Versailles - Part Cinq: The Alsace Connection
There used to be a show on PBS called Connections in which a frenetic little British host explained how history was not a straight line of progress, but rather a complex web of seemingly random events. Walking around Versailles, one would think it is about as far away from Strasbourg as you can get in France. However, follow the connections.
- For most of the 1600's, Strasbourg was acknowledged as a Free City... a republic actually in the tradition of Venice or Rome...formerly part of the Hapsburg and Holy Roman Empires and, at that time, a city state loosely aligned with other city states in Alsace. You can say Alsace was Germanic, but you could not call it German. The country of Germany would not exist for another 200 years.
- In 1681 Louis the XIV paid a friendly visit to Strasbourg with 20,000 troops and promptly informed the city fathers that they were no longer a city state, but rather part of his expanding kingdom of France. The 30 Years War over religion had bled central Europe dry. Louis was stepping into the power vacuum to cherry-pick profitable territory. Alsace became French for the first time.
- In 1682, Louis took a break from travels and returned to Paris. One of the first things he does is to get out of Paris. He relocates his court and seat of government to Versailles.
- Almost 200 years later, in 1870, France got into a little spat with William of Prussia. William had put together a little army of Teutonic folks from Prussia, Baden, Barvaria and such. William's troops promptly marched across France in what the US history books call the Franco-Prussian War. On their way, they stopped long-enough to demonstrate their big technological breakthrough - the first modern artillery - by shelling Strasbourg day and night for six weeks in August of 1870.
- By January, 1871, the war was over and the relieved particpants went to...where else...Versailles. There, they signed a treaty that created, for the first time, the modern nation of Germany. At that point, the new German nation pointed out that they would like to have Alsace (along with Lorraine) back, since both had been so rudely taken by Louis just a few years before.
- After that Treaty of Versailles, Alsace and Strasbourg became part of Germany. The area of Strasbourg where Theresa and I live was built, principally, by the German Empire playing the role of a benevolent occupying power. The building in which I now sit typing was probably built either by the German government or a German investor.
- William's (or Wilhelm, emperor of Germany) had a grandson named Kaiser Wilhelm II. Wilhelm II didn't have a palace on the magnitude of Versailles. One of the ways he compensated was by building smaller palaces, including one in Strasbourg. Not stopping there, he took the ruins of an castle destroyed in the 30 Years War and had it restored like a set from a Wagner opera. This became the castle of Haut Koenigsberg, one of France's favorite spots today for German tourists.
-Of course, a few years later, in 1914, all of Europe got into a spat. This time no one marched anywhere quickly. The artillery that was novel in 1870 was now standard equipment in the war to end all wars. It proved effective at wiping out an entire generation of young men.
- In 1918, France found itself on the winning side and Germany on the losing side. Initially, the armistice was signed in a railroad car. Later, the winners invited the losers to...where else....Versailles. In 1919, the Treaty of Versailles returned Alsace and Lorraine to France. At that point, though Strasbourg was part of France only 5% of the Alsatian people could speak French.
- At this point I lose the connection to Versailles. In 1940 there would be another spat. I know that they dragged out the old railcar used in 1918 to sign another armistice in 1940. Once again, Germany had the upper hand. Once againAlsace became part of Germany. However, it seems no one bothered with Versailles. Too much pressing business, I suppose, to bother sightseeing at old palaces.
- For most of the 1600's, Strasbourg was acknowledged as a Free City... a republic actually in the tradition of Venice or Rome...formerly part of the Hapsburg and Holy Roman Empires and, at that time, a city state loosely aligned with other city states in Alsace. You can say Alsace was Germanic, but you could not call it German. The country of Germany would not exist for another 200 years.
- In 1681 Louis the XIV paid a friendly visit to Strasbourg with 20,000 troops and promptly informed the city fathers that they were no longer a city state, but rather part of his expanding kingdom of France. The 30 Years War over religion had bled central Europe dry. Louis was stepping into the power vacuum to cherry-pick profitable territory. Alsace became French for the first time.
- In 1682, Louis took a break from travels and returned to Paris. One of the first things he does is to get out of Paris. He relocates his court and seat of government to Versailles.
- Almost 200 years later, in 1870, France got into a little spat with William of Prussia. William had put together a little army of Teutonic folks from Prussia, Baden, Barvaria and such. William's troops promptly marched across France in what the US history books call the Franco-Prussian War. On their way, they stopped long-enough to demonstrate their big technological breakthrough - the first modern artillery - by shelling Strasbourg day and night for six weeks in August of 1870.
- By January, 1871, the war was over and the relieved particpants went to...where else...Versailles. There, they signed a treaty that created, for the first time, the modern nation of Germany. At that point, the new German nation pointed out that they would like to have Alsace (along with Lorraine) back, since both had been so rudely taken by Louis just a few years before.
- After that Treaty of Versailles, Alsace and Strasbourg became part of Germany. The area of Strasbourg where Theresa and I live was built, principally, by the German Empire playing the role of a benevolent occupying power. The building in which I now sit typing was probably built either by the German government or a German investor.
- William's (or Wilhelm, emperor of Germany) had a grandson named Kaiser Wilhelm II. Wilhelm II didn't have a palace on the magnitude of Versailles. One of the ways he compensated was by building smaller palaces, including one in Strasbourg. Not stopping there, he took the ruins of an castle destroyed in the 30 Years War and had it restored like a set from a Wagner opera. This became the castle of Haut Koenigsberg, one of France's favorite spots today for German tourists.
-Of course, a few years later, in 1914, all of Europe got into a spat. This time no one marched anywhere quickly. The artillery that was novel in 1870 was now standard equipment in the war to end all wars. It proved effective at wiping out an entire generation of young men.
- In 1918, France found itself on the winning side and Germany on the losing side. Initially, the armistice was signed in a railroad car. Later, the winners invited the losers to...where else....Versailles. In 1919, the Treaty of Versailles returned Alsace and Lorraine to France. At that point, though Strasbourg was part of France only 5% of the Alsatian people could speak French.
- At this point I lose the connection to Versailles. In 1940 there would be another spat. I know that they dragged out the old railcar used in 1918 to sign another armistice in 1940. Once again, Germany had the upper hand. Once againAlsace became part of Germany. However, it seems no one bothered with Versailles. Too much pressing business, I suppose, to bother sightseeing at old palaces.
posted by jcweber at 2:27 PM
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