Phalsbourg (; ;

Lorraine Franconian Lorraine Franconian ( native name: or ; or '; ) is an ambiguous designation for dialects of West Central German (), a group of High German dialects spoken in the Moselle department of the former northeastern French region of Lorraine (See ...

: ''Phalsburch'') is a commune in the

Moselle The Moselle ( , ; ; ) is a river that rises in the Vosges mountains and flows through north-eastern France and Luxembourg to western Germany. It is a bank (geography), left bank tributary of the Rhine, which it joins at Koblenz. A sm ...

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 It superseded three former administrative regions, Alsace, Champagne-Ardenne and Lorraine, on 1 January 2016 under the provisional name of Alsace-Champagne-A ...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 ...

, with a population of about 5,000. It lies high on the west slopes of the

Vosges The Vosges ( , ; ; Franconian and ) is a range of medium mountains in Eastern France, near its border with Germany. Together with the Palatine Forest to the north on the German side of the border, they form a single geomorphological unit and ...

, northwest 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 ...

. In 1911, it contained an Evangelical and a Roman Catholic church, a synagogue and a teachers' seminary. Its industries then included the manufacture of gloves, straw hats and liqueurs, and quarrying.

History

The area of the city of Phalsbourg, originally Pfalzburg, was originally part of the principality of Lützelstein, under the overlordship of

Luxembourg Luxembourg, officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, is a landlocked country in Western Europe. It is bordered by Belgium to the west and north, Germany to the east, and France on the south. Its capital and most populous city, Luxembour ...

, then the bishops of

Metz Metz ( , , , then ) is a city in northeast France located at the confluence of the Moselle (river), Moselle and the Seille (Moselle), Seille rivers. Metz is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Moselle (department), Moselle Departments ...

and of

, before becoming possessed by the Dukes of Palantine Veldenz, all within the

Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation The Holy Roman Empire, also known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation after 1512, was a polity in Central and Western Europe, usually headed by the Holy Roman Emperor. It developed in the Early Middle Ages, and lasted for a millennium ...

. In 1570, Duke

George John I, Count Palatine of Veldenz George John I (German: Georg Johann I.; sometimes called George Hans) (11 April 1543 – 18 April 1592) was the Count of Veldenz from 1544 until 1592. Life George John was born in 1543 as the only son of Rupert, Count Palatine of Veldenz. George ...

founded the town of Pfalzburg as a refuge for Reformed Protestants expelled from the Duchy of

Lorraine Lorraine, also , ; ; Lorrain: ''Louréne''; Lorraine Franconian: ''Lottringe''; ; ; is a cultural and historical region in Eastern France, now located in the administrative region of Grand Est. Its name stems from the medieval kingdom of ...

, and as an administrative center of his holdings. But the cost forced him to sell the city and the surrounding district of Einarzhausen between 1583 and 1590 to Lorraine, the territory of which surrounded most of the area. In 1608, his successor Georg Gustav of Palantine Veldenz founded nearby Lixheim for Reformed refugees, but was also forced to sell the new town in 1623 to

. From 1629 to 1660, Pfalzburg and Lixheim were combined as the Principality of Pfalzburg, for duchess Henriette of Lorraine (1605-1660) and her three successive husbands. The principality was acknowledged by Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand II in 1629. After the death of Henriette, the principality returned to Lorraine. But the next year, Lorraine had to cede it to France in the Treaty of Vincennes in 1661, at a time when most of Lorraine was occupied by French troops since 1634. The famous French military engineer Vauban reconstructed the town's fortifications in 1680. The town was of military importance as commanding one of the passes of the

. The fortifications of Phalsbourg resisted the Allies in 1814 and 1815, and the Germans commanded by Taillant for four months during 1870, but they were taken on 12 December of that year, and have since been razed. The town was German again from 1871 to 1918, with its old name of Pfalzburg. The

United States Air Forces in Europe United may refer to: Places * United, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community * United, West Virginia, an unincorporated community Arts and entertainment Films * ''United'' (2003 film), a Norwegian film * ''United'' (2011 film), a BBC Two f ...

built an

air base An airbase (stylised air base in American English), sometimes referred to as a military airbase, military airfield, military airport, air station, naval air station, air force station, or air force base, is an aerodrome or airport used as a mi ...

near the city in 1953. The base was returned in 1967 to the French government, which redesignated it as "Quartier La Horie". The base is currently used by the French military's 1er Régiment d'Hélicoptères de Combat.

Culture

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Johann Wolfgang (von) Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German polymath who is widely regarded as the most influential writer in the German language. His work has had a wide-ranging influence on Western literature, literary, Polit ...

visited the town on 23 June 1770, and mentioned his stay in his autobiography

Dichtung und Wahrheit ''Aus meinem Leben: Dichtung und Wahrheit'' (''From my Life: Poetry and Truth''; 1811–1833) is an autobiography by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe that comprises the time from the poet's childhood to the days in 1775, when he was about to leave for ...

. The town is home to a week long

theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors to present experiences of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a Stage (theatre), stage. The performe ...

summer festival since 1980.

Population

Climate

The climate in this area has mild differences between highs and lows, and there is adequate rainfall year-round. The

Köppen Climate Classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

subtype for this climate is " Cfb" (Marine West Coast Climate/

Oceanic climate An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate or maritime climate, is the temperate climate sub-type in Köppen climate classification, Köppen classification represented as ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of co ...

).Climate Summary for Phalsbourg
/ref>

Notable people

* Christoph Theodor Aeby (1835-1885),

anatomist Anatomy () is the branch of morphology concerned with the study of the internal structure of organisms and their parts. Anatomy is a branch of natural science that deals with the structural organization of living things. It is an old scien ...

anthropologist An anthropologist is a scientist engaged in the practice of anthropology. Anthropologists study aspects of humans within past and present societies. Social anthropology, cultural anthropology and philosophical anthropology study the norms, values ...

, and

academic An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the go ...

* Jean-Baptiste-Adolphe Charras (1810-1865), soldier, military historian and political figure * Alexandre Chatrian (1826-1890), writer * Émile Erckmann (1822-1899), writer *

(1543-1592), founder of Phalsbourg * Mathieu Klein (1976-), mayor of Nancy * Philippe Klein (1957-), engineer and businessman in the automotive industry *

Joseph Alfred Micheler Joseph Alfred Micheler (23 September 1861 Phalsbourg, France – 17 March 1931 Nice, France) was a French general in the First World War. Life Born in Phalsbourg, Moselle from a Lorrainian family which preferred to be French than German when t ...

(1861-1931), general during

World War I 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 ...

Georges Mouton Georges Mouton, comte de Lobau (; 21 February 1770 – 27 November 1838) was a French soldier and political figure who rose to the rank of Marshal of France. Biography Born in Phalsbourg, Lorraine, he enlisted in the French Revolutionary A ...

(1770-1838), soldier and political figure * Louis Dominique Munnier (1734-1800), general of the

French Revolutionary Wars The French Revolutionary Wars () were a series of sweeping military conflicts resulting from the French Revolution that lasted from 1792 until 1802. They pitted French First Republic, France against Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain, Habsb ...

* Fatih Öztürk (1986-), football player who played in the

Süper Lig The Süper Lig (, ''Super League''), also known as Trendyol Süper Lig for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Turkey and the highest level of the Turkish football league system. In the 2023–2024 season, twen ...

* Romuald Peiser (1979-), former football player who played for

Troyes Troyes () is a Communes of France, commune and the capital of the Departments of France, department of Aube in the Grand Est region of north-central France. It is located on the Seine river about south-east of Paris. Troyes is situated within ...

and Gueugnon * Henri Rottembourg (1769-1857), soldier, division commander in the

Napoleonic Wars {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Napoleonic Wars , partof = the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars , image = Napoleonic Wars (revision).jpg , caption = Left to right, top to bottom:Battl ...

* Mathilde Salomon (1837-1907), director of

Collège Sévigné The Collège Sévigné is a French non-denominational private school. The school was founded in 1880 by Mathilde Salomon, becoming the first French non-denominational high school for young women, two months before the vote of the "Camille Sée" ...

from 1883 to 1909 * Jean-Jacques Uhrich (1802-1886), military governor during the

Franco-Prussian War The Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German War, often referred to in France as the War of 1870, was a conflict between the Second French Empire and the North German Confederation led by the Kingdom of Prussia. Lasting from 19 July 1870 to 28 Janua ...

* Pierre Veltz (1945-), academic, urban planner * Nicolas Krick (1819-1854), priest from Phalsbourg, then missionary with the Paris Foreign Missions.

Notes

References

* ;Attribution *

External links

* {{Authority control Communes of Moselle (department) 1570 establishments in the Holy Roman Empire Populated places established in 1570 Three Bishoprics