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'Mulhouse' (French: ''Mulhouse'', pronounced ; Alsatian: ''Milhüsa''; ) is a town and commune in eastern France close to Swiss and German borders. With '271,000 inhabitants' in the metropolitan area in 2007 it is the largest town in Haut-Rhin, and the second largest in Alsace after Strasbourg. Its designated local development area consists of 16 communes, but its conurbation is substantially larger than that.

Contents

Administration

History

Geography

Districts

Principal places of interest

Principal economic activities

Transport

Miscellaneous

Births

Mayors of Mulhouse

Twin towns

External links

Administration

Mulhouse is the chief town of an arrondissement of the Haut-Rhin ''département'', of which it is a ''sous-préfecture''. Although the city is by far the most populous in Haut-Rhin, its ''préfecture'' (capital) resides in the smaller commune of Colmar.

History

The first written records of Mulhouse date from the 12th century. It was part of the southern Alsatian county of Sundgau in the Holy Roman Empire. From 1354–1515 Mulhouse was part of the Décapole, an association of ten Free Imperial Cities in Alsace. The city joined the Swiss Confederation as an associate in 1515 and was therefore not annexed by France in the Peace of Westphalia in 1648 like the rest of the Sundgau. It was then considered a free republic associated with the Swiss Confederation until it was annexed by France on January 4, 1798, during the French Directory period.
After the Franco-Prussian War and the unification of Germany, Mulhouse was annexed to the German Empire as part of the territory of Alsace-Lorraine (1870-1918). The city was occupied by French troops on 8 August 1914 at the start of World War I, but they were forced to withdraw two days later in the Battle of Mulhouse. Alsace-Lorraine was returned to France in 1918. It was occupied and annexed by Nazi Germany after the Battle of France in 1940, until restored to France at the close of the war in 1945.
The town's development was stimulated first by the expansion of the textile industry and tanning, and subsequently by chemical and engineering industries from the mid 18th century. In consequence Mulhouse has enduring links with Louisiana, from which it imported cotton, and also with the Levant. The town's history also explains why its centre is relatively small.

Geography

Two rivers run through Mulhouse, the Doller and the Ill, both tributaries of the Rhine.

Districts

Medieval Mulhouse consists essentially of a lower and an upper town.

★ The lower town was formerly the quarter of merchants and craftsmen. It developed around the Place de la Réunion (which commemorates its reunion with France). Nowadays this area is pedestrianised.

★ The upper town developed from the 18th century on. Previously, several monastic orders were established there, notably the Franciscans, Augustinians, Poor Clares and Knights of Malta.

★ The Nouveau Quartier (New Town) is the best example of urban planning in Mulhouse, and was developed from 1826 on, after the town walls had been removed (as they were in many French towns). It is focused around the Place de la République. Its network of streets and its triangular shape are a good demonstration of the town's desire for a planned layout. The planning was undertaken by the architects G. Stolz and Félix Fries. This quarter was taken up by rich families and the owners of local industries, who tended to be liberal and republican in their opinions.

★ The Rebberg district consists of grand houses inspired by the colonnaded residences of Louisiana cotton planters. Originally, this was the town's vineyard (the word ''reb'' meaning ''vine''). The houses here were built as terraces in the English style, a result of the town's close relationship with Manchester, where the sons of industrialists were often sent to study.

Principal places of interest

★ Hôtel de Ville (16th century). The town hall was built in 1553 in the Rhenish Renaissance style. Montaigne described it as a "palais magnifique et tout doré" ("a splendid palace gilded all over") in 1580. It is known for its trompe l'oeil paintings, and its pictures of allegories representing the vices and virtues.

★ Workers' quarter (mid 19th century), inspired by districts in Manchester .

★ Place de la Bourse and the building of the Société Industrielle de Mulhouse, in the Nouveau Quartier (19th century)

★ Musée National de l'Automobile de Mulhouse (featuring the Schlumpf collection)

★ French National Railway Museum

★ Museum of Electricity (Electropolis)

★ Museum of Printed Textiles (''Musée de l'Impression sur Étoffes'')

★ Botanical gardens and zoo

Principal economic activities

★ Automobile industry (Peugeot's Mulhouse factory is the largest employer in Alsace)

★ Chemical industry (ICMD)

★ Electronics (Clemessy)

★ Engineering (SACM - Wärsitlä)

Transport

Mulhouse is served by Basel-Mulhouse-Freiburg International Airport.
Mulhouse has its own SNCF station with a direct connection to Basel in Switzerland.
Transport within Mulhouse is provided by a tram network, which opened on May 13, 2006[1] and is due to be further extended by 2008.

Miscellaneous

Births

Mulhouse was the birth place of:

★ Jean de Beaugrand (1584-1640), lineographer and mathematician

★ Johann Heinrich Lambert (1728-1777), mathematician, physicist and astronomer

★ Charles Frédéric Girard (1822-1895), biologist specializing on ichthyology and herpetology

★ Alfred Dreyfus (1859-1935), French military officer best known for being the focus of the Dreyfus affair

★ Georges Friedel (1865-1933), mineralogist, son of Charles Friedel

★ Friedrich Wilhelm Levi (1888-1966), mathematician

★ William Wyler (1902-1981), award-winning motion picture director

★ Karl Brandt (1904-1948), Nazi German personal physician to Adolf Hitler and head administrator of the T-4 Euthanasia Program.

★ Katia and Maurice Krafft, volcanologists

★ Pierre Chambon (born 1931), biologist

★ François Florent (born 1937), actor, founder of the Cours Florent

★ Mireille Delunsch (born 1962), soprano

★ Vitaa (born 1983), singer

Mayors of Mulhouse

★ Jean-Marie Bockel (since 1989)

★ Joseph Klifa (1981-1989)

★ Emile Muller (1956-1981)

Twin towns

★ 'Walsall', United Kingdom, since 1953

★ 'Antwerp', Belgium, since 1956

★ 'Kassel', Germany, since 1965

★ 'Bergamo', Italy, since 1989

★ 'Milwaukee', United States of America

★ 'Chemnitz', Germany, since 1990

★ 'Giv'atáyim', Israel, since 1991

★ 'Timişoara', Romania, since 1991 (''Coopération décentralisée'')

★ 'El Khroub', Algeria, since 1999 (''Coopération décentralisée'')

★ 'Sofara', Mali, since 2003 (''Coopération décentralisée'')

External links

★ Official website

★ MulhouseBienvenue.com

★ Mulhouse Travel and Tourism Tourist attractions and maps

★ Visiting Mulhouse

★ Museum of Printed Textiles