Alsace France

Alsace and partly Lorraine became German after the French defeat of 1870. It was only from 1871 when the Treaty of Frankfurt which stated the split of Lorraine was signed, that the expression Alsace-Lorraine (Imperial Territory of Alsace-Lorraine - Reichsland Elsaß-Lothringen) was used.

From Lorraine, the Prussians annexed a territory which is nowadays the department of Moselle. The whole territory of what is now the French region of Alsace was annexed too.

On May 10th 1871, the Treaty of Frankfurt confirms the annexation of Alsace-Lorraine by the Prussians, and states that its inhabitants will be allowed to declare that they want to keep their French nationality and leave the region before October 31st 1872. After this date, they would become German. About 250,000 inhabitants of Alsace-Lorraine chose to keep their French nationality. They left their friends and their houses behind them. But many others remained and protested against their incorporation to the German Empire without their consent.

Under German administration, the province is divided into three regions : Lorraine (Lothringen), Upper Alsace (Oberelsasz) and Lower Alsace (Unterelsasz). These regions become the departments of Moselle, of Haut-Rhin and of Bas-Rhin when they return to France in 1918. The annexation of Alsace-Lorraine to the German Empire give to this province institutions copied from the German system or kept from the French system, and some which are completely new. Local law, to which Alsatians are so devoted and which relates to domains like real estate, social insurance, religion and education, hunting or associations, will remain into effect after the return to France in 1918, and even after 1945.

During the first World War, about 250,000 soldiers of Alsace-Lorraine are mobilized in the German army, but 17,000 volunteers join the French troops and they are then followed by many deserters. After November 1918, the return of Alsace-Lorraine to France takes place with some difficulties: expulsion of about 110,000 inhabitants of full or of partial German origin, blunders of the French administration which aggravate autonomist feelings.

As border regions, Alsace and Lorraine have been fought over for centuries by France and Germany, their beleaguered past recalled by many a military stronghold and cemetery.

Today the region presents a more peaceful landscape of pastel-painted villages, fortified towns and sleepy vineyards.

At the northeast frontier of France, bordered by the Rhine, Alsace forms a fertile watershed between the mountains of the Vosges and the Black Forest of Germany.

Lorraine, with its gently rolling landscape on the other side of the mountains, is the poorer cousin but appears more overtly French in character.

Embattled Territory

Caught in the wars between France and Germany, Alsace and Lorraine have changed nationality four times since 1871.

Centuries of strife have made border citadels of Metz, Toul and Verdun in Lorraine, while Alsace abounds with castles, from the pastiche folly of Haut-Koenigsbourg to Saverne's ruined fortress, built to guard a strategic pass in the Vosges.

However, the area has a strong identity of its own, taking pride in local costumes, traditions and dialects.

In Alsace, Route du Vin vineyards nudge pretty villages in the Vosges foothills.

Strasbourg, the capital, is a cosmopolitan city with a 16th-century centre, while Nancy, Lorraine's historical capital, represents elegant 18th-century architecture and town planning.

Much of the attraction of this region lies in its cuisine. Lorraine offers beer and quiche lorraine. In Alsace, cosy winstubs, or wine cellars, serve sauerkraut and flowery white wines, such as Riesling or Gewürztraminer.

Even if the name of Alsace appeared first in the 7th Century, the origin of the name of this province is unsure. It could be of German origin (Alis-lauti-sat : a founding in a foreign country), of Celtic origin (Alis-atia : the area at the bottom of a mountain), or it could derive from the words Ell (Ill river) Sass (inhabitant in old German).

The Romans occupied the plain of Alsace and they were followed by the Alamans after the Great Invasions which happened as soon as the 4th Century.

Alsace was part of the Holy Roman Empire from the 9th Century until 1648 when it became part of France.

From the 12th Century, many peasants leave their fields and they become craftsmen or shopkeepers in towns which are growing. Strasbourg liberates itself of the protection of its bishop, and becomes a free city in 1262. Colmar, Sélestat and Obernai are surrounded by walls.

In 1354, the towns of Munster, Turckheim, Kaysersberg, Sélestat, Obernai, Rosheim, Wissembourg, Haguenau, Colmar and Mulhouse join together to form a league, the Decapole, which is put under the imperial protection, but remains however independant. The region suffers many disasters like the invasion of troops during the Hundred Years War, a Black Death outbreak in 1349, and everlasting feudal wars.

From 1519 in Strasbourg, thanks to Gutenberg, printing presses can be used to publish Luther's works. As soon as the end of the 15th Century, the flaws of the society, more particularly those of the clergy, are fought against. The Reformation spreads. In the country, a rebellion roars among the peasants who hope for an improvement in their condition. Armed bands muster and a bloody war occurs, ending in 1525 after the slaughter of 18,000 peasants.

In 1555, the Peace of Augsbourg clarifies the distribution of Catholics and Protestants across the country : you choose the religion of the lord who owns the land you live in.

Between 1618 and 1648, Alsace becomes a battlefield for the armies of the Thirty Years War. The soldiers ransack villages and slaughter their inhabitants. The region loses more than half its population. In 1648, Alsace, broken up into many lordly territories, becomes French by the Treaty of Westphalia. However Alsace keeps many particularities in its institutions and in its traditions. The revocation of the Edict of Nantes was not applied and the use of the French language was not made compulsory, even if German was the usual written language of most Alsatians. However French becomes the official language, and the Catholic religion becomes the only acknowledged religion, but predominant Catholics cohabit with Lutheran or reformed Protestants, all of them having their parishes.

The capitulation of Strasbourg occurs in 1681and sets the city as a part of France, but its privileges in local administration and in religion matters are still preserved. The Treaty of Ryswick, drawn up in 1697, confirms the annexation of Alsace to France.

During the French Revolution, on July 21st 1789 as the people hears of the fall of the Bastille, the city hall of Strasbourg is ransacked. The departments of Bas-Rhin and of Haut-Rhin are created in1790. The Revolution puts Alsace under the same laws as the rest of France, overturning habits and mentalities.

Between 1870 and 1918, the region, except an area that will become later the Territoire de Belfort, is annexed by the Germans. Alsace becomes an "Imperial Territory" (Reichsland) and gains a particular regime in many domains. The province returns to France at the end of the First World War, and remains French until 1940.

Annexed to the 3rd German Reich during the Second World War, Alsace returns to France when it is liberated on March 20th, 1945.

Background

Alsace has for centuries been fought over by France and Germany, on whose borders it lies. In Julius Caesar's time it formed part of Celtic Gaul, but the area was invaded by Germanic tribes in the fourth century, and remained part of the German Empire till the 17th. In 1648 part of the territory was ceded to France; in 1681 Louis X1V seized Strasbourg. The few remaining districts were seized by France after the Revolution.

Conquered by Germany between 1870 and 1871, it was regained by France at the end of the First World War. The region was occupied once more by Germany during the Second World War, but was liberated by the Allies and returned to France in 1944.

Alsace has a regional dialect very similar to German, but French is the official language. Because of its location and history, Alsace has developed a peculiar mix of the cultures of both France and Germany, and in some ways seems unsure of its identity. On the other hand, the merging of French and German influences in Alsace is a symbol of Franco-German reconciliation, and Strasbourg, the capital, is therefore an apt home for the European Court of Human Rights and the Council of Ministers.

Fortresses

As a result of its troubled past, Alsace is littered with fortified towns and strategic castles. In the northern Vosges hikers can take a 20-kilometre castle tour amongst impressive scenery, starting and finishing in Lemback and taking in the castles and ruins of Lowenstein, Hohenburg and Wegelnburg.

Most of the castles and ruins are both impressive and picturesque. A description of the castle of Haute Koenigsburg, however, is probably best confined to the former of these adjectives. Dating from the medieval period, it was rebuilt by the German Emperor Wilhelm II in 1899, when Alsace was part of Germany. He constructed a romantic Teutonic fantasy - a sort of Prussian Disneyland - which is not to everyone's taste. However, the castle is certainly imposing - in its own right, and by virtue of its position 755 metres up on a mountain peak above the vineyards.

The sunken fortifications and tunnels known as the Maginot Line are similarly not guaranteed to impress if aesthetics are the sole consideration. In fact, though a remarkable feat of engineering, they weren't a major success from a practical point of view either. Intended to make France's eastern frontier invulnerable to attack by Germany, they became redundant when the Germans deployed the devious strategy of going round them.

Food and Drink

The region of Alsace-Lorraine was dubbed 'Le jardin de France' by Louis XIV because of its fertile land. In the Rhine plain, wheat, vegetables and fruit are grown. The vineyards produce fine and distinctive white wines - particularly rieslings, sylvaners and gewurztraminers.

White cabbage is another important crop, and forms the main ingredient of one of France's classic regional dishes - sauerkraut, or more accurately, the delicacy choucroute garnie. Other specialities include fish ragout, escargots (snails), game dishes and seasoned sausages.

Generally the food is of a high standard even in modest auberges and wine cellars.

Contacts

The French Tourist Office

179 Piccadilly

London W1V 0AL

Alsace Tourisme

Office Departemental du Tourisme du Bas-Rhin

9 rue du Dome

F-67000 Strasbourg

Alsace and Lorraine are two historic provinces in eastern France. Part of the Holy Roman Empire until 1648, Alsace was added to France by the Treaty of Ryswick in 1697. Lorraine was part of the kingdom of Lotharingia, which was divided (959) into the duchies of Lower and Upper Lorraine. The latter, which became modern Lorraine, was an independent but much-fought-over duchy until 1766. Between 1871 and 1918, Alsace (the departments of Bas-Rhin and Haut-Rhin) and the eastern part of Lorraine (now the department of Moselle) were annexed to Germany. From 1919 to 1940, the area belonged to France; from 1940 to 1945, to Germany. It was returned to France in 1945. The three departments of Meuse, Meurthe-et-Moselle, and Vosges remained French.

Geologically, western Lorraine is composed of clay vales separated by the north-south trending limestone ridges of the Cotes de Meuse and Cotes de Moselle. The heavy soils of the vales support mixed farming--dairying, oats, and wheat. Crop yields are below the French average. The ridges are barriers to communication and invasion. Metz, Nancy, Verdun, Thionville, and Toul are route centers and fortress cities defending gaps in the ridges. The battle for Verdun was one of the bloodiest of World War I. Nancy (1982 pop., 99,000), the traditional capital and university center of Lorraine, is located on the Rhine-Marne canal, which follows the routeway from Paris to Strasbourg.

The Lorraine iron ore fields, about 110 km (70 mi) long and 20 km (12 mi) wide, run from Nancy northward to the primary iron and steel district around Longwy, Thionville, and Metz. Ore production exceeds 50 million metric tons (55 million U.S. tons) a year, the second highest in Western Europe. The French part of the Saar coalfield lies 64 km (40 mi) to the east. Producing 10 million metric tons (11 million U.S. tons) of coal a year, it now has half the French reserves in easily mechanized, thick seams.

Southeastward, Lorraine rises gradually to the summits of the Vosges. This sandstone massif has a granite core exposed in the south, where elevations exceed 1,200 m (4,000 ft). The political and linguistic divide between French-speaking Lorraine and German-speaking Alsace runs along its crest. At the foot of the steep eastern slope of the Vosges is a famous vineyard region. An adjoining belt of fertile loess soils produces cereals, fruit, tobacco, and vegetables. It also produces hops for Alsatian and German breweries.

Strasbourg (1982 pop., 252,000), a major port on the Rhine, is the traditional capital of Alsace. Its industries include oil refining, brewing, printing, food processing, and metallurgy. Famous for its university and its pate, Strasbourg is headquarters of the Council of Europe. The Rhine-Rhone canal connects Strasbourg with Mulhouse, the Burgundy Gate, and Lyon. Mulhouse, with a chemical industry based on substantial local potash deposits, and Colmar are centers of the textile industry of Alsace and eastern Lorraine. Temperatures in the region average 0.6 deg C (33 deg F) in January and 19 deg C (60 deg F) in July. Annual rainfall ranges from 510 to 1,020 mm (20 to 40in).