Grand Est (; gsw-FR, Grossa Oschta;

Moselle Franconian __NOTOC__ Moselle Franconian (german: Moselfränkisch, lb, Muselfränkesch) is a West Central German language, part of the Central Franconian languages area, that includes Luxembourgish. It is spoken in the southern Rhineland and along the ...

/ lb, Grouss Osten;

Rhine Franconian __NOTOC__ Rhenish Franconian or Rhine Franconian (german: Rheinfränkisch ) is a dialect chain of West Central German. It comprises the varieties of German spoken across the western regions of the states of Saarland, Rhineland-Palatinate, nor ...

: ''Groß Oschte''; german: Großer Osten ; en, "Great East") is an administrative region in Northeastern

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 ...

. It superseded three former administrative regions,

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 ...

, Champagne-Ardenne and

Lorraine Lorraine , also , , ; Lorrain: ''Louréne''; Lorraine Franconian: ''Lottringe''; german: Lothringen ; lb, Loutrengen; nl, Lotharingen is a cultural and historical region in Northeastern France, now located in the administrative region of Gra ...

, on 1 January 2016 under the provisional name of Alsace-Champagne-Ardenne-Lorraine (; ACAL or, less commonly, ALCA), as a result of territorial reform which had been passed by the

French Parliament The French Parliament (french: Parlement français) is the bicameral legislature of the French Republic, consisting of the Senate () and the National Assembly (). Each assembly conducts legislative sessions at separate locations in Paris ...

in 2014. The region sits astride three water basins ( Seine, Meuse and

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

), spanning an area of , the fifth largest in France; it includes two mountain ranges ( Vosges and Ardennes). It shares borders with

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

Luxembourg Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg ; german: link=no, Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small lan ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

and Switzerland. As of 2017, it had a population of 5,549,586 inhabitants. The prefecture and largest city, by far, is Strasbourg. The East of France has a rich and diverse culture, being situated at a crossroads between the

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

and Germanic worlds. This history is reflected in the variety of languages spoken there ( Alsatian, Champenois, and Lorraine Franconian). Most of today's Grand Est region was considered "Eastern" as early as the 8th century, when it constituted the southern part of the Francian territory of Austrasia. The city of Reims (in Champagne), where Frankish king Clovis I had been baptized in 496 AD, would later play a prominent ceremonial role in French monarchical history as the traditional site of the coronation of the kings of France. The Champagne fairs played a significant role in the economy of medieval Europe as well. Alsace and Lorraine thrived in the sphere of influence of the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire was a political entity in Western, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its dissolution in 1806 during the Napoleonic Wars. From the accession of Otto I in 962 ...

for most of the Middle Ages and Renaissance, and subject to competing claims by France and Germany over the centuries. The region has distinctive traditions such as the celebration of

Saint Nicholas Day Saint Nicholas Day, also called the Feast of Saint Nicholas, observed on 5 December or on 6 December in Western Christian countries, and on 19 December in Eastern Christian countries using the old church Calendar, is the feast day of Saint Ni ...

Christmas market A Christmas market, also known as ''Christkindlmarkt'' (literally: ''Christ Child Market'', but the term "Christkind" usually refers to an angel-like "spirit of Christmas" rather than literally the Christ Child), ''Christkindlesmarkt'', ''Chris ...

s, or traditions involving the Easter hare in Alsace and Lorraine. Alsace-Moselle are furthermore subject to

local law A local ordinance is a law issued by a local government. such as a municipality, county, parish, prefecture, or the like. China In Hong Kong, all laws enacted by the territory's Legislative Council remain to be known as ''Ordinances'' () af ...

for historical reasons. With a long industrial history and strong agriculture and tourism (arts, gastronomy, sightseeing), the East of France is one of the top economic producing regions in the country.

Toponymy

Provisional name

The provisional name of the region was Alsace-Champagne-Ardenne-Lorraine, formed by combining the names of the three former regions—

, Champagne-Ardenne and

—in alphabetical order with hyphens. The formula for the provisional name of the region was established by the territorial reform law and applied to all but one of the provisional names for new regions. The ACAL regional council, which was elected in December 2015, was given the task of choosing a name for the region and submitting it to the Conseil d'État—France's highest authority for

administrative law Administrative law is the division of law that governs the activities of executive branch agencies of government. Administrative law concerns executive branch rule making (executive branch rules are generally referred to as "regulations"), ad ...

—by 1 July 2016 for approval. The provisional name of the region was retired on 30 September 2016, when the new name of the region, ''Grand Est'', took effect. In Alsace and in Lorraine, the new region has frequently been called ALCA, for Alsace-Lorraine-Champagne-Ardennes, on the internet. Like the name '' Région Hauts-de-France'' (and, until 2015, the name '' Région Centre''), the name ''Région Grand Est'' contains no reference whatsoever to the area's history or identity, but merely describes its geographical location within metropolitan France.

Permanent name

In a poll conducted in November 2014 by

France 3 France 3 () is a French free-to-air public television channel and part of the France Télévisions group, which also includes France 2, France 4, France 5 and France Info. It is made up of a network of regional television services provi ...

in Champagne-Ardenne, ''Grand Est'' (29.16%) and ''Austrasie'' (22.65%) were the top two names among 25 candidates and 4,701 votes. Grand Est also topped a poll the following month conducted by

L'Est Républicain ''L'Est Républicain'' is a daily regional French newspaper based in Nancy, France. ''L'Est Républicain'' was established in 1889 by Léon Goulette, a French Republican. The newspaper was founded on the grounds of ''anti- Boulangisme''. It wa ...

, receiving 42% of 3,324 votes. The names which received a moderate amount of discussion were: * , a term used to refer to the northeast quarter of Metropolitan France, although this term refers to a geographic region larger than just ACAL. The term has been commonly used and topped the polls mentioned above. * ''Grand Est Europe'' (Great East Europe), a variant of Grand Est that alludes to the region being a gateway to Europe both through trade and since Strasbourg is home to several European institutions (which makes it one of the three unofficial capitals of the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been de ...

). However, the name was mocked for how it could suggest that the region is in Eastern Europe. * ''Austrasie'' ( Austrasia), which refers to an

historical region Historical regions (or historical areas) are geographical regions which at some point in time had a cultural, ethnic, linguistic or political basis, regardless of latterday borders. They are used as delimitations for studying and analysing soc ...

spanning parts of present-day northeast France, the

Benelux The Benelux Union ( nl, Benelux Unie; french: Union Benelux; lb, Benelux-Unioun), also known as simply Benelux, is a politico- economic union and formal international intergovernmental cooperation of three neighboring states in western Europe: ...

, and northwest Germany. * ''Quatre frontières'' (Four Frontiers), which refers to the region's border with four countries.

Geography

Grand Est covers of land and is the sixth-largest of the regions of France. Grand Est borders four countries—

( Wallonia region) and

(Cantons of

Esch-sur-Alzette Esch-sur-Alzette (; lb, Esch-Uelzecht ; german: Esch an der Alzette or ''Esch an der Alzig'') is the second city of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg and the country's second-most populous commune, with a population of 35,040 inhabitants, . It lies ...

and

Remich Remich ( lb, Réimech ) is a commune with town status in south-eastern Luxembourg with a population of 3,645 inhabitants . It is the capital of the canton of Remich. Remich lies on the left bank of the river Moselle, which forms part of the borde ...

) on the north,

on the east and northeast,

Baden-Württemberg Baden-Württemberg (; ), commonly shortened to BW or BaWü, is a German state () in Southwest Germany, east of the Rhine, which forms the southern part of Germany's western border with France. With more than 11.07 million inhabitants across a ...

Rhineland-Palatinate Rhineland-Palatinate ( , ; german: link=no, Rheinland-Pfalz ; lb, Rheinland-Pfalz ; pfl, Rhoilond-Palz) is a western state of Germany. It covers and has about 4.05 million residents. It is the ninth largest and sixth most populous of the ...

and

Saarland The Saarland (, ; french: Sarre ) is a state of Germany in the south west of the country. With an area of and population of 990,509 in 2018, it is the smallest German state in area apart from the city-states of Berlin, Bremen, and Hamburg, and ...

and SwitzerlandCantons of

Basel-Landschaft Basel-Landschaft or Basel-Country informally known as Baselland or Baselbiet (; german: Kanton Basel-Landschaft ; rm, Chantun Basilea-Champagna; french: Canton de Bâle-Campagne; it, Canton Basilea Campagna), is one of the 26 cantons forming ...

, Basel-Stadt, Jura and

Solothurn Solothurn ( , ; french: Soleure ; it, Soletta ; rm, ) is a town, a municipality, and the capital of the canton of Solothurn in Switzerland. It is located in the north-west of Switzerland on the banks of the Aare and on the foot of the Weissens ...

on the southeast. It is the only French region to border more than two countries, or more countries than French regions. Its neighbors within France are Bourgogne-Franche-Comté on the south, Île-de-France on the west, and Hauts-de-France on the northwest. Alsace-Champagne-Ardenne-Lorraine et provinces

Alsace-Champagne-Ardenne-Lorraine et provinces

Departments

Grand Est contains ten departments: Ardennes,

Aube Aube () is a French department in the Grand Est region of north-eastern France. As with sixty departments in France, this department is named after a river: the Aube. With 310,242 inhabitants (2019),Bas-Rhin, Marne, Haute-Marne, Haut-Rhin,

Meurthe-et-Moselle Meurthe-et-Moselle () is a department in the Grand Est region of France, named after the rivers Meurthe and Moselle. It had a population of 733,760 in 2019.Meuse, Moselle, Vosges.

Topography

The main ranges in the region include the Vosges to the east and the Ardennes to the north.

Hydrology

The region is bordered on the east by the

, which forms about half of the border with Germany. Other major rivers which flow through the region include the Meuse, Moselle, Marne, and

Saône The Saône ( , ; frp, Sona; lat, Arar) is a river in eastern France. It is a right tributary of the Rhône, rising at Vioménil in the Vosges department and joining the Rhône in Lyon, at the southern end of the Presqu'île. The name ...

. Lakes in the region include

lac de Gérardmer Lac de Gérardmer is a glacial lake at the city of Gérardmer, Vosges, France. It is located in the Vosges mountain range The Vosges ( , ; german: Vogesen ; Franconian and gsw, Vogese) are a range of low mountains in Eastern France, near it ...

, lac de Longemer, lac de Retournemer, lac des Corbeaux, Lac de Bouzey, lac de Madine, étang du Stock and lac de Pierre-Percée.

Climate

Grand Est climate depends on the proximity of the sea. In

Champagne Champagne (, ) is a sparkling wine originated and produced in the Champagne wine region of France under the rules of the appellation, that demand specific vineyard practices, sourcing of grapes exclusively from designated places within it, ...

and Western Lorraine, the climate is

oceanic Oceanic may refer to: *Of or relating to the ocean *Of or relating to Oceania **Oceanic climate **Oceanic languages **Oceanic person or people, also called "Pacific Islander(s)" Places * Oceanic, British Columbia, a settlement on Smith Island, ...

(

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 ...

: Cfb), with cool to mild winters and warm summers. But Ardennes, Moselle and

climates are borderline

humid continental A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers and freez ...

(

Dfb DFB may refer to: * Deerfield Beach, Florida, a city * Decafluorobutane, a fluorocarbon gas * Dem Franchize Boyz, former hip hop group, Atlanta, Georgia * Dfb, Köppen climate classification for Humid continental climate * Distributed-feedback ...

) -

(

: Cfb), characterized by cold winters with frequent days below the freezing point, and hot summers, with many days with temperatures up to 32 °C.

History

Formation

Grand Est is the result of territorial reform legislation passed in 2014 by the French Parliament to reduce the number of regions in Metropolitan France—the part of France in continental Europe—from 22 to 13. Grand Est is the merger of three regions:

, Champagne-Ardenne, and

Opposition

The merger has been, and still is, strongly opposed by some groups in Alsace, and a large majority of Alsatians. The territorial reform law allows new regions to choose the seat of the regional councils, but specifically made Strasbourg the seat of the Grand Est regional council—a move to appease the region's politicians. The creation of the new region was unpopular among Alsatians. In response, the Government created the

European Collectivity of Alsace The European Collectivity of Alsace (french: Collectivité européenne d'Alsace; gsw-FR, D'Europäischa Gebiatskärwerschàft Elsàss; german: Europäische Gebietskörperschaft Elsass) is a territorial collectivity in the Alsace region of France. ...

merging the departments of

Bas Rhin Bas-Rhin (; Alsatian: ''Unterelsàss'', ' or '; traditional german: links=no, Niederrhein; en, Lower Rhine) is a department in Alsace which is a part of the Grand Est super-region of France. The name means 'Lower Rhine', referring to its low ...

and

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 the ...

, to take effect in 2021.

Demographics

The region has an official population of 5,549,586 (municipal population on 1 January 2017).

Government

Regional council

The regional council has limited administrative authority, mostly concerning the promotion of the region's economy and financing educational and cultural activities. The regional council has no legislative authority. The seat of the regional council will be Strasbourg. The regional council, elected in December 2015, is controlled by The Republicans. The elected inaugural president of the Grand Est Regional Council is Philippe Richert, who was previously the President of the Alsace Regional Council. The current president is

Jean Rottner Jean Rottner (born 28 January 1967) is a French politician of the political party The Republicans who was mayor of Mulhouse from 2010 to 2017, and has been President of the regional council of Grand Est since 2017. Born as a son of teachers, J ...

Economy

The

gross domestic product Gross domestic product (GDP) is a monetary measure of the market value of all the final goods and services produced and sold (not resold) in a specific time period by countries. Due to its complex and subjective nature this measure is oft ...

(GDP) of the region was 159.9 billion euros in 2018, accounting for 6.7% of French economic output. GDP per capita adjusted for purchasing power was 25,400 euros or 84% of the EU27 average in the same year. The GDP per employee was 101% of the EU average.

Transport and infrastructure

Rail transport

The region has five tram networks: *

Strasbourg tramway The Strasbourg tramway (french: Tramway de Strasbourg, german: Straßenbahn Straßburg; gsw-FR, D'Strossabàhn Strossburi(g)), run by the CTS, is a network of six tramlines, A, B, C, D, E and F that operate in the cities of Strasbourg in Alsace, ...

Reims tramway Reims tramway (french: Tramway de Reims) is a tram system in the French city of Reims, which opened in April 2011. It travels north to south, through the city, along of route. Operation and routes The system has 24 stops, with a further two p ...

* Nancy Guided Light Transit * Mulhouse tramway * Saarbahn ( Tram-train)

Airports

The region has four airports: * EuroAirport Basel Mulhouse Freiburg *

Châlons Vatry Airport Châlons Vatry Airport (french: Aéroport Châlons-Vatry; ) is a minor international airport serving Châlons-en-Champagne and the champagne region in northeastern France. It is located southeast of Châlons-en-Champagne, near Vatry, in the M ...

* Metz Nancy Lorraine Airport *

Strasbourg Airport Strasbourg Airport (french: Aéroport de Strasbourg; german: Straßburg Flughafen; gsw-FR, D'r Strossburi(g) Flughàfa) is a minor international airport located in Entzheim and 10 km (6.2 miles) west-southwest of Strasbourg, both ''commun ...

Motorways

The region has eighteen motorways: * A4 Paris to Strasbourg * A5 Paris to Langres *

A26 A26 or A-26 may refer to: Roads * List of A26 roads Transportation * Douglas A-26 Invader, a light attack bomber built by Douglas * Aero A.26, a Czech reconnaissance aircraft of the 1920s * Focke-Wulf A 26, a German Focke-Wulf aircraft * Blekinge- ...

Calais to Troyes * A30 Uckange to Longwy in N52 * A31 Beaune to Luxembourg in

A3 motorway (Luxembourg) The Autoroute 3, abbreviated to A3 or otherwise known as the Dudelange motorway ( lb, Diddelenger Autobunn, french: Autoroute de Dudelange), is a motorway in southern Luxembourg. It is long and connects Luxembourg City to Dudelange. At Dudelan ...

* A33 Nancy to Phalsbourg in N4 * A34 Reims to Sedan * A35 Strasbourg to Basel * A36 Beaune to Mulhouse * A304 project in city of Charleville-Mézières * A313 in city of Pont-à-Mousson * A314 and A315 in city of Metz * A320 in city of Forbach * A330 in city of Nancy * A340 Brumath to Haguenau in D1340 * A344 in city of Reims * A351 in city of Strasbourg * A352 Molsheim to Schirmeck in D1420 The region has twelve cities that have ring roads: * Strasbourg * Reims * Metz * Nancy * Mulhouse * Troyes * Châlons-en-Champagne * Épinal * Colmar * Thionville * Longwy

Heritage

Grand Est is rich with architectural monuments from the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post- Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Mediter ...

to the early 21st century. Gothic architecture is particularly conspicuous, with many famous

cathedral A cathedral is a church that contains the '' cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denominatio ...

basilica In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica is a large public building with multiple functions, typically built alongside the town's Forum (Roman), forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek East. The building ...

s and churches, such as

Reims Cathedral , image = Reims Kathedrale.jpg , imagealt = Facade, looking northeast , caption = Façade of the cathedral, looking northeast , pushpin map = France , pushpin map alt = Location within France , ...

Strasbourg Cathedral Strasbourg Cathedral or the Cathedral of Our Lady of Strasbourg (french: Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Strasbourg, or ''Cathédrale de Strasbourg'', german: Liebfrauenmünster zu Straßburg or ''Straßburger Münster''), also known as Strasbourg ...

Metz Cathedral Metz Cathedral, otherwise the Cathedral of Saint Stephen, Metz (french: Cathédrale Saint Étienne de Metz), is a Roman Catholic cathedral in Metz, capital of Lorraine, France. It is dedicated to Saint Stephen. First begun in the early 14th centu ...

, Troyes Cathedral, Châlons Cathedral, Toul Cathedral, the Basilica of L'Épine, the Basilica of Saint-Nicolas-de-Port, the , the Basilica of St. Urbain in Troyes, Thann Church, Niederhaslach Church,

Notre-Dame-en-Vaux The Notre-Dame-en-Vaux is a Roman Catholic church located in Châlons-en-Champagne. The cathedral A cathedral is a church that contains the ''cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcop ...

, St. George's Church, Sélestat and

St. Peter and St. Paul's Church, Wissembourg St. Peter and St. Paul's Church (french: Église Saints-Pierre-et-Paul) of Wissembourg is frequently, but incorrectly, referred to as the second largest Gothic church of Alsace after Strasbourg Cathedral. However, the building, with its interior ...

Notes

References

External links

Official Website

Merger of the regions – France 3
{{coord, 48.7544, N, 5.8517, E, source:wikidata, display=title Regions of France 2016 establishments in France States and territories established in 2016