Saint-Louis, Haut-Rhin

Saint-Louis (French pronunciation: [sɛ̃ lwi] ; Alsatian: Sä-Louis; German: Sankt Ludwig)[citation needed] is a commune in the Haut-Rhin department in Alsace in north-eastern France.

Saint-Louis
Sä-Louis
Former town hall of Saint-Louis
Former town hall of Saint-Louis
Flag of Saint-Louis
Coat of arms of Saint-Louis
Location of Saint-Louis
Map
Saint-Louis is located in France
Saint-Louis
Saint-Louis
Saint-Louis is located in Grand Est
Saint-Louis
Saint-Louis
Coordinates: 47°35′N 7°34′E / 47.59°N 7.57°E / 47.59; 7.57
CountryFrance
RegionGrand Est
DepartmentHaut-Rhin
ArrondissementMulhouse
CantonSaint-Louis
IntercommunalitySaint-Louis Agglomération
Government
 • Mayor (2020–2026) Pascale Schmidiger[1]
Area
1
16.85 km2 (6.51 sq mi)
Population
 (2021)[2]
22,698
 • Density1,300/km2 (3,500/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+01:00 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code
68297 /68300
Dialling codes0389, +41 61 (for companies in the EuroAirport using Swisscom)
Elevation237–278 m (778–912 ft)
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

The inhabitants are called Ludoviciens.

History edit

Following the conquest of the Sundgau and other parts of the Alsace by France in the course of the Thirty Years' War and the Peace of Westphalia, the French crown took a growing interest in the control and security of the land west of the Rhine at the Rhine knee below the territory of the Canton of Basel (which joined the Old Swiss Confederacy in 1501). In 1679, therefore, as part of a deliberation proclamation of his continued expansion policy on the Upper Rhine (which included the capture of Colmar in 1673, the defeat of imperial and Palatine troops at Türckheim, the plundering of the town in 1675, and the Treaties of Nijmegen in 1679), Louis XIV ordered the construction of Hüningen Fortress at this strategic point. The occupants of the place, the fishing village of Hüningen, had to leave to make way for this military fortification, the construction of which was carried out by fortress architect, Vauban in 1680. The villagers were rehoused in the newly founded Village-Neuf and on the road from Basle to Paris via Mulhouse, where the first element of the present day village of Saint-Louis was established on the state border. This settlement, consisting of several border guards and taverns was initially part of the municipality of Hüningen's "new village". On 26 November 1684 — around 3 years after the high point of France's policy of annexation or politique des Réunions — the capture of Strasbourg - the town was officially named by Louis XIV.[3] Its patron is not actually the Sun King himself, but his predecessor, the canonized King Louis IX or Saint Louis.

 
Avenue de Bâle

In the course of the French Revolution the town was renamed from 1793 to 1814 as Bourglibre (German: Burgliber).

In 1953 the municipality of Bourgfelden was incorporated and was followed in 1958 by the village of Neuweg (La Chaussée) from Blotzheim. Since then most of the land of Basel-Mulhouse Airport has been on the soil of the town of Saint-Louis.

On 30 October 2000 the community association of Communauté de communes des Trois Frontières was formed in Saint-Louis where it also has its head office. The association was turned into an agglomeration community in 2016.

Geography edit

Saint-Louis is located at the German and Swiss borders, just north of Basel. The EuroAirport Basel Mulhouse Freiburg is situated on its territory. The town is served by two railway stations on the line Mulhouse–Basel: Saint-Louis station and Saint-Louis-la-Chaussée station.

The commune of Saint-Louis also contains the former villages of Bourgfelden and Neuweg (also known as Saint-Louis-la-Chaussée, or Näiwaag in Sundgau Alsatian).

Population edit

Historical population
YearPop.±% p.a.
1793 590—    
1800 830+5.00%
1806 662−3.70%
1821 966+2.55%
1831 1,263+2.72%
1836 1,327+0.99%
1841 1,459+1.91%
1846 1,473+0.19%
1851 1,464−0.12%
1856 1,520+0.75%
1861 1,635+1.47%
1866 1,731+1.15%
1871 1,731+0.00%
1875 1,970+3.29%
1880 2,066+0.96%
1885 2,292+2.10%
1890 2,642+2.88%
1895 3,022+2.72%
YearPop.±% p.a.
1900 4,018+5.86%
1905 4,737+3.35%
1910 5,417+2.72%
1921 5,376−0.07%
1926 5,700+1.18%
1931 6,375+2.26%
1936 7,158+2.34%
1946 6,475−1.00%
1954 9,122+4.38%
1962 12,378+3.89%
1968 14,845+3.08%
1975 18,007+2.80%
1982 18,682+0.53%
1990 19,547+0.57%
1999 19,961+0.23%
2007 19,995+0.02%
2012 19,990−0.01%
2017 21,177+1.16%
Source: EHESS[4] and INSEE (1968-2017)[5]

Economy edit

 
Swiss International Air Lines head office at EuroAirport

Swiss International Air Lines is headquartered on the grounds of EuroAirport Basel-Mulhouse-Freiburg in Saint-Louis; while the airport is physically in France, the Swiss head office lies in the Swiss zone of the airport, and it may only be accessed from Switzerland.[6][7][8] Hello, a Swiss airline, had its head office in the General Aviation area of EuroAirport.[9]

Prior to the formation of Swiss International Air Lines, the regional airline Crossair was headquartered on the grounds of EuroAirport.[10] Prior to its dissolution, Crossair Europe was headquartered on the grounds of EuroAirport.[11] The airline Farnair Switzerland formerly had its head office at EuroAirport. As in the case of the Swiss head office, the area with the former Farnair head office may only be accessed from Switzerland.[12] The head office moved to its current location, the Villa Guggenheim in Allschwil, in proximity to EuroAirport, on 1 October 2011.[13]

Education edit

Maternelles (preschools) include Louis Armand, Baerenfels, Octavie Krafft, Nussbaum, Petite Camargue, Jules Verne, and Wallart. There are two Écoles élémentaires, École de Bourgfelden and École Galilée. Combined maternelle and primaire groupes scolaires are La Cigogne / Victor Hugo and Widemann / Sarasin.[14]

Collège Georges Forlen and Collège Schickele are the junior high schools.[15]

Lycée Jean-Mermoz serves sixth form/senior high school students.[16]

Climate edit

Saint-Louis features a temperate oceanic climate (Köppen: Cfb) but its location further away from the ocean gives the city colder winters with some snow, and often hot and humid summers, in comparison with the rest of France.

Climate data for Saint-Louis, EuroAirport (1981–2010 averages)
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 18.8
(65.8)
21.7
(71.1)
26.2
(79.2)
30.0
(86.0)
32.8
(91.0)
37.0
(98.6)
38.8
(101.8)
39.1
(102.4)
33.7
(92.7)
31.0
(87.8)
23.4
(74.1)
19.9
(67.8)
39.1
(102.4)
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) 4.9
(40.8)
6.8
(44.2)
11.5
(52.7)
15.5
(59.9)
19.9
(67.8)
23.3
(73.9)
25.9
(78.6)
25.5
(77.9)
21.0
(69.8)
15.8
(60.4)
9.2
(48.6)
5.6
(42.1)
15.4
(59.7)
Daily mean °C (°F) 1.7
(35.1)
2.8
(37.0)
6.7
(44.1)
10.0
(50.0)
14.5
(58.1)
17.8
(64.0)
20.0
(68.0)
19.6
(67.3)
15.6
(60.1)
11.4
(52.5)
5.7
(42.3)
2.6
(36.7)
10.7
(51.3)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) −1.5
(29.3)
−1.2
(29.8)
2.0
(35.6)
4.6
(40.3)
9.1
(48.4)
12.2
(54.0)
14.1
(57.4)
13.7
(56.7)
10.3
(50.5)
6.9
(44.4)
2.3
(36.1)
−0.3
(31.5)
6.0
(42.8)
Record low °C (°F) −23.5
(−10.3)
−22.8
(−9.0)
−16.4
(2.5)
−6.3
(20.7)
−3.1
(26.4)
1.8
(35.2)
5.1
(41.2)
3.4
(38.1)
−0.9
(30.4)
−6.3
(20.7)
−12.6
(9.3)
−18.7
(−1.7)
−23.5
(−10.3)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 47.3
(1.86)
44.7
(1.76)
52.3
(2.06)
59.0
(2.32)
90.4
(3.56)
73.9
(2.91)
71.2
(2.80)
73.2
(2.88)
69.1
(2.72)
68.6
(2.70)
56.7
(2.23)
66.4
(2.61)
772.8
(30.43)
Average precipitation days 9.3 8.7 10.0 9.9 11.6 10.2 9.8 10.1 9.0 10.3 10.1 10.5 119.5
Average snowy days 8.3 7.4 4.6 1.6 0.1 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.1 3.5 6.9 32.5
Average relative humidity (%) 84 81 75 72 74 74 72 76 80 84 85 84 78.4
Mean monthly sunshine hours 74.0 94.1 138.1 176.1 200.1 226.0 241.3 227.7 164.3 118.5 67.8 55.1 1,783.1
Source: Météo France, Infoclimat [1]

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ "Répertoire national des élus: les maires" (in French). data.gouv.fr, Plateforme ouverte des données publiques françaises. 13 September 2022.
  2. ^ "Populations légales 2021". The National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies. 28 December 2023.
  3. ^ "Ville de Saint-Louis (Alsace) – Histoire" (in French). Official Town website. Retrieved 2012-12-06.
  4. ^ Des villages de Cassini aux communes d'aujourd'hui: Commune data sheet Saint-Louis, EHESS (in French).
  5. ^ Population en historique depuis 1968, INSEE
  6. ^ "Facts and figures." Swiss International Air Lines. Retrieved on 13 June 2009.
  7. ^ "Plan interactif Archived 2009-11-14 at the Wayback Machine." Saint-Louis. Retrieved on 25 September 2009.
  8. ^ "Swiss International Air Lines Basel Archived 2011-07-25 at the Wayback Machine." Swiss International Air Lines. Retrieved on 24 September 2009.
  9. ^ "Hello Location Archived 2010-11-10 at the Wayback Machine." (Direct image link) Hello. Retrieved on 1 July 2010.
  10. ^ "Location." Crossair. Retrieved on 13 June 2009.
  11. ^ World Airline Directory. Flight International. March 23–29, 2004. 58.
  12. ^ "How to find us." Farnair Europe. Retrieved on 8 December 2010.
  13. ^ "Contact Us." (Archive) Farnair Switzerland. Retrieved on 19 February 2012.
  14. ^ "Ecoles maternelles, élémentaires et groupes scolaires." Commune of St. Louis. Retrieved on April 23, 2015.
  15. ^ "Collèges." Commune of St. Louis. Retrieved on April 23, 2015.
  16. ^ "Le lycée Jean-Mermoz." Commune of St. Louis. Retrieved on April 23, 2015.

External links edit