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.

• 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.
• The Alsace region is divided into two French ‘departments’ with Bas-Rhin to the north and including Strasbourg and Haut-Rhin to the south and including Colmar.
• 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.
• 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.
• Symbolically, the Route des Crêtes marks the border between Lorraine and Alsace, between the Romance and Germanic language worlds.
• In recent times, villagers started to paint the rendering white in accordance with Beaux-Arts movements.

History of the Alsace region

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.

Les visites guidées en Alsace

Many Alsatians campaigned to obtain some recognition of their local status concerning local administration and dialect. In the prosperous city of Strasbourg, the bourgeoisie took over the local authority of the bishop. In addition to these three dynasties, the region was divided into many territories meshed with each other, operating under the authority of little lords, laymen or clergymen. In 58 BC, Julius Caesar’s troops conquered the region and brought with them the Roman culture, built roads and imported vines.

• In addition to these three dynasties, the region was divided into many territories meshed with each other, operating under the authority of little lords, laymen or clergymen.
• Located between the Plain of Alsace, the Rhine River, the Vosges and the Jura mountains, the Sundgau region has its own distinctive geographic character.
• This traditional symbol of the Alsace region can often be admired at tourist and cultural events.
• 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.
• Alsace is generally seen as the most religious of all the French regions.
• Others ventured to Canada to settle in southwestern Ontario, notably Waterloo County.

Roads

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 slotrize casino no deposit bonus 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.

Visit Alsace, France

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.

Sundgau

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.
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.

Un Noël de Rêve en Alsace

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.
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 (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.