Illkirch-Graffenstaden () is a commune in the

Bas-Rhin Bas-Rhin () is a department in Alsace which is a part of the Grand Est region of France. The name means 'Lower Rhine', referring to its lower altitude among the two French Rhine departments: it is downstream of the Haut-Rhin (Upper Rhine) de ...

department in

Grand Est Grand Est (; ) is an Regions of France, administrative region in northeastern France. It superseded three former administrative regions, Alsace, Champagne-Ardenne and Lorraine, on 1 January 2016 under the provisional name of Alsace-Champagne-A ...

in north-eastern

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. It is the second-largest

suburb A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area. They are oftentimes where most of a metropolitan areas jobs are located with some being predominantly residential. They can either be denser or less densely populated ...

of the city of

Strasbourg Strasbourg ( , ; ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est Regions of France, region of Geography of France, eastern France, in the historic region of Alsace. It is the prefecture of the Bas-Rhin Departmen ...

, and is adjacent to it on the south-southwest. Illkirch-Graffenstaden's population more than doubled in fifty years (from 11,648 in 1968 to 26,780 in 2017).Évolution et structure de la population en 2017: Commune d'Illkirch-Graffenstaden (67218)
INSEE

Name

During periods when Alsace-Lorraine was part of Germany (1871–1918, 1940–1945) the commune was known by its German name, Illkirch-Grafenstaden, with a single 'f' in place of the French 'ff'. Among French speakers from outside

Alsace Alsace (, ; ) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in the Grand Est administrative region of northeastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine, next to Germany and Switzerland. In January 2021, it had a population of 1,9 ...

the commune is sometimes known colloquially as the shorter 'Illkirch'.

Demographics

Illkirch-Graffenstaden is the third most populous commune in the urban community of Strasbourg, the fourth largest in the département and the sixth largest taking together the two departments comprising

Geography

The larger adjacent communes, like Illkirch-Graffenstaden, are effectively outer suburbs of the

conurbation. These include Strasbourg-Meinau, Ostwald and Geispolsheim. Illkirch-Graffenstaden is crossed by the river

Ill ILL, or Ill, or ill may refer to: Places * Ill (France), a river in Alsace, France, tributary of the Rhine * Ill (Vorarlberg), a river in Vorarlberg, Austria, tributary of the Rhine * Ill (Saarland), a river of Saarland, Germany, tributary o ...

which here runs from south to north, parallel with and roughly ten kilometres to the west of the river

Rhine The Rhine ( ) is one of the List of rivers of Europe, major rivers in Europe. The river begins in the Swiss canton of Graubünden in the southeastern Swiss Alps. It forms part of the Swiss-Liechtenstein border, then part of the Austria–Swit ...

: the two finally converge a short distance to the north of Strasbourg. The town also lies by the Rhône-Rhine Canal which here runs between the two rivers. Graffenstaden station has rail connections to Strasbourg and Colmar. Extensive

quarrying A quarry is a type of open-pit mine in which dimension stone, rock, construction aggregate, riprap, sand, gravel, or slate is excavated from the ground. The operation of quarries is regulated in some jurisdictions to manage their s ...

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 The International Space University (ISU) is a higher education institute headquartered in Illkirch-Graffenstaden, a suburb of Strasbourg, France. It is dedicated to the discovery, research, and development of outer space and its applications f ...

is located on the part of the

University of Strasbourg The University of Strasbourg (, Unistra) is a public research university located in Strasbourg, France, with over 52,000 students and 3,300 researchers. Founded in the 16th century by Johannes Sturm, it was a center of intellectual life during ...

campus lying in the territory of Illkirch-Graffenstaden.

History

Illkirch is believed to be a

Frankish Frankish may refer to: * Franks, a Germanic tribe and their culture ** Frankish language or its modern descendants, Franconian languages, a group of Low Germanic languages also commonly referred to as "Frankish" varieties * Francia, a post-Roman ...

foundation. The town, like

, takes the first syllable of its name from the river that crosses it: the second syllable is simply the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

word for a church. The spelling of the name has changed as language developed: ''Ellofanum'' (720 AD; see ), ''Illechilechen'' (826), ''Illenkirche'' (845), ''Illekiriche'' (920), ''Illachirecha'' (1163) and ''Illenkirchen'' (1172) which mutated into the contemporary name, ''Illkirch''. When Rudolf of Habsburg was elected

King of the Romans King of the Romans (; ) was the title used by the king of East Francia following his election by the princes from the reign of Henry II (1002–1024) onward. The title originally referred to any German king between his election and coronatio ...

in 1273, he urgently needed military help from his leading supporters against his rival,

Ottokar II of Bohemia Ottokar II (; , in Městec Králové, Bohemia – 26 August 1278, in Dürnkrut, Austria, Dürnkrut, Lower Austria), the Iron and Golden King, was a member of the Přemyslid dynasty who reigned as King of Bohemia from 1253 until his death in 1278 ...

, 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 travelers: 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

. 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, tried to obtain imperial support to turn back the advancing French army from Strasbourg, which enjoyed privileged status as a free imperial city. Imperial support did not materialize, however, and von Zedlitz was finally obliged to surrender 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 World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

the largest employer was the

Société Alsacienne de Constructions Mécaniques The Société Alsacienne de Constructions Mécaniques (the Alsatian Corporation of Mechanical Engineering), or SACM, is an engineering company with its headquarters in Mulhouse, Alsace, which produced railway locomotives, textile and printing ma ...

(SACM), a heavy engineering business that specialised in the manufacture of railway locomotives and

machine tools A machine tool is a machine for handling or machining metal or other rigid materials, usually by cutting, boring, grinding, shearing, or other forms of deformations. Machine tools employ some sort of tool that does the cutting or shaping. All ...

. The factory had originally been built before the annexation of

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

, but had been operated separately as a German business between

1871 Events January–March * January 3 – Franco-Prussian War: Battle of Bapaume – Prussians win a strategic victory. * January 18 – Proclamation of the German Empire: The member states of the North German Confederation and the sout ...

and

1918 The ceasefire that effectively ended the World War I, First World War took place on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month of this year. Also in this year, the Spanish flu pandemic killed 50–100 million people wor ...

. 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 The tertiary sector of the economy, generally known as the service sector, is the third of the three economic sectors in the three-sector model (also known as the economic cycle). The others are the primary sector (raw materials) and the ...

that provides most of the employment in the area. Another important employer is Leclerc barracks (''Quartier Leclerc''), home to the French 2nd Armoured Brigade and the

291st Light Infantry Battalion, a unit of the

Franco-German Brigade The Franco-German Brigade (; ) is a special military brigade of the Eurocorps, founded in 1989, jointly consisting of units from both the French Army and the German Army. History The Brigade was formed in 1987 following a summit between Fran� ...

People

Science and industry

Jean-Baptiste Schwilgué Jean-Baptiste Schwilgué (1776–1856) was the author of the third astronomical clock of Strasbourg Cathedral, built between 1838 and 1843 (not 1842, as it is written on the clock itself). In 1844 Schwilgué, together with his son Charles, patented ...

horologist Chronometry or horology () is the science studying the measurement of time and timekeeping. Chronometry enables the establishment of standard measurements of time, which have applications in a broad range of social and scientific areas. ''Hor ...

Sports

Mehdi Baala Mehdi Baala (; born 17 August 1978 in Strasbourg) is a French middle-distance runner competing mainly in the 1500 metres event. Baala has won several major international championships medals in the 1500 metres event – an Olympic Games bronze, ...

track and field Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes Competition#Sports, athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a ru ...

athlete

Culinary

Jean-Georges Vongerichten Jean-Georges Vongerichten (; ; born March 16, 1957) is a French-American chef.

, chef