of the wine-growing region, whose vineyards extend in a narrow strip along the lower slopes of the Vosges west of the city. 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. The region is also known for its asparagus and foie gras.
The industrial economy of Alsace is strong and diversified. Textile manufacturing, based in and around Mulhouse, is one of the region’s oldest industries, though now it has little importance. Machinery production, in part related to textiles, and food and beverage industries (milling, brewing, canning) are also long established. More recent industries include automobile assembly and component manufacture, pharmaceuticals, electronics, and telecommunications. Much of the investment in industry originates outside France, notably in Germany, Japan, and the United States. A large number of workers from Alsace commute to factories in Germany and Switzerland. The service sector has grown rapidly in fields such as retailing, business services, higher education, and research. Strasbourg in particular has benefited from this trend.
Outside the Vosges massif, Alsace is densely populated (twice the national average) and has a well-developed urban network dominated by the cities of Strasbourg, Mulhouse, and Colmar. Rural population densities are among the highest in France. A network of motorways traverses Alsace, and a regional airport is located in Strasbourg. There is also an extensive port and industrial zone bordering the Rhine. Apart from its use as a waterway, the Rhine is used to generate hydroelectric power, and a nuclear power station stands on its banks at Fessenheim.
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. The Alemanni, however, were conquered by the Franks under Clovis in 496, and Alsace became a Frankish duchy. Under Merovingian rule the area was Christianized and colonized.
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Alsace was incorporated into Lotharingia in the mid-9th century and was united with the German territories of the Carolingians by the Treaty of Mersen (870). It was attached to what became known as the Holy Roman Empire until the 17th century. During that period its territory was divided into a number of secular and ecclesiastical lordships and municipalities, which remained significant until the French Revolution. The medieval period was also marked by the growing importance of its cities—e.g., Strasbourg, Colmar, and Haguenau, which, with the support of the emperors, gradually freed themselves from their feudal overlords.
Protestantism made important gains in Alsace during the Reformation, and Strasbourg, where the reformer Martin Bucer was especially prominent, became the centre of Alsatian Protestantism. That city’s Protestant influence was countered, however, by the resolute Roman Catholicism of the Habsburgs, who tried to eradicate heresy in upper Alsace.
French influence began to be felt in Alsace late in the 16th century, during the Wars of Religion. This influence grew during the Thirty Years’ War, when the Alsatian cities, caught between the opposing Catholic and Protestant sides and feeling their liberties threatened, appealed to France for help. The Peace of Westphalia (1648) gave France an informal protectorate over Alsace, and full control was established during the reign of Louis XIV, after the French had occupied Strasbourg in 1681.
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
The history of Alsace has been influenced by the Rhine and its tributaries, a favorable climate, fertile loess soils, and the region's relative accessibility through and around the Vosges. It was first inhabited by early modern humans during the Paleolithic .
The first foundation by Saint Leobard around 590, was a community of Irish monks under the Rule of St. Columbanus. Then known as Aquileia, after the town in Italy, it was one of the Merovingian abbeys and a Reichsabtei. About 724 Saint Pirmin reformed the Columban monasteries in Alsace, including this one, introducing the Rule of St. Benedict.
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What is the history of Alsace?
- Human civilization in Alsace dates back to the prehistoric era. Nobody is entirely sure how old Alsace is. The biggest city, Strasbourg on the Rhine River, has had excavations with artifacts from as early as the Neolithic era (12000BC).
- Julius Caesar and the Romans conquered the region. In 58 BC, Julius Caesar and the Roman Empire conquered Alsace. But by the fall of the Roman Empire, it was the Alemanni tribes of Germanic origin, who controlled this area around the Upper Rhine river.
- Clovis, the King of the Franks, would make it part of what became known as France. In 496AD however, King Clovis and the Franks (as the people of France were known at the time) conquered Alsace.
- Charlemagne united France, Germany and Alsace. They say that every European is related to King Charlemagne. He had at least 18 children, so he certainly knew how to get around.
Jun 8, 2018 · Ten Folk-Songs of Alsace, Lorraine and Champagne Harmonized by Gustave Ferrari. English translations by Deems Taylor. New York: G. Schirmer, 1919. Kahn, Bonnie M. My Father Spoke French: Nationalism and Legitimacy in Alsace, 1871-1914. New York: Garland Publishers. 1990. Koch, Susan.
Aug 5, 2020 · After the Franco-Prussian War in 1870, 90 percent of the broader region known as Alsace-Lorraine was annexed into the German Empire in 1871, then ceded to France during the Treaty of Versailles at the close of World War I in 1919. It gained a measure of independence and self-governance between the world wars, only to be occupied by German ...
