Saint-Louis (; gsw-FR, Sä-Louis; german: Sankt Ludwig) is a

commune A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to: Administrative-territorial entities * Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township ** Communes of ...

in the

Haut-Rhin Haut-Rhin (, ; Alsatian: ''Owerelsàss'' or '; german: Oberelsass, ) is a department in the Grand Est region of France, bordering both Germany and Switzerland. It is named after the river Rhine. Its name means ''Upper Rhine''. Haut-Rhin is th ...

department in

Alsace Alsace (, ; ; Low Alemannic German/ gsw-FR, Elsàss ; german: Elsass ; la, Alsatia) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in eastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine next to Germany and Switzerland. In 2020, it had ...

in north-eastern

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

. The inhabitants are called ''Ludoviciens''.

History

Following the conquest of the Sundgau and other parts of the Alsace by France in the course of the

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history, lasting from 1618 to 1648. Fought primarily in Central Europe, an estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died as a result of battle ...

and the Peace of Westphalia, the French crown took a growing interest in the control and security of the land west of the

Rhine ), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland , source1_coordinates= , source1_elevation = , source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein , source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland , source2_coordinates= , so ...

at the

Rhine knee The Rhine knee or Rhine's knee (german: Rheinknie) is the name of several distinctive bends in the course of the river Rhine. Basel In Basel, the Rhine changes its westerly direction of flow in an angle of 90 degrees to a northerly direction, alo ...

below the territory of the

Canton of Basel Basel was a canton of Switzerland that was in existence between 1501 and 1833, when it was split into the two half-cantons of Basel-City and Basel-Country. Background Before the Protestant Reformation, Basel was ruled by prince-bishops (see ...

(which joined the Old Swiss Confederacy in 1501). In 1679, therefore, as part of a deliberation proclamation of his continued expansion policy on the

Upper Rhine The Upper Rhine (german: Oberrhein ; french: Rhin Supérieur) is the section of the Rhine between Basel in Switzerland and Bingen in Germany, surrounded by the Upper Rhine Plain. The river is marked by Rhine-kilometres 170 to 529 (the ...

(which included the capture of Colmar in 1673, the defeat of imperial and

Palatine A palatine or palatinus (in Latin; plural ''palatini''; cf. derivative spellings below) is a high-level official attached to imperial or royal courts in Europe since Roman times.

troops at Türckheim, the plundering of the town in 1675, and the

Treaties of Nijmegen The Treaties of Peace of Nijmegen ('; german: Friede von Nimwegen) were a series of treaties signed in the Dutch city of Nijmegen between August 1678 and October 1679. The treaties ended various interconnected wars among France, the Dutch Republi ...

in 1679),

Louis XIV , house = Bourbon , father = Louis XIII , mother = Anne of Austria , birth_date = , birth_place = Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France , death_date = , death_place = Palace of Ver ...

ordered the construction of Hüningen Fortress at this strategic point. The occupants of the place, the fishing village of Hüningen, had to leave to make way for this military fortification, the construction of which was carried out by fortress architect, Vauban in 1680. The villagers were rehoused in the newly founded Village-Neuf and on the road from Basle to

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

via

Mulhouse Mulhouse (; Alsatian: or , ; ; meaning '' mill house'') is a city of the Haut-Rhin department, in the Grand Est region, eastern France, close to the Swiss and German borders. It is the largest city in Haut-Rhin and second largest in Alsace a ...

, where the first element of the present day village of Saint-Louis was established on the state border. This settlement, consisting of several border guards and taverns was initially part of the municipality of Hüningen's "new village". On 26 November 1684 — around 3 years after the high point of France's policy of annexation or — the capture of Strasbourg - the town was officially named by Louis XIV. Its patron is not actually the

Sun King , house = Bourbon , father = Louis XIII , mother = Anne of Austria , birth_date = , birth_place = Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France , death_date = , death_place = Palace of Ver ...

himself, but his predecessor, the

canonized Canonization is the declaration of a deceased person as an officially recognized saint, specifically, the official act of a Christian communion declaring a person worthy of public veneration and entering their name in the canon catalogue of s ...

King Louis IX or Saint Louis. 091029 St

In the course of the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in coup of 18 Brumaire, November 1799. Many of its ...

the town was renamed from 1793 to 1814 as Bourglibre (german: Burgliber). In 1953 the municipality of Bourgfelden was incorporated and was followed in 1958 by the village of Neuweg () from Blotzheim. Since then most of the land of Basel-Mulhouse Airport has been on the soil of the town of Saint-Louis. On 30 October 2000 the community association of was formed in Saint-Louis where it also has its head office. The association was turned into an

agglomeration community An agglomeration community (french: communauté d'agglomération) is a government structure in France, created by the Chevènement Law of 1999. It is one of four forms of intercommunality, less integrated than a métropole or a communauté u ...

in 2016.

Geography

Saint-Louis is located at the German and Swiss borders, just north of

Basel , french: link=no, Bâlois(e), it, Basilese , neighboring_municipalities= Allschwil (BL), Hégenheim (FR-68), Binningen (BL), Birsfelden (BL), Bottmingen (BL), Huningue (FR-68), Münchenstein (BL), Muttenz (BL), Reinach (BL), Riehen (BS ...

. The

EuroAirport Basel Mulhouse Freiburg EuroAirport Basel Mulhouse Freiburg IATA airport 3-letter codes for the French area, the Swiss area, and the metropolitan area, french: Aéroport de Bâle-Mulhouse-Fribourg, it, Aeroporto di Basilea-Mulhouse-Friburgo, rm, Eroport da Basilea-Mu ...

is situated on its territory. The town is served by two railway stations on the line Mulhouse–Basel: Saint-Louis station and Saint-Louis-la-Chaussée station. The commune of Saint-Louis also contains the former villages of Bourgfelden and Neuweg (also known as Saint-Louis-la-Chaussée, or ''Näiwaag'' in Sundgau Alsatian).

Population

Economy

Swiss International Air Lines, EuroAirport

Swiss International Air Lines Swiss International Air Lines AG, colloquially known as SWISS, is the flag carrier of Switzerland, operating scheduled services in Europe and to North America, South America, Africa and Asia. Zurich Airport serves as its sole hub and Geneva ...

is headquartered on the grounds of EuroAirport Basel-Mulhouse-Freiburg in Saint-Louis; while the airport is physically in France, the Swiss head office lies in the Swiss zone of the airport, and it may only be accessed from Switzerland.

Hello ''Hello'' is a salutation or greeting in the English language. It is first attested in writing from 1826. Early uses ''Hello'', with that spelling, was used in publications in the U.S. as early as the 18 October 1826 edition of the '' Norwich ...

, a Swiss airline, had its head office in the General Aviation area of EuroAirport. Prior to the formation of Swiss International Air Lines, the regional airline

Crossair Crossair Ltd. Co. for Regional European Air Transport (german: Crossair AG für europäischen Regionalluftverkehr) was a regional airline headquartered on the grounds of EuroAirport Basel Mulhouse Freiburg in Saint-Louis, Haut-Rhin, France, n ...

was headquartered on the grounds of EuroAirport. Prior to its dissolution, Crossair Europe was headquartered on the grounds of EuroAirport. The airline

Farnair Switzerland ASL Airlines Switzerland AG was a Swiss passenger charter and freight airline. The airline operated package delivery services from its base at EuroAirport Basel-Mulhouse-Freiburg throughout Europe, in addition to transport for the Swiss Armed ...

formerly had its head office at EuroAirport. As in the case of the Swiss head office, the area with the former Farnair head office may only be accessed from Switzerland. The head office moved to its current location, the Villa Guggenheim in Allschwil, in proximity to EuroAirport, on 1 October 2011.

Education

''Maternelles'' (preschools) include Louis Armand, Baerenfels, Octavie Krafft, Nussbaum, Petite Camargue, Jules Verne, and Wallart. There are two ''Écoles élémentaires'', École de Bourgfelden and École Galilée. Combined ''maternelle'' and ''primaire'' ''groupes scolaires'' are La Cigogne / Victor Hugo and Widemann / Sarasin. ''Collège Georges Forlen'' and ''Collège Schickele'' are the junior high schools. Lycée Jean-Mermoz serves sixth form/senior high school students.Le lycée Jean-Mermoz
" Commune of St. Louis. Retrieved on April 23, 2015.

Climate

Saint-Louis features a

temperate In geography, the temperate climates of Earth occur in the middle latitudes (23.5° to 66.5° N/S of Equator), which span between the tropics and the polar regions of Earth. These zones generally have wider temperature ranges throughout ...

oceanic climate (

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (born 1951), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author and ...