Alsace, France

Among the Rhine and the hills of the Vosges, near the Alsatian plains, centuries of work created one of the most beautiful landscapes and wineries of France. In the Upper Rhine, the villages of Eguisheim, Riquewihr, Kaysersberg, Hunawihr in Ribeauvillé emerge from a sea of vineyards and are at the same time, the irresistible face of rural and medieval Alsace.

Alsace [and Lorraine], unlike the other French Regions, abound in both French and German influences. The region is situated in mid-eastern to north-eastern France. It is bound to the north by Germany and to the east by the Rhine River [with Germany across the Rhine], to the south by Switzerland and the region of Franche-Comté and to the west by the beautiful Vosges mountains and the region of Lorraine.

Much of Alsace is found on a fertile alluvial plain, between the Rhine River and the Vosges mountains in the west. The lower area, that rises from the Rhine, is checkered with vineyards. The higher slopes are forested and sprinkled with monasteries and old castles.

The region of Alsace consists of the départements of Bas-Rhin and Haut-Rhin. Its principal cities are Colmar, Mulhouse and the regional capital Strasbourg.

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[brentano2277]

@nigelelsass Wuerttemberg, typo.



[brentano2277]

@brentano2277 Oh by the way, I just double checked , linguisically and culturally and historically Alsatians are Swabians.Just like in Baden and Wuerttenberg.

[brentano2277]

@nigelelsass OK, that is your right, to remain independent of either France or Germany.I personally will always regard Alsace as a part of Germany in France, even if that is not how Alsatians see themselves.My father who was in the German Navy with an Alsatian said "the Alsatians heart was never in it ".If Kaiser Wilhem had had a more liberal sense of statehood and did not treat Alsace as a vassal state, maybe the attachment might have become one of brotherhood.

[nigelelsass]

@brentano2277 : Given the degree of local freedom, I would rather be part of Spain. Spain is the most federal country in the EU. It has several official languages and minority rights are better protected. Even better - outside the EU, Switzerland grants EQUAL RIGHTS to all linguistic groups.

[nigelelsass]

@brentano2277 : The incorporation of E-L into Germany is a "fantasy" of Germans - where a lot of people (just like the French) are psychologically sick and have some "domination issue". Other normal people who are actually "good to us" ask us what we want. I therefore prefer the Swiss, Luxembourgians and Dutch.

[nigelelsass]

@brentano2277 : Like I said NOBODY in Lichtenstein, Switzerland would want to be part of Germany. Neither would we want to. France should just be FORCED to grant equal rights and threated to be just kicked out of the EU for not applying basic human rights which are required from any new member state.

[nigelelsass]

@brentano2277 : Germany has mistreated us and it took long long to finally the same rights as other Bundesländer (40 years of political fight) which have then be nullified by the martial rule during WW1. We DO NOT have a national allegiance to Germany - although we are german in the culture and the language. You can probably only compare it to Luxemburg and Switzerland.

What about instead ending national states in Europe???

[brentano2277]

@nigelelsass But allowing the freedom to express the cultural differences without interference. In the case of Alsace this can easily come about by an accord of German speaking regions.Don't forget the Federal Republic is made up of many regional and tribal districts that have safety in an incorporated body.Lusatians, Sorbians and Wends, Saxons, Bavarians, Swabians,Rhinelanders, German all, different all.You are part of the common history of German speakers, you are one.

[brentano2277]

@nigelelsass But allowing the freedom to express the cultural differences without interference. In the case of Alsace this can easily come about by an accord of German speaking regions.Don't forget the Federal Republic is made up of many regional and tribal districts that have safety in an incorporated body.Lusatians, Sorbians and Wends, Saxons, Bavarians, Swabians,Rhinelanders, German all, different all.You are part of the common history of German speakers, you are one.