Country France Department Haut-Rhin Intercommunality Trois Frontières Area 2.86 km² Area code 0389 Arrondissement Mulhouse | Region Grand Est Canton Huningue Time zone CET (UTC+1) Population 6,097 (1999) Dialling code 389 | |
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Huningue ([ynɛ̃ɡ]; German: Hüningen; Alsatian: Hinige) is a commune in the Haut-Rhin department of Alsace in north-eastern France. Huningue is a northern suburb of the Swiss city of Basel. It also borders Germany (Weil am Rhein, a suburb of Basel located in Germany). In 2008 it had a population of 6503 people. The main square of the town is the Place Abbatucci, named after the Corsican-born French general Jean Charles Abbatucci who unsuccessfully defended it in 1796 against the Austrians and died here. Huningue is noted for its pisciculture and is a major producer of fish eggs.
Contents
Map of Huningue, France
History
Huningue was first mentioned in a document in 826. Huningue was wrested from the Holy Roman Empire by the duke of Lauenburg in 1634 by the Treaty of Westphalia, and subsequently passed by purchase to Louis XIV. Louis XIV ordered the construction of the Huningue Fortress and was fortified by Vauban (1679–1681) and a bridge was built across the Rhine. Construction of the fortress required the displacement of the population on the island of Aoust and the surrounding area. In 1796 to 1797, Huningue was besieged by the Austrians. During the siege the French Commander, General Abbatucci was killed on 1 December 1796 while commanding a sortie, the fort held out for a further month surrendering on 5 February 1797. The fortress was besieged from 22 December 1813 until 14 April 1814 by Bavarian troops under the command of General Zoller before the French garrison surrendered. Huningue was besieged for the third time in 1815 and General Barbanègre headed a garrison of only 500 men against 25,000 Austrians. On the 28 June shortly after word of Napoleon's abdication became known, and the French Provisional Government had requested a ceasefire, Barbanègre ordered the bombardment of Basel something that contemporaries on the Seventh Coalition side considers to be a war crime. At its surrender to the Habsburg Empire on 26 August 1815, the city was a ruin and the fortifications were demolished under the terms of Article III of the Treaty of Paris (1815) at the request of Basel.
The building of the Huningue channel in 1828 made the area more navigable (the entire channel system was completed in 1834); it provided water to the Rhone-Rhine canal. The Huningue canal is a feeder arm of this Rhone-Rhine Canal; it enters the river opposite the main dock basins. Only about a kilometre of the canal is still navigable, leading to the town of Kembs.
In 1871, the town passed, with Alsace-Lorraine, to the German Empire. Alsace-Lorraine returned to France after the First World War. It was evacuated in 1939, retaken by Germany in 1940 with some 60% of the town destroyed during World War II, and finally returned to France once again in 1945. In 2007, a bridge over the Rhine, linking Huningue with Weil am Rhein, Germany was built.
Geography
Huningue is situated on the left bank of the Rhine, and is an ancient place which grew up around a stronghold placed to guard the passage of the river. It is a northern suburb of Basel.
Economy
Huningue is noted for its pisciculture and is a major producer of fish eggs. Several chemical, plastics and pharmaceutical companies have factories in Huningue, mainly Swiss firms such as Novartis, Ciba, Clariant, Hoffmann-La Roche, Weleda etc. The Rhine port is managed by the Chamber of Commerce and the industry of Mulhouse, which lies to the northwest of Huningue.
Notable landmarks
Since March 2007 Huningue is connected with Weil am Rhein via an arch bridge. With 248 meters of length it is the longest of its kind for pedestrians and cyclist. Because the bridge connects the two countries France and Germany and is near Switzerland it is named the Three country bridge or Passerelle des Trois Pays in French.