Editing Bas-Rhin (section)

== History ==
Bas-Rhin is one of the original 83 departments created on 4 March 1790, during the [[French Revolution]].

On 14 January 1790 the [[National Constituent Assembly (France)|National Constituent Assembly]] decreed:

*"- That Alsace be divided into two departments with Strasbourg and Colmar as their capitals;
*- That the Department of Strasbourg will be divided into three districts [...];
*- That the land of the German princes, coming under the sovereignty of France will be included in the division of districts;
*- That Landau, an enclave in the Palatinate, will have special justice [...]."

The borders of Bas-Rhin have changed many times:

*In 1793 it absorbed the following territories newly annexed by France:
**The County of [[Sarrewerden]];
**The County of [[Drulingen]];
**The lordship of [[Diemeringen]];
*The lordship of [[Asswiller]] of the Steinkallenfels family;
*Several communes from the [[Palatinate (region)|Palatinate]]<ref>Decree of 14 March 1793, which reunited 32 communes on the edge of the Rhine with France: "The [[National Convention]], after hearing the report of the diplomatic committee, declares in the name of the people of France that it accepts the vote freely made by the sovereign people of the following towns and communes: Berglabren, Glengenmenster, Billirchein, Oberhofen , Barbelrod, Winten, Dierbach, Pleisweiler , Klingen, Oberhausen, Kleishorbach, Fiderhorbach, Kleiszellen, Kaplen, Herchiersveiler, Horbach, Erlebach, Mertzheim, Steinweiler , Volsfisbeim, Appenhoffen, Heichelheim, Mulheffen, Volmersheim, Nidershorst, Oberhorst, Effingen, Aldorff, Germersheim , Freisbach , Ilvesheim, their enclaves and dependencies; in their primary assemblies, for their reunification with France, and, accordingly, the said towns and communes are an integral part of the French Republic. - Commissioners of the National Convention in the departments of Meurthe, Moselle, and Bas-Rhin are responsible for taking all necessary measures for the execution of the laws of the Republic in those towns and communes as well as sending delegates to the National Convention to enable the setting up of a permanently organization. - These towns and communes form the fifth district of Bas-Rhin. The capital [of the district] will be [[Landau]]."</ref>
*In 1795<ref>Decree of 30 [[Pluviôse]] III (18 February 1795), which reunites several communes in the District of Schelestadt with the district of Senones</ref> the region of [[Schirmeck]] - where the people did not speak [[Alsatian language|Alsatian]] - was detached from the district of Sélestat and attached to [[Vosges (department)|Vosges]] ([[Salm-Salm|District of Senones]]);<ref>Decree of 30 [[Pluviôse]] III (18 February 1795): "The communes of [[Russ, Bas-Rhin|Russ]], [[Wisches]], [[Schirmeck]], [[Rothau]], [[Neuviller-la-Roche|Neuviller]], [[Natzwiller]], [[Wildersbach]], [[Waldersbach]], and [[Barembach]], part of the district of [[Sélestat]] in the department of Bas-Rhin are to be reunited with the [[Salm-Salm|District of Senones]] in the [[Vosges (department)|Vosges]] department."</ref>
*In 1808 some territories east of the Rhine were annexed, especially the city of [[Kehl]];
*In 1814, after the first [[Treaty of Paris (1814)|Treaty of Paris]], France gained the territories north of the [[Lauter (Rhine)|Lauter]] from the former department of [[Mont-Tonnerre]] and including the city of [[Landau]],<ref>
The [[Treaty of Paris (1814)|Peace Treaty]], signed in Paris on 30 May 1814, Article 3: "5° The Fortress of Landau, having been built before the year 1792, is an isolated point in Germany, France is to retain beyond its borders part of the Departments of [[Mont-Tonnerre]] and Bas-Rhin to link the fortress of Landau and its radius to the rest of the Kingdom. The new boundaries are, starting from a point near [[Obersteinbach]] (which remains outside the limits of France), the boundary between the department of [[Moselle (department)|Moselle]] and Mont-Tonnerre until the department of Bas-Rhin then following the line that separates the Cantons of Weissenbourg and Bergzabern (on the French side), the cantons of [[Pirmasens]], [[Dahn]], and [[Annweiler]] (on the German side), to the point where this line, near the village of Wolmersheim, touches the edge of the radius of the fortress of [[Landau]]. From this area, which remains as it was in 1792, the new frontier will follow the arm of the [[Queich]] river which, on leaving the radius near [[Queichheim]] (which remains in France), passes near the villages of Mertenheim, [[Knittelsheim]], and Belheim (also remaining French) to the [[Rhine]], which then continues to form the boundary of France and Germany."</ref> but lost all the territories east of the [[Rhine]];<ref>The [[Treaty of Paris (1814)|Treaty of Peace]] signed in Paris on 30 May 1814, Article 3: "5° [...] On the Rhine, the [[Thalweg]] will be the border so that any changes that may occur later in the course of the River will have no effect on the ownership of the islands therein. The state of possession of these islands will be established as it existed at the time of the signing of the [[Treaty of Luneville]]."</ref>
*In 1815, following the second [[Treaty of Paris (1815)|Treaty of Paris]], France lost all the territories north of the Lauter<ref>The [[Treaty of Paris (1815)|Peace Treaty]] signed at Paris on 20 November 1815 Article I: "The borders of France will be as they were in 1790 except for changes and other matters which are summarized in this present article.
*1. [...] Of the border of the country of [[Saarbrücken]]: the line of demarcation will be the same that now separates Germany from the departments of Moselle and Bas-Rhin to the [[Lauter (Rhine)|Lauter]] [river], which will then serve as the border until its intersection with the Rhine. All the territory on the left bank of the Lauter, including Landau, will be part of Germany, but the city of Wissenbourg, traversed by the river, will remain wholly in France, with a radius on the left bank not exceeding one thousand [[Toise]]s [two thousand metres], and will be specifically determined by the commissioners who are responsible for the final boundary.
*2. From the mouth of the Lauter, along the departments of Bas-Rhin, Haut-Rhin, Doubs and Jura to the canton of Vaud [Switzerland], the boundaries remain as they were set by the [[Treaty of Paris (1814)|Treaty of Paris]]. The [[Thalweg]] of the Rhine forms the boundary between France and the German states but the ownership of the islands, as will be fixed after a new survey of the course of the river, will remain unchanged with some changes to be submitted in the course of time. Commissioners will be appointed from both sides by the ''High Contracting Parties'' within a period of three months to proceed with such survey. Half the bridges between Strasbourg and Kehl belong to France, and the other half to the [[Grand Duchy of Baden]] [...]."</ref> and the department was occupied by troops from Baden and Saxony from June 1815 to November 1818.
*In 1871 Bas-Rhin was annexed by Germany (by the [[Treaty of Frankfurt (1871)|Treaty of Frankfurt]]) and then became ''Bezirk Unterelsass'' in [[Reichsland Elsaß-Lothringen]];
*In 1919 Bas-Rhin became French again ([[Treaty of Versailles]]) and retained the territories that Germany had taken from the department of [[Vosges (department)|Vosges]] in 1871 (the Canton of Schirmeck and Canton of Saales);
*Between 1941 and 1944, the [[Natzweiler-Struthof concentration camp]] was in operation
*In 1944 [[Kehl]] was attached to Bas-Rhin before being reassigned to the new [[West Germany]] in 1953;
*In 1982 the department is included in the newly created [[Alsace]] region;
*On 7 April 2013 a referendum was held on the creation of a single community in Alsace for joining the Alsace region and the two departments of [[Haut-Rhin]] and Bas-Rhin.

[[Strasbourg]], the [[chef-lieu|''chef lieu'']] (principal city) of Bas-Rhin is the official seat of the [[European Parliament]] as well as of the [[Council of Europe]].

===Heraldry===
{{Blazon-arms
|img1=Blason département fr Bas-Rhin.svg
|legend1=Arms of Aigrefeuille d'Aunis 
|text=The coat of arms of Bas-Rhin is closely linked to the history of [[Basse-Alsace]]. It appeared for the first time in 1262 on a seal of the Counts of Werd who originated from Woerth near [[Erstein]] and who became [[Landgrave|landgrafs]] of Lower Alsace in 1156.

'''Blazon:'''<br/>
''Gules, a bend argent cotised fleury the same.''
}}