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37-701: In 2018, the commune of Saverne had a population of 11,289, and its urban area , of 18,740. Saverne lies on the river Zorn , at the foot of the Vosges Mountains . It is crossed by the Marne–Rhine Canal and the Paris–Strasbourg railway . The A4 autoroute (Paris–Strasbourg) passes a few kilometers north of the town. Saverne station has rail connections to Paris, Strasbourg, Metz, Nancy and several regional destinations. Saverne ( Latin : Tres Tabernae Caesaris : Caesar's three taverns, so called because in

74-638: A Triassic rose sandstone) are embedded sometimes up to more than 500 m (1,600 ft) in thickness. The Lower Vosges in the north are dislocated plates of various sandstones, ranging from 300 to 600 m (1,000 to 2,000 ft) high. The Vosges are very similar to the corresponding range of the Black Forest across the Rhine since both lie within the same degrees of latitude, have similar geological formations and are characterized by forests on their lower slopes, above which are open pastures and rounded summits of

111-547: A forested region. Forests were cleared for agriculture, livestock and early industrial factories (such as charcoal works and glassworks ) and the water mills used water power . Concentrations of settlement and immigration took place and not only in areas where minerals were found. In the mining area of the Lièpvrette  [ fr ] valley, for example, there was an influx of Saxon miners and mining specialists. From time to time, wars, plagues and religious conflicts saw

148-596: A place of residence for widows of knights of the Legion of Honour . Saverne was conquered by Imperial Germany after the Franco-Prussian War . It was returned to French control after World War I . In 1913, the city was the theater of the infamous " Saverne Affair ". This event gave rise to the term Zabernism (from the German name of the town), meaning abuse of military authority, or unwarranted aggression. The emblem of

185-569: A population and employment centre (urban cluster) and its commuting zone. The zoning into unités urbaines and aires d'attraction des villes was last revised in 2020. This list shows the unités urbaines as of the 2020 revision. This article about geography terminology is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Vosges mountains The Vosges ( / v oʊ ʒ / VOHZH , French: [voʒ] ; German : Vogesen [voˈɡeːzn̩] ; Franconian and Alemannic German : Vogese ) are

222-805: 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 low mountain range of around 8,000 km (3,100 sq mi) in area. It runs in a north-northeast direction from the Burgundian Gate (the Belfort – Ronchamp – Lure line) to the Börrstadt Basin (the Winnweiler – Börrstadt – Göllheim line), and forms

259-561: A rather uniform altitude. Both areas exhibit steeper slopes towards the Rhine and a more gradual descent on the other side. Both the Vosges and the Black Forest were formed by isostatic uplift in response to the opening of the Rhine Graben , a major extensional basin. When such basins form, the thinning of the crust causes uplift immediately adjacent to the basin, decreasing with distance from

296-616: Is a statistical area defined by INSEE , the French national statistics office, for the measurement of contiguously built-up areas. According to the INSEE definition , an "unité urbaine" is a commune alone or a grouping of communes which: a) form a single unbroken spread of urban development, with no distance between habitations greater than 200 m and b) have all together a population greater than 2,000 inhabitants. Communes not belonging to an unité urbaine are considered rural. The French unité urbaine

333-529: Is a statistical area in accordance with United Nations recommendations for the measurement of contiguously built-up areas. Other comparable units in other countries are the United States " Urbanized Area " and the "urban area" definition shared by Canada and the United Kingdom . The French aire d'attraction d'une ville is equivalent to the functional urban area as defined by Eurostat , and represents

370-594: Is also the host of the International Contest of New Roses every year. The Garden itself blesses visitors with over 550 varieties of roses. [1] An old semaphore tower, from the former Landau (and later Strasbourg ) to Paris semaphore line , can be seen in the vicinity. It was one of the 50 stations built by the first French Empire on this line which was the second of this kind in France. Urban unit In France, an urban unit ( French : unité urbaine )

407-596: Is named after the range. From a geological point of view, a graben at the beginning of the Paleogene period caused the formation of Alsace and the uplift of the bedrock plates of the Vosges, in eastern France , and those in the Black Forest , in Germany . From a scientific view, the Vosges Mountains are not mountains as such, but rather the western edge of the unfinished Alsatian graben, stretching continuously as part of

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444-477: Is the former residence of the bishops of Strasbourg , rebuilt by Cardinal de Rohan in 1779, it was used by the Germans as barracks. It now houses the city museum with its large archeological collection of Roman and Celtic artifacts, a hostel, a small arts and crafts museum as well as the collection of 20th century and ethnological art donated by feminist journalist and politician Louise Weiss . Other sights include

481-557: The Celts . After the Roman era, Alemanni also settled in the east, and Franks in the northwest. Contrary to widespread belief, the main ridge of the Vosges coincided with the historical Roman-Germanic language boundary only in the southern Vosges. Old Romance ( Altromanisch ) is spoken east of the main ridge: in the valley of the Weiss around Lapoutroie , the valley of Lièpvrette (nowadays also called

518-587: The Holy Roman Empire . During the German Peasants' War the town was occupied, in 1525, by the insurgents, who were driven out in their turn by Duke Anton of Lorraine . It suffered much from the ravages of the Thirty Years' War , but the episcopal palace, then destroyed, was subsequently rebuilt. After 1680 the town was annexed by the French. The episcopal palace was in 1852 converted by Louis Napoleon into

555-689: The Kastelberg to 1,350 m (4,429 ft); and the Ballon d'Alsace to 1,247 m (4,091 ft). The Col de Saales, between the Higher and Central Vosges, reaches nearly 579 m (1,900 ft), both lower and narrower than the Higher Vosges, with Mont Donon at 1,008 m (3,307 ft) being the highest point of this Nordic section. The highest mountains and peaks of the Vosges (with Alsatian or German names in brackets) are: Two nature parks lie within

592-601: The Parc naturel régional des Ballons des Vosges (established in 1989). Meteorologically , as a consequence of the Foehn effect the difference between the eastern and western mean slopes of the range is very marked. The main air streams come generally from the west and southwest, so the Alsatian central plains just under the Hautes-Vosges receive much less water than the south-west front of

629-656: The Val d'Argent ; "Valley of Silver"), parts of the canton of Villé valley  [ fr ] ( Vallée de Villé ) and parts of the Bruche valley ( Vallée de la Bruche ). By contrast, those parts of the northern Vosges and the whole of the Wasgau , which lie north of the Breusch valley, fall within the Germanic-speaking area because, from Schirmeck the historical linguistic boundary turns to

666-401: The 15th century former castle ( Château vieux ) and the adjacent 15th century Roman Catholic parish church of Notre-Dame-de-la-Nativité with fine stained glass and sculptures; a Gothic former Franciscan , then Récollets , monastery with a church and a cloister ornated by 17th-century frescoes; as well as several old houses, among which the heavily decorated Maison Katz stands out. In

703-494: The Rhine valley, the Black Forest and the distant, snow-covered Swiss mountains. The massif known in Latin as Vosago mons or Vosego silva , sometimes Vogesus mons , was extended to the vast woods covering the region. Later, German speakers referred to the same region as Vogesen or Wasgenwald . Over the centuries, settlement population density grew gradually, as was typical for

740-400: The Vosges Mountains. The highlands of the arrondissement of Remiremont receive as annual rainfall or snowfall more than 2,000 mm (79 in) of precipitation yearly, whereas some dry countryside near Colmar receives less than 500 mm (20 in) of water in the event of insufficient storms. The temperature is much lower in the west front of the mountains than in the low plains behind

777-524: The Vosges were the scene of the Battle of Trippstadt . From 1871 to 1918, they formed the main border line between France and the German Empire . The demarcation line stretched from the Ballon d'Alsace in the south to Mont Donon in the north with the lands east of it being incorporated into Germany as part of Alsace-Lorraine . The Vosges saw extensive fighting during the world wars. During World War I, there

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814-710: The Vosges: the Ballons des Vosges Nature Park and the Northern Vosges Regional Nature Park . The Northern Vosges Nature Park and the Palatinate Forest Nature Park on the German side of the border form the cross-border UNESCO -designated Palatinate Forest-North Vosges Biosphere Reserve . In the late 20th century, a wide area of the massif was included in two protected areas , the Parc naturel régional des Vosges du Nord (established in 1976) and

851-636: The basin. Thus, the highest range of peaks rises immediately adjacent to the basin and increasingly lower mountains rise further from the basin. The highest points are in the Hautes Vosges : the Grand Ballon , in ancient times called Ballon de Guebwiller or Ballon de Murbach, rises to 1,424 m (4,672 ft); the Storckenkopf to 1,366 m (4,482 ft); the Hohneck to 1,364 m (4,475 ft);

888-507: The depopulation of territories – in their wake it was not uncommon for people to be relocated there from other areas. On the lower heights and buttresses of the main chain on the Alsatian side are numerous castles, generally in ruins, testifying to the importance of this crucial crossroads of Europe, violently contested for centuries. At several points on the main ridge, especially at Sainte Odile above Ribeauvillé (German: Rappoltsweiler), are

925-623: The larger Tertiary formations. Erosive glacial action was the primary catalyst for development of the highland massif feature. The Vosges in their southern and central parts are called the Hautes Vosges . These consist of a large Carboniferous mountain eroded just before the Permian Period with gneiss , granites , porphyritic masses or other volcanic intrusions. The north, south and west parts are less eroded by glaciers, and here Vosges Triassic and Permian red sandstone remains are found in large beds. The grès vosgien (a French name for

962-604: The last two from the Vosges Mountains. The rivers Moselle , Meurthe and Sarre and their numerous affluents all rise on the Lorraine side. In the High Moselle and Meurthe basins, moraines , boulders and polished rocks testify to the former existence of glaciers which once covered the top of the Vosges. The mountain lakes caused by the original glacial phenomena are surrounded by pines, beeches and maples , and green meadows provide pasture for large herds of cattle, with views of

999-544: The massif, especially in summer. On the eastern slope economic vineyards reach to a height of 400 m (1,300 ft); on the other hand, in the mountains, it is a land of pasture and forest. The only rivers in Alsace are the Ill coming from south Alsace (or Sundgau), and the Bruche d'Andlau and the Bruche which have as tributaries other, shorter but sometimes powerful streams coming like

1036-461: The mountainside under heavy fire from the Germans. Two previous rescues failed. The 442nd suffered 800 casualties, rescued the Texans, and took the mountain. On 20 January 1992 Air Inter Flight 148 crashed into the Vosges Mountains while circling to land at Strasbourg International Airport, killing 87 people. In pre-Roman times, the Vosges was empty of settlements or was colonized and dominated by

1073-611: The northwest and runs between Donon and Mutzigfelsen heading for Sarrebourg ( Saarburg ). The Germanic areas of the Vosges mountains are part of the Alemannic dialect region and cultural area and, in the north, also part of the Frankish dialect region and cultural area. The Romance-speaking areas are traditionally part of the Lorrain language region in the west and the Frainc-Comtou region in

1110-631: The older days there were three inns on the way to the Lorraine plateau where they would change oxen due to the steep incline) was an important place in the time of the Roman Empire , and, after being destroyed by the Alemanni , was rebuilt by the emperor Julian . With the settlement of the Alemanni , the town became part of the Germanosphere . After 870 AD the town belonged to East Francia , which turned into

1147-620: The remains of a wall of unmortared stone with tenons of wood, about 1.8 to 2.2 m (6 to 7 ft) thick and 1.3 to 1.7 m (4 to 6 ft) high, called the Mur Païen (Pagan Wall). It was used for defence in the Middle Ages and archaeologists are divided as to whether it was built by the Romans , or before their arrival . During the French Revolutionary Wars , on 13 July 1794,

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1184-509: The same Vosges geologic structure but traditionally receives this different name for historical and political reasons. From 1871 to 1918 the Vosges marked for the most part the border between Germany and France, due to the Franco-Prussian War . The elongated massif is divided south to north into three sections: In addition, the term "Central Vosges" is used to designate the various lines of summits, especially those above 1,000 m (3,300 ft) in elevation. The French department of Vosges

1221-443: The south. For a long time the distribution of languages and dialects basically correlated with the pattern of settlement movements. However, the switch from German to French as the lingua franca which took place between the 17th and the 20th century across the whole of Alsace was not accompanied by any further significant movements of population. General texts: List of majors periodicals concerning Lorraine and South Lorraine: On

1258-515: The town is a unicorn. Legend has it that a unicorn's horn was found in one of the nearby castles in ruins. It is more likely that a narwhal 's tooth was discovered and mistaken for a unicorn's horn. However, it gave its name to the local beer (fr: Bière de la Licorne ) and to the Karlsbräu brewery (f: Brasserie la Licorne ) making it. Its principal building, the Rohan Castle ( Château des Rohan ),

1295-553: The vicinity are the ruined castles of Haut-Barr , Grand Geroldseck , Ochsenstein and Greifenstein . Hence a road, immortalized by Goethe in Dichtung und Wahrheit , leads across the Vosges to Pfalzburg . The mountain pass ( Col de Saverne ) contains a vast botanical garden, the Jardin botanique du col de Saverne . Saverne is also known for its Rose Garden, locally known as La roseraie . It

1332-688: The western boundary of the Upper Rhine Plain . The Grand Ballon is the highest peak at 1,424 m (4,672 ft), followed by the Storkenkopf (1,366 m, 4,482 ft), and the Hohneck (1,364 m, 4,475 ft). Geographically , the Vosges Mountains are wholly in France , far above the Col de Saverne separating them from the Palatinate Forest in Germany . The latter area logically continues

1369-558: Was severe and almost continuous fighting in the mountains. During World War II in October 1944, there was a fierce battle between German forces and the U.S. 442nd Regiment, a segregated unit composed of second-generation Japanese Americans (Nisei), during which the 442nd charged straight up the mountain to rescue the 1st Battalion of the 36th Infantry, formerly the Texas Guard—also known as the "Lost Battalion"—who were cut off and stranded on

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