Alsace: A Brief History of France’s Rhine Borderland: From Strasbourg and the Holy Roman Empire to German Rule, the World Wars and European Reconciliation ... History of European Places and Regions)

Why has Alsace remained one of Europe’s most distinctive borderlands despite centuries of changing rulers, languages and frontiers?

Alsace: A Brief History of France’s Rhine Borderland follows the region from the Roman Rhine frontier and the medieval Holy Roman Empire through Strasbourg’s Reformation , the expansion of French power , German rule after 1871 , two world wars and the postwar turn toward Franco-German reconciliation and Europe .

Located between the Rhine and the Vosges , Alsace has long stood between France, Germany and Central Europe . Its towns traded across political borders. Its people spoke different languages and dialects. Catholic, Protestant and Jewish communities developed side by side. Political borders changed repeatedly, but regional traditions and Alsatian identity remained strong .

The book explains why the history of Alsace cannot be reduced to a simple struggle between France and Germany . Sovereignty, language, religion, local law and identity often changed at different speeds. A town could become politically French while remaining culturally connected to the German-speaking world. Later generations faced the same questions in reverse.

Strasbourg, Colmar, Mulhouse, the Vosges and the Rhine form the geographical heart of the story. Strasbourg grew from a Roman frontier settlement into a major imperial city, center of printing and Reformation, and later a symbol of European cooperation. Mulhouse followed a different path through industry and its links with Switzerland. Colmar preserves layers of medieval, imperial and French history.

Inside the book:
• Rome and the Rhine Frontier — Roman settlements, military routes and the strategic importance of the Upper Rhine
• Alsace in the Holy Roman Empire — Imperial cities, monasteries, noble territories and the fragmented politics of medieval Alsace
• Strasbourg, Printing and the Reformation — How humanism, the printing press and religious reform transformed the region
• Louis XIV and the Expansion of France — How French royal power gradually extended into Alsace while many local institutions survived
• The Franco-Prussian War and Alsace-Lorraine — Why the events of 1870–1871 changed the region’s political identity and made Alsace a major issue between France and Germany
• Alsace under the German Empire — Language, education, regional politics, economic growth and competing ideas of belonging
• World War I and the Return to France — The consequences of war, renewed border changes and the difficult process of reintegration
• Nazi Rule and the Second World War — De facto annexation, Germanization, persecution and forced incorporation into the German armed forces
• Reconstruction and European Reconciliation — How a region once fought over by France and Germany became closely associated with cross-border cooperation and European institutions
• Historic Alsace Today — Where Roman remains, medieval towns, fortifications, battlefields, churches and industrial heritage still reveal the region’s past.

Written for general readers, travelers, students and anyone interested in Alsace history, Strasbourg history, French regional history, Franco-German relations, the Holy Roman Empire, Alsace-Lorraine and the Rhine borderlands , this book separates documented evidence from national myth .

Includes a timeline, glossary, key historical figures, twelve historic places and selected sources , with practical guidance to places where the history of Alsace can still be seen today .