Editing Alsace

{{Short description|Region of France}}
{{Other uses}}
{{Redirect|Elsaß|the battleship|SMS Elsaß|the region of the German Empire|Alsace–Lorraine}}
{{More citations needed|date=August 2022}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2020}}
{{Infobox settlement
| name                            = Alsace
| native_name                     = {{native name|gsw|Elsàss}} {{native name|de|Elsaß}}
| anthem = {{native phrase|de|"[[Elsässisches Fahnenlied]]"|italics=off}}<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dJr8yennvBY | title=Elsässisches Fahnenlied &#91;Anthem of Alsace&#93;&#91;+English translation&#93; | website=[[YouTube]] | date=14 April 2020 }}</ref><br />({{Langx|en|"Song of the Alsatian Flag"}}) <br /> [[File:Elsässisches Fahnenlied!.ogg|alt=Instrumental version, 2023|Instrumental version, 2023|center]]
| image_skyline                   = {{Photomontage
| photo1a = Pano.cernay.JPG
| photo3a = Absolute cathedrale vue quais 01.JPG
| photo2a = Colmar (32350846618).jpg
| photo3c = Riquewihr Dolder.jpg
| photo3b = Château de Hohenbourg.jpg
| photo4a = Neuf-Brisach, Haut-Rhin, France.jpg
| spacing = 3
| border  = 0
| color   = white
| size    = 300
}}
| image_caption                   = Views of [[Cernay, Haut-Rhin|Cernay]], [[Colmar]], [[Strasbourg]], [[Château de Hohenbourg]], [[Riquewihr]], [[Neuf-Brisach]]
| image_map                       = Carte Alsace 2018.png
| image_flag                      = Flag of Alsace.svg
| image_shield                    = BlasonAlsace.svg
| subdivision_type                = Country
| subdivision_name                = [[France]]
| subdivision_type1               = [[Territorial collectivity]]
| subdivision_name1               = [[European Collectivity of Alsace]]
| seat_type                       = [[Prefectures in France|Prefecture]]
| seat                            = [[Strasbourg]]
| area_total_km2                  = 8280
| area_footnotes                  = <ref>{{cite web|title=La géographie de l'Alsace|url=http://www.region.alsace/region-alsace/la-geographie-de-lalsace|website=region.alsace|access-date=13 January 2016|archive-date=12 December 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151212121550/http://www.region.alsace/region-alsace/la-geographie-de-lalsace|url-status=dead}}</ref>
| population_total                = 1919745
| population_density_km2          = auto
| population_footnotes            = <ref name="pop">Combined 2021 population of the departements of [[Bas-Rhin]] and [[Haut-Rhin]]: {{cite web |title=Populations légales des départements en 2021 |url=https://www.insee.fr/fr/statistiques/7728787?sommaire=7728826 |publisher=[[Institut national de la statistique et des études économiques|INSEE]] |access-date=16 January 2024}}</ref>
| population_as_of                = Jan. 2021
| population_demonym              = Alsatian
| demographics_type1       = GDP
| demographics1_footnotes  = <ref>{{cite web | url=https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/tgs00003/default/table?lang=en | title=EU regions by GDP, Eurostat|access-date=18 September 2023}}</ref>
|demographics1_title1     = Total
|demographics1_info1      = €67.748 billion (2022)
| demographics1_title2     = Per capita
|demographics1_info2      = €35,800 (2022)
| parts_type                      = [[Departments of France|Departments]]
| parts_style                     = list
| parts                           = 2
| p1                              = [[Bas-Rhin]] (67)
| p2                              = [[Haut-Rhin]] (68)
| iso_code                        = FR-A
}}
{{Alsace sidebar}}
'''Alsace''' ({{IPAc-en|æ|l|ˈ|s|æ|s}},<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia |url=http://www.lexico.com/definition/Alsace |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200317063739/https://www.lexico.com/definition/alsace |url-status=dead |archive-date=2020-03-17 |title=Alsace |dictionary=[[Lexico]] UK English Dictionary |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]}}</ref> {{IPAc-en|USalso|æ|l|ˈ|s|eɪ|s|,_|ˈ|æ|l|s|æ|s}};<ref>{{cite American Heritage Dictionary|Alsace|access-date=11 May 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite Collins Dictionary|Alsace|access-date=11 May 2019}}</ref> {{IPA|fr|alzas|lang|Fr-Paris--Alsace.ogg}})<ref>[[Low Alemannic German]]/[[Alsatian language|Alsatian]]: {{lang|gsw|Elsàss}} [[Help:IPA/Alemannic German|[ˈɛlsɑs]]]; [[German language|German]]: {{lang|de|Elsass}} ([[German spelling reform of 1996|German spelling before 1996]]: {{lang|de|Elsaß}}) [[Help:IPA/Standard German|[ˈɛlzas]]] <sup>[[:File:Elsass.ogg|ⓘ]]</sup>; [[Latin language|Latin]]: {{lang|la|Alsatia}})</ref> is a cultural region and a [[territorial collectivity]] in the [[Grand Est]] administrative region of northeastern [[France]], on the west bank of the upper [[Rhine]], next to [[Germany]] and [[Switzerland]]. In January 2021, it had a population of 1,919,745.<ref name=pop /> Alsatian culture is characterized by a blend of German and French influences.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.britishcouncil.org/voices-magazine/alsace-culturally-not-quite-french-not-quite-german |title=Alsace: culturally not quite French, not quite German |last=Leichtfried |first=Laura |work=British Council |date=23 February 2017 |access-date=25 August 2021 |url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170223231848/https://www.britishcouncil.org/voices-magazine/alsace-culturally-not-quite-french-not-quite-german |archive-date=23 February 2017 }}</ref>

Until 1871, Alsace included the area now known as the [[Territoire de Belfort]], which formed its southernmost part. From 1982 to 2016, Alsace was the smallest administrative {{lang|fr|[[Regions of France|région]]}} in [[metropolitan France]], consisting of the [[Bas-Rhin]] and [[Haut-Rhin]] [[Departments of France|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]]. On 1 January 2021, the departments of Bas-Rhin and Haut-Rhin merged into the new [[European Collectivity of Alsace]] but remained part of the region Grand Est.

[[Alsatian dialect|Alsatian]] is an [[Alemannic German|Alemannic]] dialect closely related to [[Swabian German|Swabian]], although since World War II most [[Alsatians (people)|Alsatians]] primarily speak French. Internal and international migration since 1945 has also changed the ethnolinguistic composition of Alsace. 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. The economic and cultural capital of Alsace, as well as its largest city, is [[Strasbourg]], which sits on the present German international border. The city is the seat of [[European institutions in Strasbourg|several international organizations and bodies]].

==Etymology==
The name ''Alsace'' can be traced to the [[Old High German]] {{lang|goh|Ali-saz}} or ''Elisaz'', meaning "foreign domain".<ref>{{cite book |last=Bostock |first=John Knight |title=A Handbook on Old High German Literature |year=1976 |publisher=Clarendon Press |location=Oxford |isbn=0-19-815392-9 |url=https://archive.org/details/handbookonoldhig00bost |url-access=registration |edition=2nd |author2=Kenneth Charles King |author3=D. R. McLintock |editor=Kenneth Charles King, D. R. McLintock |page=[https://archive.org/details/handbookonoldhig00bost/page/20 20]}}</ref> An alternative explanation is from a [[Germanic languages|Germanic]] ''Ell-sass'', meaning "seated on the [[Ill (France)|Ill]]",<ref>Roland Kaltenbach: ''Le guide de l’Alsace'', La Manufacture 1992, {{ISBN|2-7377-0308-5}}, page 36</ref> a river in Alsace.

==History==
{{Main|History of Alsace}}

In prehistoric times, Alsace was inhabited by nomadic hunters. Part of the province of [[Germania Superior]] in the Roman Empire, the area went on to become a diffuse border region between the French and the German cultures and languages. Long a center of the German-speaking world, after the end of the [[Thirty Years' War]], southern Alsace was annexed by France in 1648, with most of the remainder conquered later in the century. In contrast to other parts of France, Protestants were permitted to practise their faith in Alsace even after the [[Edict of Fontainebleau]] of 1685 that abolished their privileges in the rest of France.

After the 1870–71 [[Franco-Prussian War]], Alsace was annexed by Germany and became a part of the 1871 [[Unification of Germany|unified]] [[German Empire]] as a formal "Emperor's Land". After [[World War I]] the victorious Allies detached it from Germany and the province became part of the [[Third French Republic]]. Having been occupied and annexed by Germany during [[World War II]], it was returned to France by the Allies at the end of [[World War II]].

===Pre-Roman Alsace===
The presence of hominids in Alsace can be traced back 600,000 years.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |title=Encyclopedia of the World's Minorities |publisher=Routledge|year=2005|isbn=1-57958-468-3 |editor-last=Skutsch|editor-first=Carl |volume=1|location=New York |pages=79}}</ref> By 4000 BCE farming, in the form of [[Linear Pottery culture]], arrived in the region from the Danube and the Hungarian plain. The culture was characterized by "timber longhouse settlements and incised pottery ... favoring floodplain edge situations for their permanent villages  ... [and] small clearings in the forest" for their crops and animals."<ref>{{cite book |last1=Bellwood |first1=Peter |title=First Farmers |date=2005 |publisher=Blackwell Publishing |location=Malden, MA |page=77}}</ref>

By 100 BCE Germanic peoples, including eventually the [[Suebi]] and other tribes under [[Ariovistus]], had begun to intrude into areas along the upper Rhine and Danube long settled by [[Celts|Celtic]] [[Gauls]]. Alsace itself had come to be occupied by the [[Triboci]], a Germanic tribe allied with Ariovistus.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Cary |first1=M. |last2=Scullard |first2=H.H. |title=A History of Rome Down to the Reign of Constantine |date=1979 |publisher=MacMillan Education Ltd |location=London |page=260}}</ref>

===Roman Alsace===
In response to the threat posted by [[Ariovistus]], the [[Aedui]], a Celtic tribe allied to Rome, appealed to the Roman Senate and Julius Caesar for aid. In 58 BCE, after negotiations with Ariovistus failed, [[Julius Caesar]] routed the Suebi at the foot of the Vosges near what became Cernay in southern Alsace.<ref name="Macmillan Education Ltd">{{cite book |last1=Cary |first1=M. |last2=Scullard |first2=H.H. |title=A History of Rome Down to the Age of Constantine |date=1979 |publisher=Macmillan Education Ltd. |location=London |pages=259–261 |edition=third}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Caesar |first1=Julius |editor1-last=Henderson |editor1-first=Jeffrey |title=The Galllic War, Book 1 |date=2000 |publisher=Harvard University |location=Cambridge, Massachusetts |pages=46-87 (lines 31-54)}}</ref> There followed a "long period of security ... for the Gauls along the middle and upper Rhine."<ref name="Macmillan Education Ltd"/>

From the time of [[Augustus]] to the early fifth century AD, the area of Alsace was incorporated into the Roman province of [[Germania Superior]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Sheperd |first1=William |title=Historical Atlas |date=1929 |publisher=Henry Holt and Company |location=New York |pages=38–39 |edition=seventh}}</ref> As a border province, the Romans built fortifications and military camps, many of which, including [[Argentoratum]] (Strasbourg), evolved into modern towns and cities.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Cary |first1=M. |last2=Scullard |first2=H.H. |title=A History of Rome Down to the Reign of Constantine |date=1979 |publisher=MacMillan Education Ltd |location=London |pages=336 and 458}}</ref>

===Alemannic and Frankish Alsace===
{{Main|Duchy of Alsace}}
In 357 CE, Germanic tribes attempted to conquer Alsace but they were rebuffed by the Romans.<ref name=":0" /> With the [[decline of the Roman Empire]], Alsace became the territory of the Germanic [[Alemanni]]. The Alemanni were agricultural people, and their Germanic language formed the basis of modern-day dialects spoken along the Upper Rhine ([[Alsatian dialect|Alsatian]], Alemannian, Swabian, Swiss). [[Clovis I|Clovis]] and the [[Franks]] defeated the Alemanni during the 5th century AD, culminating with the [[Battle of Tolbiac]], and Alsace became part of the [[Austrasia|Kingdom of Austrasia]]. Under Clovis' [[Merovingian]] successors the inhabitants were Christianized. Alsace remained under Frankish control until the [[Frankish realm]], following the [[Oaths of Strasbourg]] of 842, was formally dissolved in 843 at the [[Treaty of Verdun]]; the grandsons of [[Charlemagne]] divided the realm into three parts. Alsace formed part of the [[Middle Francia]], which was ruled by the eldest grandson [[Lothar I]].

Lothar died early in 855 and his realm was divided into three parts. The part known as [[Lotharingia]], or Lorraine, was given to Lothar's son. The rest was shared between Lothar's brothers [[Charles the Bald]] (ruler of the [[Western Francia|West Frankish]] realm) and [[Louis the German]] (ruler of the [[Eastern Francia|East Frankish]] realm). The Kingdom of Lotharingia was short-lived, however, becoming the [[stem duchy]] of [[Duchy of Lorraine|Lorraine]] in Eastern Francia after the [[Treaty of Ribemont]] in 880. Alsace was united with the other Alemanni east of the Rhine into the stem [[duchy of Swabia]].

===Alsace within the Holy Roman Empire===
At about this time, the surrounding areas experienced recurring fragmentation and reincorporations among a number of [[feudalism|feudal]] secular and ecclesiastical lordships, a common process in the [[Holy Roman Empire]]. Alsace experienced great prosperity during the 12th and 13th centuries under [[House of Hohenstaufen|Hohenstaufen emperors]].
[[File:Albert III Alsace.jpg|thumb|Seal of [[Albert IV, Count of Habsburg]] (d.1239), inscribed in Latin (with abbreviations): ''SIGILLUM ALBERTI (COMIS) DE HABESB(URG) ET LANGRAVII ALSACTIAE'' ("seal of Albert of Habsburg, Count of Habsburg and Landgrave of Alsace")]]
[[Frederick I, Holy Roman Emperor|Frederick I]] set up Alsace as a province (a ''[[wikt:procuratio|procuratio]]'', not a ''[[provincia]]'') to be ruled by [[ministeriales]], a non-noble class of civil servants. The idea was that such men would be more tractable and less likely to alienate the [[fief]] from the crown out of their own greed. The province had a single provincial court (''[[Landgericht (medieval)|Landgericht]]'') and a central administration with its seat at [[Haguenau|Hagenau]]. [[Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor|Frederick II]] designated the [[Bishop of Strasbourg]] to administer Alsace, but the authority of the bishop was challenged by Count [[Rudolf I of Germany|Rudolf of Habsburg]], who received his rights from Frederick II's son [[Conrad IV of Germany|Conrad IV]]. Strasbourg began to grow to become the most populous and commercially important town in the region.

In 1262, after a long struggle with the ruling bishops, its citizens gained the status of [[free imperial city]]. A stop on the [[Paris]]-[[Vienna]]-[[Orient]] trade route, as well as a port on the Rhine route linking [[southern Germany]] and Switzerland to the Netherlands, England and [[Scandinavia]], it became the political and economic center of the region. Cities such as [[Colmar]] and [[Hagenau]] also began to grow in economic importance and gained a kind of autonomy within the "[[Décapole]]" (or "Zehnstädtebund"), a federation of ten free towns.

Though little is known about the early history of the [[History of the Jews in Alsace|Jews of Alsace]], there is a lot of information from the 12th century onwards. They were successful as moneylenders and had the favor of the Emperor.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Wigoder |first1=Geoffrey |title=Jewish Art and Civilization |date=1972 |page=62}}</ref> As in much of Europe, the prosperity of Alsace was brought to an end in the 14th century by a series of harsh winters, bad harvests, and the [[Black Death]]. These hardships were blamed on Jews, leading to the [[pogrom]]s of 1336 and 1339. In 1349, Jews of Alsace were accused of poisoning the wells with [[plague (disease)|plague]], leading to the massacre of thousands of Jews during the [[Strasbourg pogrom]].<ref>{{cite book |title=The power of plagues |first=Irwin W. |last=Sherman |publisher=Wiley-Blackwell |year=2006 |isbn=1-55581-356-9 |page=74 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LOjqWL-u9VMC&q=strasbourg+pogrom+february+14+1349&pg=PA74}}</ref> Jews were subsequently forbidden to settle in the town. An additional natural disaster was the [[Rhine rift]] earthquake of 1356, one of Europe's worst which made ruins of [[Basel]]. Prosperity returned to Alsace under [[Habsburg]] administration during the [[Renaissance]].

[[File:Absolute Petite France 02.jpg|thumb|[[Petite France, Strasbourg|Petite France]], [[Strasbourg]]]]

Holy Roman Empire central power had begun to decline following years of imperial adventures in Italian lands, often ceding hegemony in Western Europe to France, which had long since centralized power. France began an aggressive policy of expanding eastward, first to the rivers [[Rhône]] and [[Meuse]], and when those borders were reached, aiming for the Rhine. In 1299 the French proposed a marriage alliance between [[Blanche of France, Duchess of Austria|Blanche]] (sister of [[Philip IV of France]]) and [[Rudolf I of Bohemia|Rudolf]] (son of [[Albert I of Germany]]), with Alsace to be the dowry; however, the deal never came off. In 1307, the town of [[Belfort]] was first chartered by the Counts of [[Montbéliard]]. During the next century, France was to be militarily shattered by the [[Hundred Years' War]], which prevented for a time any further tendencies in this direction. After the conclusion of the war, France was again free to pursue its desire to reach the Rhine and in 1444 a French army appeared in Lorraine and Alsace. It took up winter quarters, demanded the submission of [[Metz]] and [[Strasbourg]] and launched an attack on [[Basel]].

In 1469, following the {{Interlanguage link|Treaty of St. Omer|fr|3=Traité de Saint-Omer}}, Upper Alsace was sold by Archduke [[Sigismund, Archduke of Austria|Sigismund of Austria]] to [[Charles the Bold]], Duke of Burgundy. Although Charles was the nominal landlord, taxes were paid to [[Frederick III, Holy Roman Emperor]]. The latter was able to use this tax and a dynastic marriage to his advantage to gain back full control of Upper Alsace (apart from the free towns, but including Belfort) in 1477 when it became part of the demesne of the Habsburg family, who were also rulers of the empire. The town of Mulhouse joined the [[Swiss Confederation]] in 1515, where it was to remain until 1798.

By the time of the [[Protestant Reformation]] in the 16th century, Strasbourg was a prosperous community, and its inhabitants accepted Protestantism in 1523. [[Martin Bucer]] was a prominent Protestant reformer in the region. His efforts were countered by the Roman Catholic Habsburgs who tried to eradicate heresy in Upper Alsace. As a result, Alsace was transformed into a mosaic of Catholic and Protestant territories. On the other hand, [[Montbéliard|Mömpelgard (Montbéliard)]] to the southwest of Alsace, belonging to the Counts of [[Württemberg]] since 1397, remained a Protestant enclave in France until 1793.

===German ''Land'' within the Kingdom of France===
This situation prevailed until 1639, when most of Alsace was conquered by France to keep it out of the hands of the [[Spanish Habsburgs]], who by [[Oñate treaty|secret treaty]] in 1617 had gained a clear road to their valuable and rebellious possessions in the [[Spanish Netherlands]], the [[Spanish Road]]. Beset by enemies and seeking to gain a free hand in [[Kingdom of Hungary (1526–1867)|Hungary]], the Habsburgs sold their [[Sundgau]] territory (mostly in Upper Alsace) to France in 1646, which had occupied it, for the sum of 1.2&nbsp;million [[Thaler]]s. When hostilities were concluded in 1648 with the [[Treaty of Westphalia]], most of Alsace was recognized as part of France, although some towns remained independent. The treaty stipulations regarding Alsace were complex. Although the French king gained sovereignty, existing rights and customs of the inhabitants were largely preserved. France continued to maintain its customs border along the [[Vosges mountains]] where it had been, leaving Alsace more economically oriented to neighbouring German-speaking lands. The German language remained in use in local administration, in schools, and at the (Lutheran) [[University of Strasbourg]], which continued to draw students from other German-speaking lands. The 1685 [[Edict of Fontainebleau]], by which the French king ordered the suppression of [[Huguenot|French Protestantism]], was not applied in Alsace. France did endeavour to promote Catholicism. [[Strasbourg Cathedral]], for example, which had been Lutheran from 1524 to 1681, was returned to the Catholic Church. However, compared to the rest of France, Alsace enjoyed a climate of [[religious tolerance]].

[[File:Louis XIV receiving the keys of Strasbourg-Constantyn Francken-f3791425.jpg|thumb|right|[[Louis XIV]] receiving the keys of Strasbourg in 1681]]
France consolidated its hold with the 1679 [[Treaties of Nijmegen]], which brought most remaining towns under its control. France seized Strasbourg in 1681 in an unprovoked action. These territorial changes were recognised in the 1697 [[Treaty of Ryswick]] that ended the [[War of the Grand Alliance]].
But Alsace still contained islands of territory nominally under the sovereignty of German princes and an independent city-state at Mulhouse. These enclaves were established by law, prescription and international consensus.<ref>{{cite book |title=The Oxford History of the French Revolution |first=William |last=Doyle |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=1989 |page=7 |isbn=978-0-19-880493-2 |url=https://global.oup.com/academic/product/the-oxford-history-of-the-french-revolution-9780198804932?cc=us&lang=en&}}</ref>

===From French Revolution to the Franco-Prussian War===
[[File:Enseigne Alsacienne revolutionnaire.jpg|thumb|Alsatian sign, 1792:<br />
''Freiheit Gleichheit Brüderlichk. od. Tod'' (Liberty Equality Fraternity or Death)<br />
''Tod den Tyranen'' (Death to Tyrants)<br />
''Heil den Völkern'' (Long live the Peoples)]]
The year 1789 brought the French Revolution and with it the first division of Alsace into the départements of [[Haut-Rhin|Haut-]] and [[Bas-Rhin]]. Alsatians played an active role in the French Revolution. 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. In 1792, [[Claude Joseph Rouget de Lisle|Rouget de Lisle]] composed in Strasbourg the Revolutionary marching song "[[La Marseillaise]]" (as ''Marching song for the Army of the Rhine''), which later became the anthem of France. "La Marseillaise" was played for the first time in April of that year in front of the [[Mayor (France)|mayor]] of Strasbourg [[Philippe-Frédéric de Dietrich]]. Some of the most famous generals of the French Revolution also came from Alsace, notably [[François Christophe Kellermann|Kellermann]], the victor of [[Battle of Valmy|Valmy]], [[Jean Baptiste Kléber|Kléber]], who led the armies of the French Republic in [[Revolt in the Vendée|Vendée]], and [[François Joseph Westermann|Westermann]], who also fought in the Vendée.

[[Mulhouse]] (a city in southern Alsace), which had been part of Switzerland since 1466, joined France in 1798.<ref name=":0" />

At the same time, some Alsatians were in opposition to the [[Jacobin (politics)|Jacobins]] and sympathetic to the restoration of the monarchy pursued by the invading forces of [[Habsburg monarchy|Austria]] and [[Kingdom of Prussia|Prussia]] who sought to crush the nascent [[revolutionary republic]]. Many of the residents of the [[Sundgau]] made "pilgrimages" to places like [[Mariastein Abbey]], near [[Basel]], in Switzerland, for baptisms and weddings. When the [[French Revolutionary Army]] of the Rhine was victorious, tens of thousands fled east before it. When they were later permitted to return (in some cases not until 1799), it was often to find that their lands and homes had been confiscated. These conditions led to emigration by hundreds of families to newly vacant lands in the [[Russian Empire]] in 1803–4 and again in 1808. A poignant retelling of this event based on what [[Johann Wolfgang von Goethe|Goethe]] had personally witnessed can be found in his long poem ''[[Hermann and Dorothea]]''.

In response to the [[Hundred Days|"hundred day" restoration]] of [[Napoleon I of France]] in 1815, Alsace along with other frontier provinces of France was occupied by foreign forces from 1815 to 1818,<ref>Veve, Thomas Dwight (1992). ''The Duke of Wellington and the British army of occupation in France, 1815–1818'', pp. 20–21. Greenwood Press, Westport, Connecticut, United States.</ref> including over 280,000 soldiers and 90,000 horses in Bas-Rhin alone. This had grave effects on trade and the economy of the region since former overland trade routes were switched to newly opened [[Mediterranean Sea|Mediterranean]] and [[Atlantic Ocean|Atlantic]] seaports.

The population grew rapidly, from 800,000 in 1814 to 914,000 in 1830 and 1,067,000 in 1846. The combination of economic and demographic factors led to hunger, housing shortages and a lack of work for young people. Thus, it is not surprising that people left Alsace, not only for Paris – where the Alsatian community grew in numbers, with famous members such as [[Georges-Eugène Haussmann]] – but also for more distant places like Russia and the [[Austrian Empire]], to take advantage of the new opportunities offered there: Austria had conquered lands in Eastern Europe from the [[Ottoman Empire]] and offered generous terms to colonists as a way of consolidating its hold on the new territories. Many Alsatians also began to sail to the United States, settling in many areas from 1820 to 1850.<ref>{{cite web |url = http://members.cox.net/smithgen/sources/ships/ships18201850notes.htm#sully1838match |title = Cox.net |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060504053923/http://members.cox.net/smithgen/sources/ships/ships18201850notes.htm#sully1838match |archive-date=4 May 2006 |url-status=dead}}</ref> In 1843 and 1844, sailing ships bringing immigrant families from Alsace arrived at the port of New York. Some settled in Texas and Illinois, many to farm or to seek success in commercial ventures: for example, the sailing ships ''Sully'' (in May 1843) and ''Iowa'' (in June 1844) brought families who set up homes in northern Illinois and northern Indiana. Some Alsatian immigrants were noted for their roles in 19th-century American economic development.<ref>[http://will.ilgenweb.net/bios/scheidtj.txt Ilgenweb.net] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110723154212/http://will.ilgenweb.net/bios/scheidtj.txt |date=23 July 2011}}</ref> Others ventured to Canada to settle in southwestern [[Ontario]], notably [[Waterloo County]].

====Alsatian Jews====
{{Main|History of the Jews in Alsace}}
In contrast to the rest of France, the Jews in Alsace had not been expelled during the Middle Ages. By 1790, the [[Jewish]] population of Alsace was approximately 22,500, about 3% of the provincial population. They were highly segregated and subject to long-standing [[antisemitic]] regulations. They maintained their own customs, [[Yiddish]] language, and historic traditions within the tightly knit ghettos; they adhered to Jewish law. Jews were barred from most cities and instead lived in villages. They concentrated in trade, services, and banking. They financed about a third of the mortgages in Alsace. Official tolerance grew during the French Revolution, with full emancipation in 1791. However, local antisemitism also increased and Napoleon turned hostile in 1806, imposing a one-year moratorium on all debts owed to Jews.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Necheles |first1=Ruth F. |date=1971 |title=The Abbé Grégoire and the Jews. |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/4466643 |journal=Jewish Social Studies |volume=33 |issue=2/3 |pages=120–40 |jstor=4466643 |access-date=15 February 2024}}</ref> In the 1830–1870 era, most Jews moved to the cities, where they integrated and acculturated, as antisemitism sharply declined. By 1831, the state began paying salaries to official rabbis, and in 1846 a special legal oath for Jews was discontinued. Antisemitic local riots occasionally occurred, especially during the Revolution of 1848. The merger of Alsace into Germany in 1871–1918 lessened antisemitic violence.<ref>{{cite book |first=Vicki |last=Caron |chapter=Alsace |editor-first=Richard S. |editor-last=Levy |title=Antisemitism: A Historical Encyclopedia of Prejudice and Persecution |year=2005 |volume=1 |pages=13–16 |publisher=Abc-Clio |isbn=9781851094394 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Tdn6FFZklkcC&pg=PA13 }}</ref> The constitution of the ''Reichsland'' of 1911 reserved one seat in the first chamber of the ''Landtag'' for a representative of the Jewish Consistory of Alsace–Lorraine (besides two seats respectively for the two main Christian denominations).

===Struggle between France and united Germany===
{{Main|Alsace–Lorraine}}
{{Blockquote|''We Germans who know Germany and France know better what is good for the Alsatians than the unfortunates themselves. In the perversion of their French life they have no exact idea of what concerns Germany.''|[[Heinrich von Treitschke]], [[German nationalist]] historian and politician, 1871<ref>{{cite web|url=https://archive.org/stream/alsacelorraines00cerfgoog/alsacelorraines00cerfgoog_djvu.txt|title=Full text of "Alsace–Lorraine since 1870"|year=1919|publisher=New York, The Macmillan}}</ref><ref>[https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1915/05/30/100157406.pdf Remaking the Map of Europe] by [[:fr:Jean Finot|Jean Finot]], ''[[The New York Times]]'', 30 May 1915</ref>}}
[[File:Alsace4.jpg|thumb|Traditional costumes of Alsace]]
The [[Franco-Prussian War]], which [[Causes of the Franco-Prussian War|started]] in July 1870, saw France defeated in May 1871 by the [[Kingdom of Prussia]] and other German states. The end of the war led to the [[unification of Germany]]. [[Otto von Bismarck]] annexed Alsace and northern Lorraine to the new [[German Empire]] in 1871. France ceded more than 90% of Alsace and one-fourth of Lorraine, as stipulated in the [[Treaty of Frankfurt (1871)|treaty of Frankfurt]]; [[Belfort]], the largest Alsatian town south of Mulhouse, remained French. Unlike other member states of the German federation, which had governments of their own, the new ''Imperial territory of Alsace–Lorraine'' was under the sole authority of the [[Kaiser]], administered directly by the imperial government in Berlin. Between 100,000 and 130,000 Alsatians (of a total population of about a million and a half) chose to remain French citizens and leave ''Reichsland Elsaß–Lothringen'', many of them resettling in [[French Algeria]] as [[Pieds-Noirs]]. Only in 1911 was Alsace–Lorraine granted some measure of autonomy, which was manifested also in a flag and an anthem ([[Elsässisches Fahnenlied]]). In 1913, however, the [[Saverne Affair]] (''French'': Incident de Saverne) showed the limits of this new tolerance of the Alsatian identity.
[[File:Adolphe Braun Alsace costume.jpg|thumb|left|upright|An Alsatian woman in traditional costume, photographed by [[Adolphe Braun]] in the 1870s]]

During the First World War, to avoid ground fights between brothers, many Alsatians served as sailors in the [[Kaiserliche Marine]] and took part in the Naval mutinies that led to the abdication of the Kaiser in November 1918, which left Alsace–Lorraine without a nominal head of state. The sailors returned home and tried to found an independent republic. While [[Jacques Peirotes]], at this time deputy at the ''Landrat Elsass–Lothringen'' and just elected [[List of mayors of Strasbourg|mayor of Strasbourg]], proclaimed the forfeiture of the German Empire and the advent of the [[French Republic]], a self-proclaimed government of Alsace–Lorraine declared its independence as the "[[November 1918 insurgency in Alsace–Lorraine|Republic of Alsace–Lorraine]]". French troops entered Alsace less than two weeks later to quash the worker strikes and remove the newly established Soviets and revolutionaries from power. With the arrival of the French soldiers, many Alsatians and local Prussian/German administrators and bureaucrats cheered the re-establishment of order.<ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.ina.fr/archivespourtous/popup.php?vue=partenaire&partenariat=1df07ccad656b16c3f7dcd36ce620f11| title = Archive video}}</ref>

Although U.S. President [[Woodrow Wilson]] had insisted that the ''région'' was self-ruling by legal status, as its constitution had stated it was bound to the sole authority of the Kaiser and not to the German state, France would allow no plebiscite, as granted by the [[League of Nations]] to some eastern German territories at this time, because the French regarded the Alsatians as Frenchmen liberated from German rule. Germany ceded the region to France under the [[Treaty of Versailles]].

Policies forbidding the use of German and requiring French were promptly introduced.<ref>However, propaganda for elections was allowed to go with a German translation from 1919 to 2008.</ref> In order not to antagonize the Alsatians, the region was not subjected to some legal changes that had occurred in the rest of France between 1871 and 1919, such as the [[1905 French law on the Separation of the Churches and the State|1905 French law on the separation of Church and State]].

[[File:Ensemble Timbres Hindenburg surchargés par Elsass.JPG|thumb|upright|German stamps of [[Paul von Hindenburg|Hindenburg]] marked with "Elsaß" (1940)]]

Alsace–Lorraine was occupied by Germany in 1940 during the Second World War. Although it was never formally annexed, Alsace–Lorraine was incorporated into the [[Nazi Germany|Greater German Reich]], which had been restructured into [[Reichsgau]]e. Alsace was merged with [[Baden]], and Lorraine with the [[Saarland]], to become part of a planned [[Gau Westmark|Westmark]]. During the war, 130,000 young men from Alsace and Lorraine were conscripted into the German armies against their will ([[malgré-nous]]). There were some volunteers for the [[Waffen SS]].,<ref>Stéphane Courtois, Mark Kramer. ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=H1jsgYCoRioC&pg=PA323 Livre noir du Communisme: crimes, terreur, répression]''. [[Harvard University Press]], 1999. p.323. {{ISBN|0-674-07608-7}}</ref> although they were outnumbered by conscripts of the 1926–1927 classes. Thirty of said Waffen SS were involved in the [[Oradour-sur-Glane massacre]] (29 conscripts, one volunteer). A third of the malgré-nous perished on the Eastern front. In July 1944, 1500 [[malgré-nous]] were released from Soviet captivity and sent to [[Algiers]], where they joined the [[Free French Forces]].

===After World War II===
Today, the territory is in certain areas subject to some laws that are significantly different from the rest of France, which is known as the [[local law in Alsace–Moselle|local law]].

In more recent years, the Alsatian language is again being promoted by local, national and European authorities as an element of the region's identity. Alsatian is taught in schools (but is not mandatory) as one of the regional languages of France. German is also taught as a foreign language in local [[kindergarten]]s and schools. There is a growing network of schools proposing full immersion in Alsatian dialect and in Standard German, called ''[[ABCM-Zweisprachigkeit]]'' (ABCM -> French [[acronym]] for "Association for Bilingualism in the Classroom from Kindergarten onwards", Zweisprachigkeit -> German for "Bilingualism"). However, the [[Constitution of France]] still requires that French be the only official language of the Republic.

===Timeline===
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|- "
! Year(s)
! Event
! style="width:20%;"|Ruled by
! style="width:12%;"|Official or common language
|-
| 5400–4500 BC || Bandkeramiker/[[Linear Pottery culture]]s||—||Unknown
|-
| 2300–750 BC || [[Bell Beaker culture]]s||—||Proto-Celtic spoken
|-
| 750–450 BC || [[Hallstatt culture]] early [[Iron Age]] (early Celts)||—||None; Old [[Celtic languages|Celtic]] spoken
|-
| 450–58 BC || Celts/Gauls firmly secured in entire Gaul, Alsace; trade with [[Greece]] is evident ([[Vix Grave|Vix]]) || Celts/Gauls || None; Gaulish variety of Celtic widely spoken
|-
| 58 / 44 BC–<br />AD 260 || Alsace and Gaul conquered by [[Caesar]], provinciated to [[Germania Superior]] || [[Roman Empire]] || [[Latin language|Latin]]; Gallic widely spoken
|-
| 260–274 || Postumus founds breakaway Gallic Empire || [[Gallic Empire]] || Latin, Gallic
|-
| 274–286 || Rome reconquers the Gallic Empire, Alsace || [[Roman Empire]] || Latin, Gallic, Germanic (only in [[Argentoratum]])
|-
| 286–378 || [[Diocletian]] divides the Roman Empire into Western and Eastern sectors || Roman Empire
|-
| around 300 || Beginning of Germanic migrations to the Roman Empire || Roman Empire
|-
| 378–395 || The [[Visigoths]] rebel, precursor to waves of German, and Hun invasions || Roman Empire || Alamannic Incursions
|-
| 395–436 || Death of [[Theodosius I]], causing a permanent division between Western and Eastern Rome || [[Western Roman Empire]]
|-
| 436–486 || Germanic invasions of the Western Roman Empire || [[Gaul|Roman Tributary of Gaul]] || Alamannic
|-
| 486–511 || Lower Alsace conquered by the Franks || [[Frankish Realm]] || [[Old Frankish]], Latin; Alamannic
|-
| 531–614 || Upper Alsace conquered by the Franks || Frankish Realm
|-
| 614–795 || Totality of Alsace to the Frankish Kingdom || Frankish Realm
|-
| 795–814 || [[Charlemagne]] begins reign, Charlemagne crowned [[Holy Roman Emperor|Emperor of the Romans]] on 25 December 800 || Frankish Empire || Old Frankish; Frankish and Alamannic
|-
| 814|| Death of Charlemagne || Carolingian Empire || Old Frankish; Frankish and Alamannic varieties of [[Old High German]]
|-
| 847–870 || [[Treaty of Verdun]] gives Alsace and Lotharingia to [[Lothar I]] || [[Middle Francia]] (Carolingian Empire) || Frankish; Frankish and Alamannic varieties of Old High German
|-
| 870–889 || [[Treaty of Mersen]] gives Alsace to East Francia || [[East Francia]] (German Kingdom of the Carolingian Empire) || Frankish, Frankish and Alamannic varieties of Old High German
|-
| 889–962 || Carolingian Empire breaks up into five Kingdoms, Magyars and Vikings periodically raid Alsace || [[Kingdom of Germany]] ||Frankish and Alamannic varieties of Old High German 
|-
| 962–1618 || [[Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor|Otto I]] crowned [[Holy Roman Emperor]] || [[Holy Roman Empire]] || [[Old High German]], [[Middle High German]], [[German language|Modern High German]]; Alamannic and Franconian German dialects
|-
| 1618–1674 || [[Louis XIII of France|Louis XIII]] annexes portions of Alsace during the [[Thirty Years' War]] || Holy Roman Empire || German; Alamannic and Franconian dialects (Alsatian)
|-
| 1674–1871 || [[Louis XIV of France|Louis XIV]] annexes the rest of Alsace during the [[Franco-Dutch War]], establishing full French sovereignty over the region || Kingdom of France || Officially French<br /> (Alsatian and German tolerated and spoken by an estimated 85%-90% of the population)
|-
| 1871–1918 || [[Franco-Prussian War]] causes French cession of Alsace to [[German Empire]] || [[German Empire]] || German; German/Alsatian (86.8% - 1,492,347 people), French (11.5% - 198,318 people), Italian (1.1% - 18,750 people), German and a second language (0.4% - 7,485 people), Polish (0.1% - 1,410 people). Statistics from 1871. Over time, French declined to 10.9%
|-
| 1919–1940 || [[Treaty of Versailles]] causes German cession of Alsace to France || [[French Third Republic|France]] || French; Alsatian, French, German
|-
| 1940–1944 || [[Nazi Germany]] conquers Alsace, establishing [[Gau Baden-Elsaß]] || [[Nazi Germany]] || German; Alsatian, French, German
|-
| 1945–present || French control || France || French; French and Alsatian German (declining minority language)
|}

==Geography==
===Topography===
[[File:Alsaceregionsnaturelles.jpg|thumb|Topographic map of Alsace]]

Alsace has an area of 8,283&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup>, making it the smallest {{lang|fr|[[Regions of France|région]]}} of [[metropolitan France]]. It is almost four times longer than it is wide, corresponding to a plain between the [[Rhine]] in the east and the [[Vosges mountains]] in the west.

It includes the {{lang|fr|[[Departments of France|départements]]}} of [[Haut-Rhin]] and [[Bas-Rhin]] (known previously as [[Sundgau]] and [[Nordgau (Alsace)|Nordgau]]). It borders Germany on the north and the east, Switzerland and [[Franche-Comté]] on the south and [[Lorraine]] on the west.

Several [[valley]]s are also found in the {{lang|fr|région}}. Its highest point is the [[Grand Ballon]] in [[Haut-Rhin]], which reaches a height of {{Convert|1424|m|ft|abbr=on}}. It contains many forests, primarily in the [[Vosges Mountains|Vosges]] and in [[Bas-Rhin]] (Haguenau Forest).

The [[Ried (natural region)|ried]] lies along the [[Rhine]].

===Geology===
{{see also|Vosges and Jura coal mining basins}}
[[File:Grandballonsud.jpg|thumb|left|The [[Grand Ballon]], southern face, seen from the valley of the [[Thur (France)|Thur]]]]

Alsace is the part of the plain of the Rhine located at the west of the [[Rhine]], on its left bank. It is a [[rift]] or [[graben]], from the [[Oligocene]] [[Geologic time scale|epoch]], associated with its [[horst (geology)|horsts]]: the [[Vosges Mountains|Vosges]] and the [[Black Forest]].

The [[Jura Mountains]], formed by slip (induced by the alpine uplift) of the [[Mesozoic]] cover on the [[Triassic]] formations, goes through the area of [[Belfort]].

===Climate===
Alsace has an [[oceanic climate]] at low altitude and a [[continental climate]] at high altitude. There is fairly low precipitation because the [[Vosges mountains|Vosges]] protect it from the west. The city of [[Colmar]] has a [[sunlight|sunny]] [[microclimate]]; it is the second driest city in France, with an annual precipitation of around {{Convert|700|mm|in|abbr=on}}, making it ideal for {{lang|fr|[[vin d'Alsace]]}} (''Alsatian wine'').

==Governance==
[[File:Logo of Alsace.png|thumb|Official logo of the [[European Collectivity of Alsace]]]]
Since 2021, Alsace has been a [[territorial collectivity]] called the [[European Collectivity of Alsace]] (''collectivité européenne d'Alsace'').

===Administrative divisions===
The European Collectivity of Alsace is divided into 2 [[Departments of France|departmental constituencies]] (''circonscriptions départementales''), 9 [[Arrondissements of France|departmental arrondissements]], 40 [[cantons of France|cantons]], and 880 [[communes of France|communes]].

[[File:Arrondissements Bas-Rhin.svg|250px|thumb|Administrative map of Bas-Rhin]]
'''[[Bas-Rhin]]'''
* [[Arrondissement of Haguenau-Wissembourg]] 
* [[Arrondissement of Molsheim]] 
* [[Arrondissement of Saverne]] 
* [[Arrondissement of Sélestat-Erstein]] 
* [[Arrondissement of Strasbourg]] 
[[File:Arrondissements Haut-Rhin.svg|250px|thumb|Administrative map of Haut-Rhin]]
'''[[Haut-Rhin]]'''
* [[Arrondissement of Altkirch]]
* [[Arrondissement of Colmar-Ribeauvillé]]
* [[Arrondissement of Guebwiller]] 
* [[Arrondissement of Mulhouse]] 
* [[Arrondissement of Thann-Guebwiller]]

==Society==

===Demographics===
Alsace's population increased to 1,919,745 in 2021.<ref name=pop /> It has regularly increased over time, except in wartime and shortly after the German annexation of 1871 (when many Alsatians who had opted to keep their French citizenship emigrated to France), by both natural growth and [[human migration|immigration]]. High population growth during the post-WW2 economic boom of the ''[[Trente Glorieuses]]'' ended after the 1973 oil crisis. Demographic growth picked up again in the 1990s and 2000s. But by the 2010s, Alsace had entered a new period of slow demographic growth, though the Strasbourg area had become one of France's fastest growing regions.

{{Historical populations
| title= Historical population of Alsace<br>(within the borders set in 1871)
| percentages = pagr
| align = none
| cols = 2
| graph-pos = bottom
| footnote = Sources: French and German censuses (1806-1871),<ref>{{cite web |url=http://cassini.ehess.fr/fr/html/ |title=Des villages de Cassini aux communes d'aujourd'hui|author=[[EHESS]] |access-date=2023-02-10}}</ref> (1876–2021),<ref>{{cite web |url=https://statistiques-locales.insee.fr/#c=indicator&i=pop_depuis_1876.pop&s=2019&t=A01&view=map2 |title=Statistiques locales - Population municipale (historique depuis 1876)|author=INSEE |author-link=INSEE |access-date=2023-02-10}}</ref><ref name=pop />
|1806 | 751008
|1821 | 843973
|1831 | 933828
|1836.29 | 976478
|1841.29 | 989477
|1846.37 | 1031360
|1851.37 | 1043859
|1856.13 | 1028446
|1861.2 | 1057647
|1866.2 | 1082193
|1871.9178 | 1059240
|1875.9178 | 1051554
|1880.9179 | 1073954
|1885.918 | 1074626
|1890.9181 | 1093114
|1895.9182 | 1116086
|1900.9183 | 1154641
|1905.9184 | 1198774
|1910.9185 | 1218544
|1921.180822 | 1120629
|1926.180822 | 1161639   
|1931.180822 | 1204968
|1936.180822 | 1219381 
|1946.180822 | 1144986
|1954.356164 | 1217581
|1962.180822 | 1318070
|1968.180822 | 1412385
|1975.139726 | 1517330
|1982.180822 | 1566048
|1990.180822 | 1624372
|1999.180822 | 1734145
|2009 | 1843053
|2015 | 1879265
|2021 | 1919745
}}

====Immigration====
At the 2018 census, 69.9% of the inhabitants of Alsace were natives of Alsace, 16.0% were born in the rest of [[Metropolitan France]], 0.5% were born in [[Overseas France]], and 13.7% were born in foreign countries.<ref name=immig_1>{{cite web|url=https://www.insee.fr/fr/statistiques/6023301?sommaire=2414232 |title=Données harmonisées des recensements de la population 1968–2018 |author=[[Institut national de la statistique et des études économiques|INSEE]] |access-date=2022-02-11|language=fr}}</ref> Nearly 44% of the immigrants come from Europe, in particular from Germany (natives of Germany residing in Alsace where housing is cheaper), Italy, Portugal and Serbia.<ref name=immig_67>{{cite web|url=https://www.insee.fr/fr/statistiques/5397751?sommaire=5397790&geo=DEP-67 |title=IMG1B - Population immigrée par sexe, âge et pays de naissance en 2018 - Département du Bas-Rhin (67)|author=[[INSEE]]|access-date=2013-02-10|language=fr}}</ref><ref name=immig_68>{{cite web|url=https://www.insee.fr/fr/statistiques/5397751?sommaire=5397790&geo=DEP-68 |title=IMG1B - Population immigrée par sexe, âge et pays de naissance en 2018 - Département du Haut-Rhin (68)|author=[[INSEE]]|access-date=2013-02-10|language=fr}}</ref> Since 2008, the number of Turkish immigrants living in Alsace has declined, whereas the number of Maghreban immigrants has risen less than the number of European immigrants.<ref name=immg_2008>{{cite web|url=https://www.insee.fr/fr/statistiques/2020046?sommaire=2133781&geo=REG-42 |title=IMG1B - Population immigrée par sexe, âge et pays de naissance en 2008|author=[[INSEE]]|access-date=2013-02-10|language=fr}}</ref><ref name=immig_67 /><ref name=immig_68 /> The fastest growing groups of immigrants are those from Asia and from sub-Saharan Africa.<ref name=immg_2008 /><ref name=immig_67 /><ref name=immig_68 />

{| width="720px" rules="all" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="4" style="border: 2px solid #999"
|+ style="font-weight: bold; font-size: 1.1em; margin-bottom: 0.5em"| Place of birth of residents of Alsace<br /><small>(at the 1968, 1975, 1982, 1990, 1999, 2008, 2013, and 2018 censuses)</small>
| align=center| '''Census''' ||align=center| '''{{nowrap|Born in Alsace}}''' || align=center | '''{{nowrap|Born in the rest of}}<br />{{nowrap|[[Metropolitan France]]}}''' || align=center | '''{{nowrap|Born in}}<br />{{nowrap|[[Overseas France]]}}''' || align=center | '''{{nowrap|Born in foreign}}<br />{{nowrap|countries with French}}<br />{{nowrap|citizenship at birth}}'''{{ref|note1|[a]}}|| align=center colspan=4| '''Immigrants'''{{ref|note2|[b]}}
|-
| align=center rowspan=3| 2018 || align=center rowspan=3| 69.9% || align=center rowspan=3| 16.0% || align=center rowspan=3| 0.5% || align=center rowspan=3| 2.2% || align=center colspan=4| 11.6%
|-
| align=center | '''<small>{{nowrap|from Europe}}</small>''' || align=center | <small>'''{{nowrap|from the Maghreb}}'''{{ref|note3|[c]}}</small> || align=center | '''<small>{{nowrap|from Turkey}}</small>''' || align=center | '''<small>{{nowrap|from the rest of the world}}</small>'''
|-
| align=center | <small>5.1%</small> || align=center | <small>2.6%</small> || align=center | <small>1.5%</small> || align=center | <small>2.4%</small>
|-
| align=center rowspan=3| 2013 || align=center rowspan=3| 71.1% || align=center rowspan=3| 15.4% || align=center rowspan=3| 0.4% || align=center rowspan=3| 2.3% || align=center colspan=4| 10.8%
|-
| align=center | '''<small>{{nowrap|from Europe}}</small>''' || align=center | <small>'''{{nowrap|from the Maghreb}}'''{{ref|note3|[c]}}</small> || align=center | '''<small>{{nowrap|from Turkey}}</small>''' || align=center | '''<small>{{nowrap|from the rest of the world}}</small>'''
|-
| align=center | <small>4.8%</small> || align=center | <small>2.5%</small> || align=center | <small>1.6%</small> || align=center | <small>2.0%</small>
|-
| align=center rowspan=3| 2008 || align=center rowspan=3| 71.8% || align=center rowspan=3| 15.3% || align=center rowspan=3| 0.4% || align=center rowspan=3| 2.3% || align=center colspan=4| 10.3%
|-
| align=center | '''<small>{{nowrap|from Europe}}</small>''' || align=center | <small>'''{{nowrap|from the Maghreb}}'''{{ref|note3|[c]}}</small> || align=center | '''<small>{{nowrap|from Turkey}}</small>''' || align=center | '''<small>{{nowrap|from the rest of the world}}</small>'''
|-
| align=center | <small>4.5%</small> || align=center | <small>2.4%</small> || align=center | <small>1.6%</small> || align=center | <small>1.8%</small>
|-
| align=center rowspan=3| 1999 || align=center rowspan=3| 73.6% || align=center rowspan=3| 15.4% || align=center rowspan=3| 0.4% || align=center rowspan=3| 2.1% || align=center colspan=4| 8.5%
|-
| align=center | '''<small>{{nowrap|from Europe}}</small>''' || align=center | <small>'''{{nowrap|from the Maghreb}}'''{{ref|note3|[c]}}</small> || align=center | '''<small>{{nowrap|from Turkey}}</small>''' || align=center | '''<small>{{nowrap|from the rest of the world}}</small>'''
|-
| align=center | <small>4.2%</small> || align=center | <small>1.9%</small> || align=center | <small>1.3%</small> || align=center | <small>1.1%</small>
|-
| align=center| 1990 || align=center | 75.9% || align=center | 13.4% || align=center | 0.3% || align=center | 2.4% || align=center colspan=4| 7.9%
|-
| align=center| 1982 || align=center | 76.8% || align=center | 12.5% || align=center | 0.3% || align=center | 2.6% || align=center colspan=4| 7.8%
|-
| align=center| 1975 || align=center | 78.3% || align=center | 11.6% || align=center | 0.2% || align=center | 2.6% || align=center colspan=4| 7.3%
|-
| align=center| 1968 || align=center | 81.7% || align=center | 9.8% || align=center | 0.1% || align=center | 2.8% || align=center colspan=4| 5.6%
|-
| align=left colspan=10| <small>{{note|note1|a}}Persons born abroad of French parents, such as [[Pieds-Noirs]] and children of French expatriates.</small><br /><small>{{note|note2|b}}An immigrant is by French definition a person born in a foreign country and who did not have French citizenship at birth. Note that an immigrant may have acquired French citizenship since moving to France, but is still listed as an immigrant in French statistics. On the other hand, persons born in France with foreign citizenship (the children of immigrants) are not listed as immigrants.</small><br /><small>{{note|note3|c}}[[Morocco]], [[Tunisia]], [[Algeria]]</small>
|-
| align=center colspan=10| Source: INSEE<ref name=immig_1 /><ref name=immig_67 /><ref name=immig_68 /><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.insee.fr/fr/statistiques/2020942?sommaire=2106113&geo=REG-42 |title=IMG1B - Population immigrée par sexe, âge et pays de naissance en 2013 - Région d'Alsace (42)|author=[[INSEE]]|access-date=2013-02-10|language=fr}}</ref><ref name=immg_2008 /><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.recensement-1999.insee.fr/default.asp?asp_action=produit&c_typeprod=BDD&c_prod=D_FD_IMG2&c_theme=IMG&c_codgeo=2&c_nivgeo=F|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131012011111/http://www.recensement-1999.insee.fr/default.asp?asp_action=produit&c_typeprod=BDD&c_prod=D_FD_IMG2&c_theme=IMG&c_codgeo=2&c_nivgeo=F|url-status=dead|archive-date=12 October 2013|title=D_FD_IMG2 – Base France par départements – Lieux de naissance à l'étranger selon la nationalité|author=[[INSEE]]|access-date=26 June 2013|language=fr}}</ref>
|}

===Religion===
{{bar box
|title=Religion in Alsace<ref>[https://archive.today/20120801155356/http://www.eurel.info/FR/index.php?rubrique=87&pais=5] Géographie réligieuse: France</ref>
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|left1=religion
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{{bar percent|[[Catholic]]|DodgerBlue|70}}
{{bar percent|[[Protestant]]|DarkViolet|17}}
{{bar percent|[[Irreligion|No religion]]|black|8}}
{{bar percent|Other faith|green|5}}
}}
[[File:St Stephen's Church Mulhouse FRA 001.JPG|thumb|right|''[[Temple Saint-Étienne]]'' (architect [[Jean-Baptiste Schacre]]), the main [[Calvinism|Calvinist]] church of [[Mulhouse]]]]
Alsace is generally seen as the most religious of all the French regions. Most of the Alsatian population is [[Roman Catholic]], but, largely because of the region's [[Culture of Germany|German]] heritage, a significant [[Protestant]] community also exists: today, the [[Protestant Church of Augsburg Confession of Alsace and Lorraine|EPCAAL]] (a Lutheran church) is France's second largest Protestant church, also forming an administrative union ([[Union of Protestant Churches of Alsace and Lorraine|UEPAL]]) with the much smaller Calvinist [[Protestant Reformed Church of Alsace and Lorraine|EPRAL]]. Unlike the rest of France, the [[Local law in Alsace–Moselle]] still provides for the [[Napoleon]]ic [[Concordat of 1801]] and the [[organic articles]], which provides public subsidies to the Roman Catholic, [[Lutheran]], and [[Calvinist]] churches, as well as to Jewish synagogues; religion classes in one of these faiths are compulsory in public schools. The divergence in policy from the French majority is because the region was part of [[Imperial Germany]] when the [[1905 French law on the Separation of the Churches and the State|1905 law separating the French church and state was instituted]] (for a more comprehensive history, see [[Alsace–Lorraine]]). Controversy erupts periodically on the appropriateness of that legal disposition, as well as on the exclusion of other religions from the arrangement.

Following the [[Protestant Reformation]], promoted by the local reformer [[Martin Bucer]], the principle of ''[[cuius regio, eius religio]]'' led to a certain amount of religious diversity in the highlands of northern Alsace. Landowners, who as "local lords" had the right to decide the religion that was allowed on their land, were eager to entice populations from the more attractive lowlands to settle and develop their property. Many accepted without discrimination Catholics, Lutherans, Calvinists, Jews and [[Anabaptists]]. [[wikt:multiconfessional|Multiconfessional]] villages appeared, particularly in the region of [[Alsace bossue]]. Alsace became one of the French regions boasting a thriving [[History of the Jews in Alsace|Jewish community]] and the only region with a noticeable Anabaptist population. [[Philipp Jakob Spener]] who founded [[Pietism]] was born in Alsace. The schism of the [[Amish]] under the lead of [[Jacob Amman]] from the [[Mennonite]]s occurred in 1693 in [[Sainte-Marie-aux-Mines]]. The strongly Catholic [[Louis XIV]] tried in vain to drive them from Alsace. When [[Napoleon]] imposed military conscription without religious exception, most emigrated to the American continent.

In 1707, the [[wikt:simultaneum|simultaneum]] forced many Reformed and Lutheran church buildings to also allow Catholic services. About 50 such "simultaneous churches" still exist in modern Alsace, but with the Catholic church's general lack of priests, they tend to hold Catholic services only occasionally.

==Culture==
Alsace historically was part of the Holy Roman Empire and the German realm of culture. Since the 17th century, the region has passed between German and French control numerous times, resulting in a cultural blend. German traits remain in the more traditional, rural parts of the culture, such as the [[cuisine]] and architecture, whereas modern institutions are totally dominated by French culture.

===Symbolism===
[[File:BlasonAlsace.svg|thumb|[[Coat of arms]] of Alsace]]

====Strasbourg====
[[File:Greater coat of arms of Strasbourg.svg|thumb|Coat of arms of [[Strasbourg]]]]
[[Strasbourg]]'s arms are the colours of the shield of the [[Bishop of Strasbourg]] (a band of red on a white field, also considered an inversion of the arms of the diocese) at the end of a revolt of the burghers during the Middle Ages who took their independence from the teachings of the Bishop. It retains its power over the surrounding area.

====Flags====
{{Main|Flag of Alsace}}
[[File:Flag of Alsace (historical).svg|thumb|Rot-un-Wiss, the historical flag]]
[[File:Flag of Alsace (old).svg|thumb|The region's flag from 1949 to 2008]]

There is controversy around the recognition of the Alsatian flag. The authentic historical flag is the ''Rot-un-Wiss''; Red and White are commonly found on the coat of arms of Alsatian cities (Strasbourg, Mulhouse, Sélestat...)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.unserland.org/dossiers/breve-histoire-dun-drapeau-alsacien/|title=Unser LandBrève histoire d'un drapeau alsacien|work=Unser Land|access-date=29 December 2014|archive-date=27 January 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150127040459/http://www.unserland.org/dossiers/breve-histoire-dun-drapeau-alsacien/|url-status=dead}}</ref> and of many Swiss cities, especially in [[Basel-Landschaft|Basel's region]]. The German region [[Hesse]] uses a flag similar to the Rot-un-Wiss. As it underlines the Germanic roots of the region, it was ''replaced'' in 1949 by a new "Union jack-like" flag representing the union of the two départements. It has, however, no real historical relevance. It has been since replaced again by a slightly different one, also representing the two départements. With the purpose of "Francizing" the region, the Rot-un-Wiss has not been recognized by Paris. Some overzealous statesmen have called it a Nazi invention – while its origins date back to the 11th century and the Red and White banner<ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.genealogie-bisval.net/Images/Lorraine.gif| title = Genealogie-bisval.net}}</ref> of [[Gérard, Duke of Lorraine|Gérard de Lorraine]] (aka. d'Alsace). The Rot-un-Wiss flag is still known as the real historical emblem of the region by most of the population and the départements' parliaments and has been widely used during protests against the creation of a new "super-region" gathering [[Champagne-Ardennes]], [[Lorraine]] and Alsace, namely on Colmar's statue of liberty.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://france3-regions.francetvinfo.fr/alsace/2014/11/16/colmar-une-statu-de-la-liberte-en-rot-und-wiss-593102.html|title=Colmar : une statue de la Liberté en "Rot und Wiss" |work=France 3 Alsace|date=16 November 2014 }}</ref>

===Language===
[[File:Linguistic Map of Alsace.svg|thumb|220px|left|Spatial distribution of dialects in Alsace prior to the expansion of [[standard French]] in the 20th century]]
[[File:WIKITONGUES- Dominique speaking Alsatian.webm|thumb|An Alsatian dialect speaker, recorded in [[France]]]]
Although German dialects were spoken in Alsace for most of its history, the dominant language in Alsace today is French.

The traditional language of the ''région'' is [[Alsatian language|Alsatian]], an [[Alemannic German|Alemannic]] dialect of [[Upper German]] spoken on both sides of the Rhine and closely related to [[Swiss German]]. Some [[Frankish language|Frankish]] dialects of [[West Central German]] are also spoken in "Alsace Bossue" and in the extreme north of Alsace. [[Language policy in France|As is customary]] for [[regional language]]s 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]].

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. From the end of the Roman Empire (5th century) to the French annexation (17th century), Alsace was politically part of the German world.

During the [[Protestant Reformation|Lutheran Reform]], the towns of Alsace were the first to adopt the German language as their official language instead of [[Latin]]. It was in Strasbourg that German was first used for the liturgy. It was also in Strasbourg that the first German Bible was published in 1466.

From the annexation of Alsace by France in the 17th century and the language policy of the French Revolution up to 1870, knowledge of French in Alsace increased considerably. With the education reforms of the 19th century, the middle classes began to speak and write French well. The French language never really managed, however, to win over the masses, the vast majority of whom continued to speak their German dialects and write in German (which we would now call "standard German").{{Citation needed|reason=reliable source needed for the whole sentence|date=March 2014}}

Between 1870 and 1918, Alsace was annexed by the German Empire in the form of an imperial province or Reichsland, and the mandatory official language, especially in schools, became High German. French lost ground to such an extent that it has been estimated that only 2% of the population spoke French fluently, and only 8% had some knowledge of it (Maugue, 1970).

After 1918, French was the only language used in schools, particularly primary schools. After much argument and discussion and after many temporary measures, a memorandum was issued by Vice-Chancellor Pfister in 1927 and governed education in primary schools until 1939.

During a reannexation by Germany (1940–1945), High German was reinstated as the language of education. The population was forced to speak German and 'French' family names were Germanized. Following the Second World War, the 1927 regulation was not reinstated, and the teaching of German in primary schools was suspended by a provisional rectorial decree, which was supposed to enable French to regain lost ground. The teaching of German became a major issue, however, as early as 1946. After World War II, the French government pursued, in line with its traditional [[language policy in France|language policy]], a campaign to suppress the use of German as part of a wider [[Francization]] campaign. The local [[Alsatian dialect|German dialect]] was rendered a backward regional "Germanic" dialect not being attached to German.<ref>{{cite book|first=Peter|last=von Polenz|year=1999|title= Deutsche Sprachgeschichte vom Spätmittelalter bis zur Gegenwart|volume= Band III: 19. und 20. Jahrhundert|place= Berlin/New York.|pages=165}}</ref>

In 1951, Article 10 of the [[Deixonne Law]] (''Loi Deixonne'') on the teaching of local languages and dialects made provision for [[Breton language|Breton]], [[Basque language|Basque]], [[Catalan language|Catalan]] and old [[Provençal (dialect)|Provençal]] but not for [[Corsican language|Corsican]], [[Dutch language|Dutch]] ([[West Flemish]]) or Alsatian in Alsace and [[Moselle (department)|Moselle]]. 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.

In 1972, the Inspector General of German, Georges Holderith, obtained authorization to reintroduce German into 33 intermediate classes on an experimental basis. This teaching of German, referred to as the Holderith Reform, was later extended to all pupils in the last two years of elementary school. This reform is still largely the basis of German teaching (but not Alsatian) in elementary schools today.

It was not until 9 June 1982, with the ''Circulaire sur la langue et la culture régionales en Alsace'' (Memorandum on regional language and culture in Alsace) issued by the Vice-Chancellor of the Académie Pierre Deyon, that the teaching of German in primary schools in Alsace really began to be given more official status. 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. This memorandum was, however, implemented in a fairly lax manner.

Both Alsatian and Standard German were for a time banned from public life (including street and city names, official administration, and educational system). Though the ban has long been lifted and street signs today are often bilingual, Alsace–Lorraine is today predominantly French in language and culture. 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. A related [[Alemannic German]] survives on the opposite bank of the Rhine, in [[Baden]], and especially in Switzerland. However, while French is the major language of the region, the Alsatian dialect of French is heavily influenced by German and other languages such as Yiddish in phonology and vocabulary.

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]]. Alsatian is now taught in French high schools. 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.

The constitution of the Fifth Republic states that French alone is the official language of the Republic. However, Alsatian, along with other regional languages, are recognized by the French government in the official list of languages of France.

Although the French government signed the [[European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages]] in 1992, it never ratified the treaty and therefore no legal basis exists for any of the regional languages in France.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.lefigaro.fr/vox/societe/2015/06/05/31003-20150605ARTFIG00157-charte-europeenne-des-langues-regionales-hollande-nourrit-la-guerre-contre-le-francais.php|title=Charte européenne des langues régionales : Hollande nourrit la guerre contre le français|work=Le Figaro|date=5 June 2015}}</ref> However, visitors to Alsace can see indications of renewed political and cultural interest in the language – in Alsatian signs appearing in car-windows and on hoardings, and in new official bilingual street signs in Strasbourg and Mulhouse.

A 1999 INSEE survey, included in the 1999 Census, the majority of the population in Alsace speak [[French Language|French]] as their first language, 39.0% (or 500,000 people) of the population speak [[Alsatian dialect|Alsatian]], 16.2% (or 208,000 people) speak [[German Language|German]], 75,200 people speak [[English Language|English]] (or 5.9%) and 27,600 people speak [[Italian Language|Italian]].<ref>{{Cite book|title=www.epsilon.insee.fr/jspui/bitstream/1/2294/1/cpar12_1.pdf, L'alsacien, deuxième langue régionale de France|publisher=INSEE|date=December 2002|pages=3}}</ref>

The survey counted 548,000 adult speakers of Alsatian in France, making it the second most-spoken regional language in the country (after [[Occitan language|Occitan]]). Like all regional languages in France, however, the transmission of Alsatian is on the decline. While 39% of the adult population of Alsace speak Alsatian, only one in four children speak it, and only one in ten children uses it regularly.

=== Architecture ===
[[File:Colmar - Alsace.jpg|thumb|[[Colmar]]'s old town]]
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. This type of construction is abundant in adjacent parts of Germany and can be seen in other areas of France, but their particular abundance in Alsace is owed to several reasons:
# The proximity to the [[Vosges]] where the wood can be found.
# During periods of war and bubonic plague, villages were often burned down, so to prevent the collapse of the upper floors, ground floors were built of stone and upper floors built in half-timberings to prevent the spread of fire.
# During most of its history, a great part of Alsace was flooded by the Rhine every year. Half-timbered houses were easy to knock down and to move around during those times (a day was necessary to move it and a day to rebuild it in another place).

However, half-timbering was found to increase the risk of fire, which is why from the 19th century, it began to be rendered. In recent times, villagers started to paint the rendering white in accordance with Beaux-Arts movements. To discourage this, the region's authorities gave financial grants to the inhabitants to paint the rendering in various colours, in order to return to the original style and many inhabitants accepted (more for financial reasons than by firm belief).{{Citation needed|date=February 2011}}

=== Cuisine ===
[[File:Tarte flambée alsacienne 514471722.jpg|thumb|''[[Flammekueche]]'']]
[[Alsatian cuisine]], somewhat based on German culinary traditions, is marked by the use of pork in various forms. It is perhaps mostly known for the region's wines and beers. Traditional dishes include ''[[baeckeoffe]]'', ''[[tarte flambée|flammekueche]]'', ''[[choucroute garnie|choucroute]]'', and ''[[fleischnacka]]''. Southern Alsace, also called the [[Sundgau]], is characterized by ''[[carp|carpe frite]]'' (that also exists in [[Yiddish]] tradition).

==== Food ====
[[File:Kouglof.png|thumb|[[Kugelhupf]]]]
The festivities of the year's end involve the production of a great variety of biscuits and small cakes called ''[[bredela]]'' as well as {{lang|fr|[[pain d'épices]]}} ([[gingerbread]] cakes) which are baked around Christmas time. The [[Kugelhupf]] is also popular in Alsace, and the [[Christstollen]] during the Christmas season.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Les Christstollen de la vallée de Munster|year=2009|url=http://sitemap.dna.fr/articles/200912/21/les-christstollen-de-la-vallee-de-munster,region,000011851.php}}</ref>

A gastronomic symbol of the {{lang|fr|région}} is the [[Choucroute]], a local variety of [[Sauerkraut]]. The word Sauerkraut in Alsatian has the form {{lang|gsw|sûrkrût}}, same as in other southwestern German dialects, and means "sour cabbage" as its [[German language|Standard German]] equivalent. This word was included into the French language as {{lang|fr|choucroute}}. To make it, the cabbage is finely shredded, layered with salt and [[juniper]] and left to ferment in wooden barrels. Sauerkraut can be served with poultry, pork, sausage or even fish. Traditionally it is served with Strasbourg sausage or frankfurters, bacon, smoked pork or smoked [[Morteau Sausage|Morteau]] or [[Montbéliard]] sausages, or a selection of other pork products. Served alongside are often roasted or steamed potatoes or dumplings.

Alsace is also well known for its [[foie gras]] made in the region since the 17th century. Additionally, Alsace is known for its fruit juices and mineral waters.

==== Wines ====
[[File:Riesling grapes leaves.jpg|thumb|right|Riesling grapes]]
Alsace is an important [[list of wine-producing regions|wine-producing ''région'']]. ''Vins d'Alsace'' ([[Alsace wine]]s) are mostly white. Alsace produces some of the world's most noted dry [[riesling]]s and is the only region in France to produce mostly [[varietal]] wines identified by the names of the grapes used (wine from [[Burgundy wine|Burgundy]] is also mainly varietal, but not normally identified as such), typically from grapes also used in Germany. The most notable example is [[Gewurztraminer]].

==== Beers ====
Alsace is also the main beer-producing region of France, thanks primarily to [[brewery|breweries]] in and near [[Strasbourg]]. These include those of [[Fischer Brewery|Fischer]], [[Karlsbräu]], [[Kronenbourg]], and [[Heineken International]]. [[Hops]] are grown in [[Kochersberg]] and in northern Alsace. [[Schnapps]] is also traditionally made in Alsace, but it is in decline because home [[distillation|distillers]] are becoming less common and the consumption of traditional, strong, alcoholic beverages is decreasing.

=== In tales ===
[[File:Cegonha alsaciana.jpg|thumb|Alsatian stork]]

The [[stork]] is a main feature of Alsace and was the subject of many [[legend]]s told to children. The bird practically disappeared around 1970, but re-population efforts are continuing. They are mostly found on roofs of houses, churches and other public buildings in Alsace.

The [[Easter Bunny]] was first mentioned in [[Georg Franck von Franckenau]]'s ''De ovis paschalibus'' (About Easter eggs) in 1682 referring to an Alsace tradition of an Easter Hare bringing Easter eggs.

=== The term "Alsatia" ===
{{Main|Alsatia}}

"Alsatia", the Latin form of Alsace's name, entered the [[English language]] as "a lawless place" or "a place under no jurisdiction" prior to the 17th century as a reflection of the British perception of the region at that time. It was used into the 20th century as a term for a ramshackle marketplace, "protected by ancient custom and the independence of their patrons". The word is still in use in the 21st century among the English and Australian judiciaries to describe a place where the law cannot reach: "In setting up the [[Serious Organised Crime Agency]], the state has set out to create an Alsatia – a region of executive action free of judicial oversight," [[Lord Justice Sedley]] in UMBS v SOCA 2007.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.independent.co.uk/business/news/article2586539.ece|title=Law Lords slam crime agency for freezing UMBS payments|newspaper=The Independent|date=27 May 2007|access-date=2010-05-30|location=London|first=Paul|last=Lashmar|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071001051829/http://news.independent.co.uk/business/news/article2586539.ece|archive-date=1 October 2007}}</ref>

Derived from the above, "[[Alsatia]]" was historically a [[Cant (language)|cant]] term for the area near [[Whitefriars, London]], which was for a long time a [[sanctuary]]. It is first known in print in the title of ''[[The Squire of Alsatia]]'', a 1688 play written by [[Thomas Shadwell]].

== Economy ==
According to the ''Institut National de la Statistique et des Études Économiques'' ([[INSEE]]), Alsace had a gross domestic product of 44.3&nbsp;billion euros in 2002. With a GDP per capita of €24,804, it is the second ''région'' of France, after only [[Île-de-France]], and 68% of Alsatian jobs are in the [[Service Sector|services]], and 25% are in industry, which makes Alsace one of France's most industrialised ''régions''.

Alsace is a ''région'' of varied economic activity, including:
* [[viticulture]] (mostly along the ''[[Route des Vins d'Alsace]]'' between [[Marlenheim]] and [[Thann, Haut-Rhin|Thann]])
* [[hops|hop]] harvesting and brewing (half of French beer is produced in Alsace, especially in the vicinity of Strasbourg, notably in [[Schiltigheim]], [[Hochfelden, Bas-Rhin|Hochfelden]], [[Saverne]] and [[Obernai]])
* forestry development
* automobile industry ([[Mulhouse]] and [[Molsheim]], home town of [[Bugatti]] Automobiles) 
* [[life science]]s, as part of the trinational [[BioValley (Europe)|BioValley]]
* tourism
* [[potassium chloride]] (until the late 20th century) and [[potash]] mining

Alsace has many international ties and 35% of firms are foreign companies (notably German, Swiss, American, Japanese, and [[Scandinavia]]n).

===Tourism===
Having been early and always densely populated, Alsace is famous for its high number of picturesque villages, churches and castles and for the various beauties of its three main towns, in spite of severe destructions suffered throughout five centuries of wars between France and Germany.

Alsace is furthermore famous for its vineyards (especially along the 170&nbsp;km of the ''[[Route des Vins d'Alsace]]'' from [[Marlenheim]] to [[Thann, Haut-Rhin|Thann]]) and the [[Vosges mountains]] with their thick and green forests and picturesque lakes.

[[File:Haut-koenigsbourg 02.jpg|thumb|[[Château du Haut-Kœnigsbourg]]]]
[[File:Colmar petitevenise.JPG|thumb|Colmar petitevenise]]
[[File:Maginot line 1.jpg|thumb|The main entrance of the [[Ouvrage Schoenenbourg]] from the [[Maginot Line]]]]
* Old towns of [[Strasbourg]], [[Colmar]], [[Sélestat]], [[Guebwiller]], [[Saverne]], [[Obernai]], [[Thann, Haut-Rhin|Thann]]
* Smaller cities and villages: [[Molsheim]], [[Rosheim]], [[Riquewihr]], [[Ribeauvillé]], [[Kaysersberg]], [[Wissembourg]], [[Neuwiller-lès-Saverne]], [[Marmoutier]], [[Rouffach]], [[Soultz-Haut-Rhin]], [[Bergheim, Haut-Rhin|Bergheim]], [[Hunspach]], [[Seebach, Bas-Rhin|Seebach]], [[Turckheim]], [[Eguisheim]], [[Neuf-Brisach]], [[Ferrette]], [[Niedermorschwihr]] and the gardens of the blue house in [[Uttenhoffen]]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.belocal.de/uttenhoffen/sights/jardins_de_la_ferme_bleue/seite_1,145814,2,145815.html |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120719035136/http://www.belocal.de/uttenhoffen/sights/jardins_de_la_ferme_bleue/seite_1,145814,2,145815.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=19 July 2012 |title=Jardins de la ferme bleue – SehenswĂźrdigkeiten in Uttenhoffen, Elsa |publisher=beLocal.de |date=23 November 2011 |access-date=30 March 2012 }}</ref>
* Churches (as main sights in otherwise less remarkable places): [[Thann, Haut-Rhin|Thann]], [[Andlau]], [[Murbach]], [[Ebersmunster]], [[Niederhaslach]], [[Sigolsheim]], [[Lautenbach, Haut-Rhin|Lautenbach]], [[Epfig]], [[Altorf]], [[Ottmarsheim]], [[Domfessel]], [[Marmoutier]] and the fortified church at [[Hunawihr]]
* [[Château du Haut-Kœnigsbourg]]
* [[List of castles in France#Alsace|Other castles]]: Ortenbourg and [[Château de Ramstein (Bas-Rhin)|Ramstein]] (above Sélestat), Hohlandsbourg, [[Château du Fleckenstein|Fleckenstein]], [[Haut-Barr]] (above Saverne), Saint-Ulrich (above Ribeauvillé), Lichtenberg, Wangenbourg, the three Castles of [[Eguisheim]], [[Château de Pflixbourg|Pflixbourg]], Wasigenstein, [[Château d'Andlau|Andlau]], Grand Geroldseck, [[Wasenbourg]]
* [[Cité de l'Automobile]] museum in Mulhouse
* [[Cité du train]] museum in Mulhouse
* The [[Électricité de France|EDF]] museum in Mulhouse
* [[Ungersheim]]'s "''écomusée''" (open-air museum) and "''[[Le Bioscope|Bioscope]]''" (leisure park about the environment, closed since September 2012)
* Musée historique in [[Haguenau]], largest museum in Bas-Rhin outside Strasbourg
* Bibliothèque humaniste in Sélestat, one of the oldest public libraries in the world
* [[Christmas market]]s in Kaysersberg, Strasbourg, Mulhouse and Colmar
* Departmental Centre of the History of Families (CDHF) in Guebwiller
* The [[Maginot Line]]: [[Ouvrage Schoenenbourg]]
* [[Odile of Alsace|Mount Ste Odile]]
* [[Route des Vins d'Alsace]] (Alsace Wine Route)
* [[Alsace-Moselle Memorial|Mémorial d'Alsace–Lorraine]] in [[Schirmeck]]
* [[Natzweiler-Struthof]], the only German [[concentration camp]] on French territory during WWII
* [[Vosges Mountains|Famous mountains]]: Massif du Donon, [[Grand Ballon]], Petit Ballon, [[Ballon d'Alsace]], [[Hohneck (Vosges)|Hohneck]], [[Hartmannswillerkopf]]
* [[National park]]: Parc naturel des Vosges du Nord
* [[Regional park]]: Parc naturel régional des Ballons des Vosges (south of the [[Vosges Mountains|Vosges]])

===Transportation===

====Roads====
[[File:Absolute ponts couverts 02.jpg|thumb|right|[[Ponts Couverts (Strasbourg)|Ponts Couverts]], [[Strasbourg]]]]

Most major car journeys are made on the [[A35 autoroute]], which links Saint-Louis on the Swiss border to Lauterbourg on the German border.

The [[A4 autoroute|A4]] toll road (towards Paris) begins {{Convert|20|km|mi|abbr=on}} northwest of [[Strasbourg]] and the [[A36 autoroute|A36]] toll road towards Lyon, begins {{Convert|10|km|mi|abbr=on}} west from [[Mulhouse]].

Spaghetti junctions (built in the 1970s and 1980s) are prominent in the comprehensive system of motorways in Alsace, especially in the outlying areas of Strasbourg and Mulhouse. These cause a major buildup of traffic and are the main sources of pollution in the towns, notably in Strasbourg where the motorway traffic of the A35 was 170,000 per day in 2002.

At present, plans are being considered for building a new [[dual carriageway]] west of Strasbourg, which would reduce the buildup of traffic in that area by picking up north and southbound vehicles and getting rid of the buildup outside Strasbourg. The line plans to link up the interchange of [[Hœrdt]] to the north of Strasbourg, with [[Innenheim]] in the southwest. The opening is envisaged at the end of 2011, with an average usage of 41,000 vehicles a day. Estimates of the French Works Commissioner however, raised some doubts over the interest of such a project, since it would pick up only about 10% of the traffic of the A35 at Strasbourg. Paradoxically, this reversed the situation of the 1950s. At that time, the French trunk road left of the Rhine not been built, so that traffic would cross into Germany to use the Karlsruhe-Basel Autobahn.

To add to the buildup of traffic, the neighbouring German state of [[Baden-Württemberg]] has imposed a tax on heavy-goods vehicles using their [[Autobahn]]en. Thus, a proportion of the HGVs travelling from north Germany to Switzerland or southern Alsace bypasses the [[Bundesautobahn 5|A5]] on the Alsace-Baden-Württemberg border and uses the untolled French [[A35 autoroute|A35]] instead.

====Trains====
[[File:Place de l Homme de Fer.jpg|thumb|right|Place de l'Homme de Fer Tram Station]]

[[TER Alsace]] is the rail network serving Alsace. Its network is articulated around the city of Strasbourg. It is one of the most developed rail networks in France, financially sustained partly by the French railroad [[SNCF]], and partly by the ''région'' Alsace.

Because the Vosges are surmountable only by the [[Col de Saverne]] and the [[Belfort]] Gap, it has been suggested that Alsace needs to open up and get closer to France in terms of its rail links. Developments already under way or planned include:
* the [[LGV Est|TGV Est]] (Paris – Strasbourg) had its first phase brought into service in June 2007, bringing down the Strasbourg-Paris trip from 4 to 2 hours 20 minutes, and further reducing it to 1h 50m after the completion of the second phase in 2016.
* the [[LGV Rhin-Rhône|TGV Rhin-Rhône]] between [[Dijon]] and Mulhouse (opened in 2011)
* a tram-train system in Mulhouse (2011)
* an interconnection with the German [[InterCityExpress]], as far as [[Kehl]] (expected 2016)

However, the abandoned Maurice-Lemaire tunnel towards [[Saint-Dié-des-Vosges]] was rebuilt as a toll road.

====Waterways====
Port traffic of Alsace exceeds 15&nbsp;million tonnes, of which about three-quarters is centred on Strasbourg, which is the second busiest French fluvial harbour. The enlargement plan of the [[Rhône–Rhine Canal]], intended to link up the [[Mediterranean Sea]] and Central Europe (Rhine, [[Danube]], [[North Sea]] and [[Baltic Sea]]) was abandoned in 1998 for reasons of expense and land erosion, notably in the Doubs valley.

====Air traffic====
There are two [[international airport]]s in Alsace:
* the international airport of Strasbourg in [[Entzheim]]
* the international [[EuroAirport Basel-Mulhouse-Freiburg]], which is the seventh largest French airport in terms of traffic

Strasbourg is also two hours away by road from one of the largest European airports, Frankfurt Main, and 2 hours 30 minutes from [[Charles de Gaulle Airport]] through the direct [[TGV]] service, stopping in Terminal 2.

====Cycling network====
Crossed by three [[EuroVelo]] routes
* the EuroVelo 5 ([[Via Francigena]] from London to Rome/[[Brindisi]]),
* the EuroVelo 6 (Véloroute des fleuves from [[Nantes]] to [[Budapest]] (H)) and
* the EuroVelo 15 (Véloroute Rhin / Rhine cycle route from [[Andermatt]] (CH) to [[Rotterdam]] (NL)).
Alsace is the most bicycle-friendly region of France,{{Citation needed|date=November 2022}} with {{Convert|2000|km|mi}} of cycle routes. The network is of a very good standard and well signposted. All the towpaths of the canals in Alsace ([[canal des houillères de la Sarre]], [[canal de la Marne au Rhin]], [[canal de la Bruche]], [[canal du Rhône au Rhin]]) are tarred.

==Notable people==
[[File:Martin Schongauer.JPG|thumb|upright|Statue of [[Martin Schongauer]] by [[Frédéric Bartholdi]] in front of the [[Unterlinden Museum]], Colmar]]
The following is a selection of people born in Alsace who have been particularly influential or successful in their respective fields.
{{See also|Category:People from Alsace|Alsatians (people)}}

===Arts===
*[[Jean Arp]]
*[[Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi]], born in [[Colmar]] in 1834<ref name="Apletons_1900">{{Cite Appletons'|wstitle=Bartholdi, Frederic Auguste|year=1900}}</ref>
*[[Théodore Deck]]
*[[Gustave Doré]]
*[[Sébastien Érard]]
*[[Jean-Jacques Henner]]
*[[Philip James de Loutherbourg]]
*[[Master of the Drapery Studies]]
*[[Marcel Marceau]]
*[[Sam Marx]], born as Simon Marx in [[Mertzwiller]] in 1859<ref name="famille">[http://judaisme.sdv.fr/perso/marxbr/geneal.htm ''La famille paternelle des Marx Brothers''] {{in lang|fr}}</ref>
*[[Charles Munch (conductor)|Charles Munch]]
*[[Claude Rich]]
*[[Martin Schongauer]]
*[[Marie Tussaud]]
*[[Tomi Ungerer]]
*[[Émile Waldteufel]]
*[[Jean-Jacques Waltz]] (aka Hansi)
*[[Cora Wilburn]]
*[[William Wyler]]

===Business===
*Automobiles Ettore [[Bugatti]]
*[[Thierry Mugler]]
*[[Schlumberger brothers]]
*[[André Koechlin]]
*[[Léopold Louis-Dreyfus]]
*[[Jean-Georges Vongerichten]]

===Literature===
*[[Sebastian Brant]], who was born in [[Strasbourg]] in 1457 or 1458<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Zeydel |first=Edwin H. |date=1966 |title=Wann wurde Sebastian Brant geboren? |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/20655345 |journal=Zeitschrift für deutsches Altertum und deutsche Literatur |volume=95 |issue=4 |pages=319–320 |jstor=20655345 |issn=0044-2518}}</ref>
*[[August Stöber]]
*[[Gottfried von Strassburg]]

===Military===
*[[Alfred Dreyfus]], who was born in [[Mulhouse]] in 1859<ref name=a>{{cite web|url=http://www2.culture.gouv.fr/LH/LH053/PG/FRDAFAN83_OL0803061v009.htm|title=Birth certificate of Dreyfus, Alfred| publisher= Government of the French Republic|website=culture.gouv.fr|access-date=24 July 2019}}</ref>
*[[François Christophe de Kellermann]]
*[[Jean-Baptiste Kléber]]
*[[Jacques Paul Klein]]
*[[François Joseph Lefebvre]]
*[[Jean Rapp]]

===Nobility===
*[[Henriette Louise de Waldner de Freundstein]]
*[[Ludwig I of Bavaria]]

===Religion===
*[[Martin Bucer]]
*[[Wolfgang Capito]]
*[[Charles de Foucauld]]
*[[Herrad of Landsberg]]
*[[Pope Leo IX]]
*[[Thomas Murner]]
*[[J. F. Oberlin]]
*[[Odile of Alsace]]
*[[Albert Schweitzer]]
*[[Philipp Spener]]
*[[Jakob Wimpfeling]]
*[[Mordecai Mokiach]]

===Sciences===
*[[Hans Bethe]]
*[[Charles Friedel]]
*[[Charles Frédéric Gerhardt]]
*[[Johann Hermann]]
*[[Alfred Kastler]]
*[[Erich Leo Lehmann]]
*[[Jean-Marie Lehn]]
*[[Wilhelm Philippe Schimper]]
*[[Charles Xavier Thomas]]
*[[Pierre Weiss]]
*[[Charles-Adolphe Wurtz]]

===Sports===
*[[Mehdi Baala]]
*[[Yann Ehrlacher]]
*[[Valérien Ismaël]]
*[[Sébastien Loeb]]
*[[Yvan Muller]]
*[[Thierry Omeyer]]
*[[Thomas Voeckler]]
*[[Arsène Wenger]]

==Major communities==
German original names in brackets if French names differ:
<div style="float:left;width:33%;">
* [[Bischheim, Bas-Rhin|Bischheim]]
* [[Colmar]] (Kolmar)
* [[Guebwiller]] (Gebweiler)
* [[Haguenau]] (Hagenau)
* [[Illkirch-Graffenstaden]] (Illkirch-Grafenstaden)
* [[Illzach]]
* [[Lingolsheim]]
</div><div style="float:left;width:33%;">
* [[Mulhouse]] (Mülhausen)
* [[Saint-Louis, Haut-Rhin|Saint-Louis]] (St. Ludwig)
* [[Saverne]] (Zabern)
* [[Schiltigheim]]
* [[Sélestat]] (Schlettstadt)
* [[Strasbourg]] (Straßburg)
* [[Wittenheim]]
</div>{{Clear}}

==Sister regions==
There is an ''accord de coopération internationale'' between Alsace and the following regions:<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.region-alsace.eu/dn_coopration-internationale1/accords-cooperation-international.html|title=Les Accords de coopération entre l'Alsace et...|language=fr|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110103121947/http://www.region-alsace.eu/dn_coopration-internationale1/accords-cooperation-international.html |archive-date=3 January 2011 }}</ref>
* [[Vest (development region)|Vest]], [[Romania]]
* [[Gyeongsangbuk-do]], [[South Korea]]
* [[Upper Austria]], [[Austria]]
* [[Lower Silesian Voivodeship|Lower Silesia]], [[Poland]]
* [[Quebec]], [[Canada]]
* [[Jiangsu]], [[China]]
* [[Moscow Oblast|Moscow]], [[Russia]]

==See also==
* [[2014 Alsace single territorial collectivity referendum]]
* [[Miel d'Alsace]]
* [[Musée alsacien (Strasbourg)]]
* [[Route Romane d'Alsace]]
* [[German place names in Alsace]]
* [[Alsace independence movement]]
* [[Castroville, Texas]]

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
* Assall, Paul. ''Juden im Elsass''. Zürich: Rio Verlag. {{ISBN|3-907668-00-6}}.
* ''Das Elsass: Ein literarischer Reisebegleiter''. Frankfurt a.&nbsp;M.: Insel Verlag, 2001. {{ISBN|3-458-34446-2}}.
* Erbe, Michael (Hrsg.) ''Das Elsass: Historische Landschaft im Wandel der Zeiten''. Stuttgart: [[Kohlhammer Verlag]], 2002. {{ISBN|3-17-015771-X}}.
* Faber, Gustav. ''Elsass''. München: Artemis-Cicerone Kunst- und Reiseführer, 1989.
* Fischer, Christopher J. ''Alsace to the Alsatians? Visions and Divisions of Alsatian Regionalism, 1870–1939'' (Berghahn Books, 2010).
* Gerson, Daniel. ''Die Kehrseite der Emanzipation in Frankreich: Judenfeindschaft im Elsass 1778 bis 1848''. Essen: Klartext, 2006. {{ISBN|3-89861-408-5}}.
* Herden, Ralf Bernd. ''Straßburg Belagerung 1870''. Norderstedt: BoD, 2007, {{ISBN|978-3-8334-5147-8}}.
* Hummer, Hans J. ''Politics and Power in Early Medieval Europe: Alsace and the Frankish Realm, 600–1000''. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2009.
* Kaeppelin, Charles E. R, and Mary L. Hendee. ''[https://archive.org/details/alsacethroughout00kaep Alsace Throughout the Ages]''. Franklin, Pa: C. Miller, 1908.
* [https://boydellandbrewer.com/state-formation-in-early-modern-alsace-1648-1789-hb.html Lazer, Stephen A. ''State Formation in Early Modern Alsace, 1648–1789''. Rochester: University of Rochester Press, 2019.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190612172057/https://boydellandbrewer.com/state-formation-in-early-modern-alsace-1648-1789-hb.html |date=12 June 2019 }}
* Mehling, Marianne (Hrsg.) ''Knaurs Kulturführer in Farbe Elsaß''. München: Droemer Knaur, 1984.
* Putnam, Ruth. ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=pYQ-AAAAYAAJ Alsace and Lorraine: From Cæsar to Kaiser, 58 B.C.–1871 A.D.]'' New York: 1915.
* Schreiber, Hermann. ''Das Elsaß und seine Geschichte, eine Kulturlandschaft im Spannungsfeld zweier Völker''. Augsburg: Weltbild, 1996.
* Schwengler, Bernard. ''Le Syndrome Alsacien: d'Letschte?'' Strasbourg: Éditions Oberlin, 1989. {{ISBN|2-85369-096-2}}.
* [[Tomi Ungerer|Ungerer, Tomi]]. ''Elsass. Das offene Herz Europas''. Straßburg: Édition La Nuée Bleue, 2004. {{ISBN|2-7165-0618-3}}.
* Vogler, Bernard and Hermann Lersch. ''Das Elsass''. Morstadt: Éditions Ouest-France, 2000. {{ISBN|3-88571-260-1}}.

==External links==
{{Commons category|Alsace}}
{{wikivoyage}}
* [http://www.region.alsace/ Official website of the Alsace regional council] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151230162539/http://www.region.alsace/ |date=30 December 2015 }}
* [http://us.france.fr/en/discover/alsace Alsace : at the heart of Europe] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160205184648/http://us.france.fr/en/discover/alsace |date=5 February 2016 }} – Official French website (in English)
*[https://www.visit.alsace/en/ Visit Alsace] Official Alsace tourism website
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20140421003903/http://rhine-online.com/html/alsace-france-english.htm Rhine Online – life in southern Alsace and neighbouring Basel and Baden Wuerrtemburg]
* [http://www.alsatourisme.fr/ Alsatourisme] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130423001901/http://www.alsatourisme.fr/ |date=23 April 2013 }} Tourism in Alsace {{in lang|fr}}
<!-- please keep this link: Dmoz page holds a Wikipedia back link -->
* [http://www.alsace.net/ Alsace.net: Directory of Alsatian Websites] {{in lang|fr}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20071015035958/http://www.musees-alsace.org/ "Museums of Alsace"] {{in lang|fr}}
* [http://www.photo-alsace.com/thematique/architecture/architecture_religieuse.php Churches and chapels of Alsace] (pictures only) {{in lang|fr}}
* [http://www.photo-alsace.com/thematique/chateaux/index.php Medieval castles of Alsace] (pictures only) {{in lang|fr}}
* [http://decouverte.orgue.free.fr/ "Organs of Alsace"] {{in lang|fr}}
* [http://www.bacm.creditmutuel.fr/ ''The Alsatian Library of Mutual Credit''] {{in lang|fr}}
* [http://www.alsace-culture.com/ ''The Alsatian Artists''] {{in lang|fr}}

{{Alsace topics}}
{{Regions of France|former}}
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[[Category:Alsace| ]]
[[Category:NUTS 2 statistical regions of the European Union]]