Alsace–Lorraine
Alsace–Lorraine (German: Elsaß-Lothringen), officially the Imperial Territory of Alsace-Lorraine (German: Reichsland Elsaß-Lothringen), was a former territory of the German Empire, located in modern day France. It was established in 1871 by the German Empire after it had occupied the region during the Franco-Prussian War. The region was officially ceded to the German Empire in the Treaty of Frankfurt. French resentment about the loss of the territory was one of the contributing factors to World War I. Alsace-Lorraine was ceded to France in 1920 as part of the Treaty of Versailles following Germany's defeat in the war, although already annexed in 1918.
| Imperial Territory of Alsace-Lorraine | |||||||||||||||||||||
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| Imperial territory of the German Empire | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 1871–1918 | |||||||||||||||||||||
Flag
Coat of arms
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Alsace-Lorraine within the German Empire | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Anthem | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Elsässisches Fahnenlied "The Alsatian Flag's Song" | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Capital | Straßburg (Strasbourg) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Area | |||||||||||||||||||||
• 1910 | 14,496 km2 (5,597 sq mi) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Population | |||||||||||||||||||||
• 1910 | 1,874,014 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Government | |||||||||||||||||||||
| • Type | Federal territory | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Head of State | |||||||||||||||||||||
• 1871–1879 | Eduard von Möller (first, as Oberpräsident) | ||||||||||||||||||||
• 1918 | Rudolf Schwander (last, as Reichsstatthalter) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Legislature | Landtag | ||||||||||||||||||||
• Lower house | Núrto | ||||||||||||||||||||
| History | |||||||||||||||||||||
• Treaty of Frankfurt | 10 May 1871 | ||||||||||||||||||||
• Disestablished | 1918 | ||||||||||||||||||||
• Treaty of Versailles | 28 June 1919 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Political subdivisions | Bezirk Lothringen, Oberelsass, Unterelsass | ||||||||||||||||||||
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| Today part of | France | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Part of a series on |
| Alsace |
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| Part of a series on |
| Lorraine |
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Geographically, Alsace-Lorraine encompassed most of Alsace and the Moselle department of Lorraine. The Alsatian part lay in the Rhine Valley on the west bank of the Rhine River, east of the Vosges Mountains; the section originally in Lorraine was in the upper Moselle valley to the north of the Vosges.
The territory encompassed almost all of Alsace (93%) and over a quarter of Lorraine (26%), while the rest of these regions remained parts of France. For historical reasons, specific legal dispositions are still applied in the territory in the form of a "local law in Alsace-Moselle". In relation to its special legal status since reversion to France, the territory has been referred to administratively as Alsace-Moselle. (Alsatian: 's Elsàss-Mosel; German: Elsaß-Mosel or Elsass-Mosel).
Since 2016, the historical territory has been part of the French administrative region of Grand Est.