Armistice Day is Meaningful for France but even more so for Alsace

November 11^th was Armistice Day in France, a national holiday created to remember the signing of the peace treaties of 1918 following the end of World War I.  The holiday was also called Armistice day in the United States until the end of World War II when the name was changed to Veterans Day.     

The signing of the truce in 1918 signaled the turning of another page in history for France and the beginning of another chapter of history for the region of Alsace.  The Germans annexed Alsace in 1871 following their victories over the Kingdom of France during the Franco-Prussian War.  The official language of Alsace was made German, which was taught in the schools.  Speaking French was strictly forbidden.  The German occupation lasted until the end of World War I in 1918 at which time Alsace was turned over to France.  The Germans again occupied Alsace during World War II, but this time for only four years.  At the end of World War II, Alsace was again turned over to France.  

Due to the length of time Alsace was occupied by Germany, there is a strong German influence on the architecture, language, and food of this region that makes Alsace quite unique.  But, the roots of Alsatian culture go much deeper than the last 150 years, in fact, the culture was partially shaped by the Romans who occupied this region during the time of Christ.  Since the Roman occupation, the Gallics, Franks, Germans, and French have all had a hand in forming the present day Alsace.  Their diverse heritage is also why Alsatians have a strong sense of regional identity that they often put ahead of their French identity. 

There were many battles fought in World War I on the hills and valleys next to where I am currently living in Alsace.  World War I was fought in the trenches with each side dug-in sometimes just 30 yards apart from each other.  Some of the battlefield trenches and fortifications in this area were preserved and turned into memorial sites.  I visited one today called Fort Mutzig.  Oddly enough, the inside of the fort was closed to visitors on Armistice Day but I was able to get a few pictures of one of the imposing entrances to the fort.

The fort was built in the form of a triangle with the bulk of the structures built underground to conceal the fort’s presence and to protect the resident soldiers.  It took more than two decades to build so you can imagine how much concrete and steel went into the construction of the 600 acre fort.  The fort was perched on top of one of the tallest peaks in the Vosges mountain range and was designed to block any eastward advance by the French into Alsace.  The fort supported as many as 7,000 men during the war and functioned like a small city equipped with a power plant, bakery, barracks, water wells, etc.

Armistice Day provided an opportunity to reflect upon the 16 million deaths and 21 million wounded during World War I.  It also reminded me of one of the poems that I memorized in high school that is one of the most well-known poems written during World War I.  It was written by a Canadian physician Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae in 1915 after he witnessed the death of one of his friends.  Flanders Fields refers to the battlefields where McCrae fought, which are in the northeastern part of France and the adjacent part of Belgium. 

In Flanders Fields by John McCrae

In Flanders fields the poppies blow

Between the crosses, row on row,

That mark our place; and in the sky

The larks, still bravely singing, fly

Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago

We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,

Loved and were loved, and now we lie,

In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:

To you from failing hands we throw

The torch; be yours to hold it high.

If ye break faith with us who die

We shall not sleep, though poppies grow

In Flanders fields

Klingenthal Sword Factory: En garde, touché!

In the early 1700’s, Louis XV decided to acquire the expertise to build a sword manufacturing facility in France to avoid having to buy them from foreign countries.  That was sound judgment especially since most of their battles were with their neighbors.  Louis XV went across the border to Germany and smuggled a number of expert craftsman from a sword factory in Germany and brought them to France.  But why did he choose to put the factory in Alsace as it is so far from the center of French government?  Because Alsatians spoke German so that permitted the craftsman to train the locals and the region had the natural resources such as wood for construction of buildings, sandstone for grinding steel, and a stream that could provide power for the factory through a series of water wheels.   The factory was constructed and a village grew up around it.  The factory was named Klingenthal which means “Valley of Swords” in German.  Klinge means sword and Thal means valley. 

The sword factory was first opened in 1731 as a state run factory.  Dozens of different models were produced at the factory with some 350,000 swords produced just of their most popular model.  It operated under a contract for the French army until 1836 when the doors were shuttered.  It was determined that the factory was too close to the German border and venerable to an invasion so it was moved 300 miles west to Châtellerault , closer to Paris.  However, the Coulaux family, who were prominent leaders in the factory, decided to buy the factory to start a private forgery business.  They diversified their product line to include body armor and hand tools for carpenters, farmers, and masons.   The factory finally closed down in 1962 after operating for more than 200 years.

The Klingenthal sword museum is filled with fine examples of the work that was done at the factory including swords, bayonets, chest armor, scythes, hand saws, sickles, metal files, etc.  Also on display are tools used by the craftsman and pictures from various parts of the factory.  There is a fire pit in the museum that they use for monthly demonstrations.  They also have several massive sandstone wheels on which the blades were sharpened and fine tools where the specialty swords were engraved. 

During the period of peak production, the factory employed 700 workers.  Much of the infrastructure needed to support the factory and house the workers is still in place today.  Walking through the village after the museum tour brought to life the sounds of metal clanging on metal, steel being grinded on sandstone wheels, and the smell of coal burning in the forger’s fire.   

Additional Information:

-          Tour takes around 1 hour through 4 floors of the building, cost is 6 euros for adults, on certain days they light up a fire and demonstrate the forgery process.   

-          Museum’s official website 

-          How swords were made  

France on Strike...Now this is Solidarity French Style

French citizens have the benefit of one of the lowest retirement ages in all of Europe.  At 60 years of age, they can legally retire although full retirement does not begin until age 65.  Compare this to their neighbors in Germany, Luxembourg, and Spain where the legal retirement age is 65, a full five years later.  France's President, Nicolas Sarkozy, has proposed raising the retirement age and reducing other retirement benefits in order to help preserve the social security system.  People are living longer and reproducing less.  This translates to a growing percentage of retirees (65 and over) who will be receiving benefits relative to a shrinking percentage of people who will be of working age (15-64) and contributing to the retirement system.  This disproportional growth is not only being experienced in France but in most developed countries including the U.S.  

Due to the proposed changes, working age people have been pouring into the streets protesting the changes in order to put pressure on the government to rescind the proposed law.  After living in Washington DC for more than 10 years, I saw my fair share of protests.  What makes the protests here unique is that they are not only protesting but they are organizing national strikes, shutting down entire sectors of the economy. For example, refinery workers are shutting down production.  This has caused gasoline prices to go up and disrupted supply chains such that certain gas stations have run out of gas, especially in the south of France.  I have seen a 20 cent rise in the price of gas, now $7.85 per gallon in my village.  My brother-in-laws' business of delivering home heating oil has also run into problems.  With 7 of the 12 major refineries on strike, they have had to drive an hour farther to find a fuel transfer station just to fill up their tanker truck.      

The once reliable option of commuting to work by high speed train has become sporadic.  Flights out of major airports are being canceled.  Commuters now have to check the news every evening to determine whether trains will be running the next day.  The French government estimates that the strikes have cost the economy between $250-500 million per day.  These types of strikes have been going on since September.  Workers can leave their posts without fear of losing their jobs due to the strong labor laws here in France.  Unions in France are very strong and are the organizers of the majority of the strikes. 

My encounter with the strikers came last week as I was commuting to nearby Strasbourg for one of my required immigration training courses.  It was 8am on a Tuesday, peak commuting time when I ran into traffic jam on the interstate.  Fortunately, I was on a motorcycle and was able to ride between stopped cars.  When I arrived at the front of the traffic jam, I saw two rows of cars with red CGT union flags waving out their windows and several police vehicles escorting them along the way.  This is when I realized that the traffic jam was caused by a planned road block as a form of protest.  I weaved through the road block emerging onto the empty interstate in front of the road block.  It took me 60 minutes to ride just 10 miles.  The other cars behind me were not so lucky. 

So when will the strikes stop?  The law was proposed in mid-June and has now passed through both houses of French Parliament and is waiting for signature from President Sarkozy as the last step.  His signature is expected early this month.  I've been told that the strikes will likely increase in this last phase as a last ditch effort by the unions to have the law withdrawn.   

Additional information:

- Retirement Age Chart for Europe 

- French comic:  Carpenter   (Translation: “Okay Nenesse, you retiring soon?  Ten more years.”)

- French comic:  Retirement Gift  (Translation: “What should we get him for his retirement?  He already has a hearing aid, cane, false teeth, and walker.)

A Medieval Castle Visit in Ribeauvillé

Today, I decided to take a trip back in time to visit three of the medieval castles found in Alsace.  Alsace has 17 medieval castles of note; however, there are plenty of other castles of lesser note in the region.  But before I take you there, I wanted to get you in the medieval mindset.  When I think of the medieval time period, I imagine people speaking old English "What art thou doing?" and walking around eating turkey drumsticks.   I picture wealthy nobleman peering down from their castle towers, giving orders to their starving, dirty peasants.  I see knights wearing heavy armor and fighting off raiding barbarians.  Then there are the images from movies like Robinhood, Monty Python and the Holy Grail (Ni! Ni!), and Excalibur that come rushing through my mind. 

With these images in mind, I hopped on my father-in-laws' Gold Wing motorcycle and headed 30 miles south of Ottrott to a village called Ribeauvillé.  The trees are in full fall color turning the Vosges mountain range into a canvas of yellows, oranges, and reds.  Riding parallel to the mountain range, I could see the silhouette of several castles on the mountain tops.  I will have to come back and visit these castles on another trip.  As I exit the main highway and turn towards the mountains, I scan the horizon and can see the outline of one of the Ribeauvillé castles from a couple miles away.  This will make it easy to navigate through the village to the trail heading up to the castles. 

I chose to visit Ribeauvillé as it has three medieval castles and it requires you to climb a steep trail in order to visit them.  I was looking forward to the hike.  For many of the other castles in the region, you can drive up to them, but not for the castles of Ribeauvillé.  In addition, Ribeauville is an attractive option as it is one of the most popular villages on the Alsatian white wine route.  The main street meandering through town is a narrow cobble-stoned street that is lined with fine examples of the wood framed houses that make this region so unique.  As you walk up the twisty street, you can get a glimpse of the castles perched 1,700 feet above Ribeauvillé on the mountaintop.

The dirt trail leading to the castles winds up a steep hill through a patchwork of vineyards.  It took me an hour to climb to the top of the hill to the first castle, Château de Saint-Ulrich.  I can only imagine how much work it must have been for the nobleman's servants to haul food and other supplies from the fields in the valley below up to this mountaintop location.  Locating the castles on top of the mountain was not done for convenience sake.  The view from the castle's tower provides an excellent vantage point from which the nobleman could survey the fields below and any advancing threats from raiding parties. 

Château de Saint-Ulrich: The main castle was built in the 11th century by the Romans and has an impressive number of its walls still in tact.  It was originally built to control commerce between the Alsatian plain below and the Lièpvre high valley, which gave access to the other side of the Vosges Mountains.   The best feature of this castle is the square shaped tower that provides a panoramic view of the valley below.  The castle also had a knight's hall and chapel that were added to the original structure.  It was finally abandoned in the 16th century.   

Château de Girsberg: Just 100 yards away is the Girsberg castle that was built on a large rock outcropping making it look like an extension of the stone on which it is built.  Most of this castle was destroyed over time but the main tower is impressive and still intact.    

Château du Haut Ribeaupierre: The third castle is farther up the hill and is the oldest of the three.  I did not make it up to visit it as I was running out of daylight.  From afar, I could see the circular tower that has survived the centuries.

Additional Information:
- The hike to the 2 castles I visited took 2 hours, add another hour to visit the third.  The hike is free of charge.  There is a small parking area at the base of the trail.
- Ribeauvillé - the village's official tourist website
- Other Castles in Alsace
- Monty Python and the Holy Grail - classic movie clip at French castle