Alsace-Lorraine, << AL sas loh RAYN, >> is a historical region in northeastern France, on the French-German border. It covers about 12,000 square miles (31,000 square kilometers). Switzerland lies to the south of this historic region and Luxembourg and Belgium lie to the north. Today, Alsace and Lorraine form the eastern part of France’s Grand Est region (main administrative district).
About 4 million people live in Alsace and Lorraine. Most of them belong to the Roman Catholic Church. Important products of these two regions include barley, oats, rye, textiles, wheat, and wine. Mineral products include iron ore from Lorraine and potash from Alsace. The Vosges Mountains area supplies timber, coal, and salt, and the streams of this area provide hydroelectric power. Alsace and Lorraine also support an important automobile industry.
For hundreds of years, the inhabitants of Alsace and Lorraine have been part German and part French. Alsace and Lorraine were often a prize in wars between France and Germany. In the A.D. 300’s and 400’s, Teutonic bands drove out the Celtic tribes then living in the region. In the late 700’s, the area became part of Charlemagne’s empire. The area fell to the middle kingdom between France and Germany when Charlemagne’s grandsons divided the empire. But before long Alsace and Lorraine came under German rule.
Alsace and Lorraine remained under German rule until the 1500’s, when France gained control of them by slow stages. The people resisted efforts to turn them into French people. But the French Revolution (1789-1799) brought a change of heart. The Alsatian people became so French in spirit that more than 50,000 moved to France when Germany won most of Alsace in 1871 after the Franco-Prussian War. The map with this article shows the parts of Alsace and Lorraine annexed by Germany in 1871.
The Germans resented the loss of Alsace-Lorraine after World War I (1914-1918), regaining control of the area in World War II (1939-1945). The Germans moved thousands of people out of the region and replaced them with Germans, Poles, and Russians. The Allies drove the Germans out of Alsace-Lorraine in 1944-1945, and France again reclaimed the region.
