Brief History

The parents of the Siblings were born into a country adjusting to becoming French. The Alsace region is bounded by the Rhine River to the east and the Vosges Mountains to the west. Control of this region has fluctuated and as a result the Alsatians has formed a tight community for all of Alsace and the Moselle region of Lorraine. Before the Thirty Days War, Alsace was part of the Holy Germanic Empire (Germany did it exist yet). The treaty that ended the Thirty Years War ceded Alsace to France in 1648. The Siblings father, Samuel was born in 1683, and Magdalena in 1685. When the Siblings sailed for the New World in 1731, they left behind a world dealing still dealing with strife between Catholics and Protestants where status could be shown even in the color of clothing that they wore. For example, young Catholic girls wore red skirts while Protestants wore green or dark blue.

Today, the Alsatian people have put those religious wars behind them. In Strasbourg one of the churches is even shared with a divider down the middle. Catholics worship on one side and Protestants on the other. The Alsatians also have a strong unique heritage from their struggles through the years. After the Franco-Prussian War in 1871 Alsace (actually, Alsace and the Moselle region of Lorraine) were given to Germany. This is referred to as a soft Germanization where people were free to choose whether to stay and be German or leave for a different region that was French. At the end of World War I, Alsace returned to France then at the beginning of World War II in 1939, Germany took Alsace. This time, there was no choice and everyone was forced to speak and “be” German. At the end of WW-II, Alsace was returned to France.

Our group has now departed Strasbourg and have begun a barge trip across Lorraine and back to Strasbourg. The barge is wonderful, but the internet connections may not be strong along the way. So i will post when I can. For now I will leave you with one shot of our happy group standing on one of the bridges in Strasbourg where you can see some of the 16th-17th century houses that were around before the Siblings.

Now on to exploring the country side of Alsace-Loraine.