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.
History
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. Alsace is one of the regions of France that has retained the most medieval castles. The touristic itinerary Route Romane d’Alsace (Romanesque Road of Alsace) links the region’s best examples of Romanesque architecture in Alsace.
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.
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- Until the 1st January 2016, when it was integrated into the Grand-Est region, Alsace was the smallest region of metropolitan France.
- 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 topography of Alsace, the Vosges and the Black Forest in Germany all play a major role in the local climate.
- Alsace is also the main beer-producing region of France, thanks primarily to breweries in and near Strasbourg.
- Alsatian is taught in schools (but is not mandatory) as one of the regional languages of France.
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.
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.
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.
The Vosges Mountains
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.
Like the rest of France, only the spire of the parish church signals the presence of colourful and elegant villages between two hills. Throughout its course, it is sometimes in Lorraine and sometimes in Alsace. Many town names have become synonymous with rich traditions, friendliness, prosperity and great wines. 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.
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. Fall in love with the most mythical of wine routes Alsace is the most bicycle-friendly region of France,citation needed with 2,000 kilometres (1,200 mi) of cycle routes. However, the abandoned Maurice-Lemaire tunnel towards Saint-Dié-des-Vosges was rebuilt as a toll road. Alsace is furthermore famous for its vineyards (especially along the 170 km of the Route des Vins d'Alsace from Marlenheim to Thann) and the Vosges mountains with their thick and green forests and picturesque lakes. A gastronomic symbol of the région is the Choucroute, a local variety of Sauerkraut.
- The backstreets are punctuated by impeccably restored half-timbered houses in sugared-almond shades, many ablaze with geraniums in summer.
- Munster is still being made on either side of the Vosges mountains in Alsace and in Lorraine.
- A tourist hotspot, the little city houses some of the most beautiful half-timbered houses of the Renaissance in Alsace in its entirely pedestrian centre.
- A network of motorways traverses Alsace, and a regional airport is located in Strasbourg.
- 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 historic center of Colmar is a maze of pedestrian malls dotted with plenty of cultural highlights.
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 glitzbets casino registration 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!
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.
Spectacular Things to Do in Eguisheim: Alsace’s “Preferred Village”
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 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.
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However, visitors to Alsace can see indications of renewed political and cultural interest in the language – in Alsatian signs appearing on hoardings and in car windows, as well as in new official bilingual street signs in Strasbourg and Mulhouse. The constitution of the Fifth Republic states that French alone is the official language of the Republic. Increasingly, French is the only language used at home and at work, and a growing number of people have a good knowledge of standard German as a foreign language learned in school. This situation has spurred a movement to preserve the Alsatian language, which is perceived as endangered, a situation paralleled in other régions of France, such as Brittany or Occitania. Few young people speak Alsatian today, although there do still exist one or two enclaves in the Sundgau region where some older inhabitants cannot speak French, and where Alsatian is still used as the mother tongue.