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The word Sauerkraut in Alsatian has the form sûrkrût, same as in other southwestern German dialects, and means "sour cabbage" as its Standard German equivalent. Like all regional languages in France, however, the transmission of Alsatian is on the decline. The survey counted 548,000 adult speakers of Alsatian in France, making it the second most-spoken regional language in the country (after Occitan). 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. However, Alsatian, along with other regional languages, are recognized by the French government in the official list of languages of France.
Strasbourg and the region of Wissembourg were the main bastions of Protestantism, while the rest of Alsace remained Catholic and loyal to the Habsburgs. Strasbourg officially became Protestant in 1532, along with Basel, Montbéliard, Mulhouse and Zurich to the south. French is the most commonly spoken language in Alsace nowadays. It is common to see new official bilingual street signs in Alsatian cities and villages.

Visit near Alsace with France This Way reviews

Since the 1st January 2016, the administrative region of Alsace has been part of the new Grand Est region along with Lorraine and Champagne-Ardenne. In the postwar years, however, French hegemony reclaimed Alsace, though some cultural ties to Germany remained. During the interwar years, German influence remained strong in the two recovered régions, and in the early 1940s Alsace was once again annexed by Germany, for the duration of World War II.
Mulhouse (a city in southern Alsace), which had been part of Switzerland since 1466, joined France in 1798. "La Marseillaise" was played for the first time in April of that year in front of the mayor of Strasbourg Philippe-Frédéric de Dietrich. 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. By the time of the Protestant Reformation in the 16th century, Strasbourg was a prosperous community, and its inhabitants accepted Protestantism in 1523. 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. 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.

• Locally known as Elsässisch, it is an Alemannic dialect, part of the High German language.
• With an annual recorded rainfall of 530mm, Colmar and its region take advantage of one of France’s driest climates, making it ideal for vines to grow on the southern slopes.
• Fall in love with the most mythical of wine routes
• At about this time, the surrounding areas experienced recurring fragmentation and reincorporations among a number of feudal secular and ecclesiastical lordships, a common process in the Holy Roman Empire.
• Though little is known about the early history of the Jews of Alsace, there is a lot of information from the 12th century onwards.
• “La Marseillaise” was played for the first time in April of that year in front of the mayor of Strasbourg Philippe-Frédéric de Dietrich.

Alsace is furthermore famous for its vineyards (especially along the 170 km of the Route des Vins d'Alsace from Marlenheim to Thann) and the Vosges mountains with their thick and green forests and picturesque lakes. Derived from the above, "Alsatia" was historically a cant term for the area near Whitefriars, London, which was for a long time a sanctuary. The bird practically disappeared around 1970, but re-population efforts are continuing.

• A gastronomic symbol of the région is the Choucroute, a local variety of Sauerkraut.
• Alsace is a prosperous region, ranking third in France after Ile-de-France and Rhône-Alpes.
• With the purpose of “Francizing” the region, the Rot-un-Wiss has not been recognized by Paris.
• Strasbourg began to grow to become the most populous and commercially important town in the region.
• After 1918, French was the only language used in schools, particularly primary schools.

The constitution of the Fifth Republic states that French alone is the official language of the Republic. Increasingly, French is the only language used at home and at work, and a growing number of people have a good knowledge of standard German as a foreign language learned in school. This situation has spurred a movement to preserve the Alsatian language, which is perceived as endangered, a situation paralleled in other régions of France, such as Brittany or Occitania. Few young people speak Alsatian today, although there do still exist one or two enclaves in the Sundgau region where some older inhabitants cannot speak French, and where Alsatian is still used as the mother tongue. Though the ban has long been lifted and street signs today are often bilingual, Alsace–Lorraine is today predominantly French in language and culture.

La Dolce Vita sur la Petite Venise à Colmar…

This tragic wartime episode gave them the name “les Malgré-Nous” (“in spite of our will”). From that time, the Alsace region was ruled by France and remained under its national colours until 1871. The region was originally populated by Celtic tribes who founded Argentorate (now Strasbourg) towards the end of the 3rd century BC.
In spite of consecutive wars between Germany and France, which have severely affected Alsace, the region has been able to protect its rich heritage of churches and castles. The hilly region is covered with pine, beech and oak woods, orchards, pastures, fields and ponds filled with carp, dotted with a multitude of wealthy villages. Located between the Plain of Alsace, the Rhine River, the Vosges and the Jura mountains, the Sundgau region has its own distinctive geographic character. These villages are gems of the wine country and often comprise old medieval ramparts, winding alleyways that bloom with magnificent geraniums, winstubs, half-timbered houses and medieval churches. The position of Alsace within the Holy Roman Empire at the time of the Reformation further complicated the fragile political balance in the Upper Rhine region.

Exploration des mystères cachés de la Cathédrale de Strasbourg

It borders Germany on the north and the east, Switzerland and Franche-Comté on the south and Lorraine on the west. German is also taught as a foreign language in local kindergartens and schools. Alsatian is taught in schools (but is not mandatory) as one of the regional languages of France.

Timeline

"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. The local German dialect was rendered a backward regional "Germanic" dialect not being attached to German. 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.

L’Alsace : petite par sa taille, grande par sa diversité

The Alsace region is bordered by the German Länder of Rhineland-Palatinate to the north and to the east, across the Rhine, by Baden-Württemberg. The Alsace region covers an area of 8,280 km2 slotrize casino no deposit bonus (190 km long by 50 km wide), which represents 1.5% of the total area of France. The end of the Second World War signalled that it was time for the reconstruction and reconciliation of the peoples of Europe. Alsace had changed hands four times within 75 years between France and Germany. Cultural life was, in part, suppressed by linguistic pressure from French authorities confronted by regional culture.

Fall in love with the most mythical of wine routes In the hollow where the Lorraine plateau meets Northern Alsace lies a secret region with rich, rugged landscapes. Small in size but big in its diversity, Alsace is an endless source of surprises and variety, promising a truly exceptional time! Alsace is the most bicycle-friendly region of France,citation needed with 2,000 kilometres (1,200 mi) of cycle routes.
In addition to the AOC, the notes “Late Harvest” (Récoltes Tardives) and “Selection of Noble Grains” (Sélection des Grains Nobles) designate rare wines, which are most often the most mellow or syrupy. The wines of Alsace (except for sparkling wine) are still sold in gracefully-shaped bottles, which are named “Alsace flûtes”. In Alsace, the wines are mostly named after the variety of the grapes and not after the land on which they are produced. The local microclimate is favourable for the slow and prolonged ripening of grapes and the formation of grapes of great finesse.