ABOVE: Alsace.

Guide to Alsace

Alsace

Region of eastern France comprising the départements of:
Haut-Rhin (67)
and Bas-Rhin (68)

Population: 1.6 million
Principal city: Strasbourg
Tourist board

Fertile, wooded countryside but also, with its 1.6 million inhabitants, many densely populated areas. Bordering on Germany, Alsace did not become part of France until 1678. In 1871 it was annexed by Prussia after the Franco-Prussian War but was restored to France in 1918 (Albert Schweitzer, the famous humanitarian, was born in Alsace in 1875, but is claimed by both the French and the Germans as their own son … but he lived much of his life in Africa).

The region produces excellent white wine and most of France's beer. Ribeauvillé, Kientzheim and Mittelheim are just a few of the wine-growing communities in Alsace which hold annual wine festivals, complete with dancing, flowers and fountains flowing with wine. The common grape varieties grown in Alsace include Sylvaner, Riesling and Pinot Blanc. There is more to Alsatian cuisine than choucroute and sausages. Try baekeoffe, tarte flambée or roïgabragelti, which are all specialities of this Franco-Germanic region.

The region used to be a nesting place for migrating storks but over the years their numbers gradually declined; twenty years ago the stork population in Alsace had dwindled to near extinction. Then, in 1976 a rescue plan was set up in Hunawihr and now there are more than 150 storks who have made their home here.

Described by the writer Georges Duhamel as "the most beautiful city in the world", Colmar is certainly very picturesque with its half-timbered houses and window-boxes of flowers. From here you can follow the wine-route south through Pfaffenheim to Thann.

There is a remarkable car museum in Mulhouse: once the private collection of two brothers, Hans & Fritz Schlumpf, it is now both a museum housing Bugattis and Rolls-Royces and a hands-on exhibition of contemporary and future transport.

Strasbourg has a beautiful cathedral with a famous astronomical clock. Legend has it that the sculptures on the Angel Pillar of Strasbourg cathedral were not entirely man-made, such is their quality. The cathedral has been described as 'a pinky-red angel hovering over the city'. Also unmissable are the Château des Rohan and its 18th century treasures.

Bas-Rhin (67)

Population: 953,000
Principal city: Strasbourg

The Romans founded a military camp on the site of what is now Strasbourg; the original town was ravaged by invasions, but grew up again as the Strateburgum - the 'town of the roads', named after its geographical importance.

Strasbourg was a free town under the Holy Roman Empire, and its intellectual and artistic influence shone through the Renaissance. The French occupied the city in 1681, and it was fully integrated into the state during the Revolution and Empire. It was returned to the Germans after the Franco-Prussian War, restituted after WWI, occupied during WWII and liberated in November 1944.

Today the heart of the new Europe, Strasbourg is the capital of Alsace and is the seat of the Council of Europe and the European Court of Human Rights. Since the European Commission is in Brussels, it would save a lot of travel and movement of documents if the Parliament were also there, but the chances of the French agreeing to this are not very high. In the past the city was a symbol of Europe's division; now it reunites the continent both politically and culturally, since it is home to an international music festival each summer.

The city has a magnificent 13th-century cathedral with a famous horloge astronomique showing the movement of the planets as well as the time. On its completion its builder was allegedly blinded so that he would not be able to recreate a similar artefact anywhere else. The cathedral has been described as 'a pinky-red angel hovering over the city', and legend has it that the sculptures on the Angel Pillar were not entirely man-made, such is their quality. The Château des Rohan and its 18th century treasures are also particularly visit-worthy.

Apart from the beautiful towns and villages, with their famous half-timbering, one of the must-sees of the département is the Maginot line, which, after the Great Wall of China, was the greatest permanent fortification ever built — and probably the last. Conceived after WWI and constructed between 1929 and 1940, it ran for for 700km, a short distance behind the Franco-German border. Several thousand concrete bunkers, strategic gun emplacements and other installations were sunk into the countryside. Tunnels and underground railways ensured that the line could be supplied with munitions quickly and safely. Alsace, situated in the middle of the line, has around 2,000 installations, and several are open for a visit. Of particular interest is the Ouvrage de Schoenenbourg, in the north-east of the département.

Haut-Rhin (68)

Population: 134,000
Principal city: Colmar - promotion-communication@ot-colmar.fr
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Tourist board

Described by the writer Georges Duhamel as the most beautiful city in the world, Colmar is certainly very picturesque, with its half-timbered houses and window-boxes of flowers. The town's admirable medieval architecture owes more, however, to German heritage than to French influence.

It was also the birthplace of Auguste Bartholdi (1834), the creator of the Statue of Liberty. He donated a great number of statues and fountains to the city, enhancing its already beautiful mien: for example, the Schwendi fountain and the monuments to the Alsatian wine-grower and General Jean Rapp, Governor of Danzig, who was born in Colmar in 1772. In return, Colmar has honoured its talented artist son with a museum of his paintings, sculptures and other works, sistuated in his former house.

Colmar is within easy striking distance of some of the most beautiful wine-growing villages in France. Here you can follow the wine route south through Pfaffenheim to Thann. Ribeauvillé, Kientzheim and Mittelheim are just a few of the wine-growing communities in Alsace which hold annual wine festivals, complete with dancing, flowers and fountains flowing with wine.

Mulhouse is the département's second city, but also the second largest in Alsace after Strasbourg. It is a stone's throw from Switzerland and Germany, and is the gateway to the Sundgau region. There is a variety of unusual and interesting museums exploring such topics as fine arts, history, textiles, railways, fire brigade. . . and wallpaper. The car museum in Mulhouse, once the private collection of brothers Hans and Fritz Schlumpf, now houses a notable collection of Bugattis and Rolls-Royces and a hands-on exhibition of contemporary and future transport. (Although its founder was Italian, Molsheim, near Strasbourg, was the birthplace of the Bugatti.)

Albert Schweitzer, the famous polymath and humanitarian, was born in Alsace, although he lived much of his life in Africa. Although French encyclopedias claim him as a Frenchman, during WWI Schweitzer was imprisoned because of his German background in the Provençal institution where Van Gogh had stayed previously as a mental patient.

Twenty years ago, the famous stork population of Alsace had dwindled to near extinction. Then, in 1976 a rescue plan was set up in Hunawihr and now there are more than 150 storks that have made their home here.