Illkirch-Graffenstaden
Encyclopedia
Geography
The larger adjacent communes, like Illkirch-Graffenstaden, are effectively outer suburbs of the StrasbourgStrasbourg
Strasbourg is the capital and principal city of the Alsace region in eastern France and is the official seat of the European Parliament. Located close to the border with Germany, it is the capital of the Bas-Rhin département. The city and the region of Alsace are historically German-speaking,...
conurbation. These include Strasbourg-Meinau, Ostwald
Ostwald, Bas-Rhin
Ostwald is a commune in the Bas-Rhin department in Alsace in north-eastern France.-History:The ancient name of Ostwald, Wickersheim, is first attested on a map of the emperor Charles the Fat in 884. In the time of the emperor Frederick I Barbarossa, within the realm of the Holy Roman Empire, the...
and Geispolsheim
Geispolsheim
Geispolsheim is a commune in the Bas-Rhin department in Alsace in north-eastern France.-Geography:Geispolsheim is positioned to the south of Strasbourg....
. Illkirch-Graffenstaden is crossed by the River Ill
Ill (France)
The Ill is a river in Alsace, in north-eastern France. It is a left-side, or western tributary of the Rhine.It starts down from its source near the village of Winkel, in the Jura mountains, with a resurgence near Ligsdorf, turns around Ferrette on its east side, and then runs northward through...
which here runs from south to north, parallel with and roughly ten kilometres to the west of the River Rhine: the two finally converge a short distance to the north of Strasbourg. The town also lies by the Rhône-Rhine Canal
Rhône-Rhine Canal
The Rhône–Rhine Canal is one of the major waterways of France linking the Rhine and the Rhône and thereby the North Sea and the Mediterranean.It is 217 miles long....
which here runs between the two rivers.
Extensive quarrying has been undertaken in the area for many years, giving rise to a number of small lakes in the region, a couple of which have been adapted for recreational swimming
The International Space University
International Space University
The International Space University is a private university founded in 1987. The University currently offers three degree granting programs — Master of Science in Space Management, Master of Science in Space Studies and Executive MBA — in addition to a non-degree-granting Space Studies Program.The...
is located on the part of the campus of Strasbourg University lying in the territory of Illkirch-Graffenstaden.
History
Illkirch is believed to be a FrankishFranks
The Franks were a confederation of Germanic tribes first attested in the third century AD as living north and east of the Lower Rhine River. From the third to fifth centuries some Franks raided Roman territory while other Franks joined the Roman troops in Gaul. Only the Salian Franks formed a...
foundation. The town, like Alsace/Elsaß
Alsace
Alsace is the fifth-smallest of the 27 regions of France in land area , and the smallest in metropolitan France. It is also the seventh-most densely populated region in France and third most densely populated region in metropolitan France, with ca. 220 inhabitants per km²...
, takes the first syllable of its name from the river that crosses it: the second syllable is simply the local
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
word for a church. The spelling of the name has changed as the language
Alsatian language
Alsatian is a Low Alemannic German dialect spoken in most of Alsace, a region in eastern France which has passed between French and German control many times.-Language family:...
has developed: Ellofanum (720), Illechilechen (826), Illenkirche (845), Illekiriche (920), Illachirecha (1163) and Illenkirchen (1172) which mutated into the contemporary name, Illkirch.
When Rudolf von Habsburg
Rudolph I of Germany
Rudolph I was King of the Romans from 1273 until his death. He played a vital role in raising the Habsburg dynasty to a leading position among the Imperial feudal dynasties...
was elected King of the Romans
King of the Romans
King of the Romans was the title used by the ruler of the Holy Roman Empire following his election to the office by the princes of the Kingdom of Germany...
in 1273, he urgently needed military help from his leading supporters against his rival, King Ottokar II of Bohemia
Ottokar II of Bohemia
Ottokar II , called The Iron and Golden King, was the King of Bohemia from 1253 until 1278. He was the Duke of Austria , Styria , Carinthia and Carniola also....
, who was reluctant to accept Rudolf as emperor. As a reward for their services, Rudolf in 1284 elevated several leading Strasbourgers to the knighthood. To his favoured supporter, Bernhard von Müllenheim, he also granted the ford at Grafenstaden, with the right to levy tolls on travellers: the value of the concession was enhanced by the absence of any bridge. Hitherto the citizens of Strasbourg had been able to use the Grafenstaden ford without payment, and in 1391 ownership of the ford reverted to the city: from that year, there was a requirement weekly to transfer money collected from tolls to Strasbourg
Strasbourg
Strasbourg is the capital and principal city of the Alsace region in eastern France and is the official seat of the European Parliament. Located close to the border with Germany, it is the capital of the Bas-Rhin département. The city and the region of Alsace are historically German-speaking,...
.
Historians know of Illkirch from the Illkirch Capitulation Document. In 1681, facing the prospect of imminent French invasion, Hans Georg von Zedlitz, mayor of Strasbourg
Strasbourg
Strasbourg is the capital and principal city of the Alsace region in eastern France and is the official seat of the European Parliament. Located close to the border with Germany, it is the capital of the Bas-Rhin département. The city and the region of Alsace are historically German-speaking,...
, tried to obtain imperial
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire was a realm that existed from 962 to 1806 in Central Europe.It was ruled by the Holy Roman Emperor. Its character changed during the Middle Ages and the Early Modern period, when the power of the emperor gradually weakened in favour of the princes...
support to turn back the advancing soldiers
French Army
The French Army, officially the Armée de Terre , is the land-based and largest component of the French Armed Forces.As of 2010, the army employs 123,100 regulars, 18,350 part-time reservists and 7,700 Legionnaires. All soldiers are professionals, following the suspension of conscription, voted in...
from Strasbourg
Strasbourg
Strasbourg is the capital and principal city of the Alsace region in eastern France and is the official seat of the European Parliament. Located close to the border with Germany, it is the capital of the Bas-Rhin département. The city and the region of Alsace are historically German-speaking,...
, which enjoyed privileged status as a free imperial city
Free Imperial City
In the Holy Roman Empire, a free imperial city was a city formally ruled by the emperor only — as opposed to the majority of cities in the Empire, which were governed by one of the many princes of the Empire, such as dukes or prince-bishops...
. Imperial support did not materialize, however, and in order to avoid greater suffering von Zedlitz was finally obliged to sign the Surrender Document of Illkirch on 30 September 1681.
Graffenstaden was a village bordering Illkirch: the two communes were merged for economic reasons between 1790 and 1794.
Economy
After the First World War the largest employer was the Société Alsacienne de Constructions MécaniquesSociété Alsacienne de Constructions Mécaniques
The Société Alsacienne de Constructions Mécaniques [Society of Alsatian mechanical engineering] was an engineering company with its headquarters in Mulhouse, Alsace which produced railway locomotives, textile and printing machinery, diesel engines, boilers, lifting equipment, firearms and mining...
(SACM), a heavy engineering business that specialised in the manufacture of railway locomotives and machine tools. The factory had originally been built before the annexation of Alsace
Alsace
Alsace is the fifth-smallest of the 27 regions of France in land area , and the smallest in metropolitan France. It is also the seventh-most densely populated region in France and third most densely populated region in metropolitan France, with ca. 220 inhabitants per km²...
by Germany
German Empire
The German Empire refers to Germany during the "Second Reich" period from the unification of Germany and proclamation of Wilhelm I as German Emperor on 18 January 1871, to 1918, when it became a federal republic after defeat in World War I and the abdication of the Emperor, Wilhelm II.The German...
, but had been operated separately as a German business
Elsässische Maschinenbau-Gesellschaft Grafenstaden
The Elsässischen Maschinenbau-Gesellschaft Grafenstaden was a heavy industry firm located at Grafenstaden in the Alsace, near the city of Strasbourg....
between 1871
Treaty of Frankfurt
The Treaty of Frankfurt may refer to one of three treaties signed at Frankfurt, as follows:*Treaty of Frankfurt - Treaty between Maximilian of Austria and the envoys of King Charles VIII of France...
and 1918
Treaty of Versailles
The Treaty of Versailles was one of the peace treaties at the end of World War I. It ended the state of war between Germany and the Allied Powers. It was signed on 28 June 1919, exactly five years after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. The other Central Powers on the German side of...
. Although heavy engineering still plays a part in the local economy, the second half of the twentieth century saw a massive decline in the sector and much of the old industrial site is today covered by a large shopping centre, offices and even residential developments. Today it is the tertiary sector that provides most of the employment in the area.
Science and industry
- Jean-Baptiste SchwilguéJean-Baptiste SchwilguéJean-Baptiste Schwilgué was the author of the third astronomical clock of Strasbourg Cathedral, built between 1838 and 1843 ....
, horologist - Frédéric Rollé, horologist