ColmarColmar (Colmar, kɔlmaʁ; Alsatian: Colmer ˈkolməʁ; German during 1871–1918 and 1940–1945: Kolmar) is a city and commune in the Haut-Rhin department and Grand Est region of north-eastern France. The third-largest commune in Alsace (after Strasbourg and Mulhouse), it is the seat of the prefecture of the Haut-Rhin department and of the subprefecture of the Colmar-Ribeauvillé arrondissement. The city is renowned for its well-preserved old town, its numerous architectural landmarks and its museums, among which is the Unterlinden Museum, which houses the Isenheim Altarpiece.
ZürichZürich (ˈzjʊərᵻk , ˈtsyːrɪç; see below) is the largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zürich. It is located in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zürich. As of January 2023 the municipality had 443,037 inhabitants, the urban area 1.315 million (2009), and the Zürich metropolitan area 1.83 million (2011). Zürich is a hub for railways, roads, and air traffic. Both Zurich Airport and Zürich's main railway station are the largest and busiest in the country.
Freiburg im BreisgauFreiburg im Breisgau (ˈfʁaɪbʊʁk ʔɪm ˈbʁaɪsɡaʊ), usually called simply Freiburg, is an independent city in the state of Baden-Württemberg in Germany. With a population of about 231,848 (as of 2021), it is the fourth-largest city in that state after Stuttgart, Mannheim and Karlsruhe. Its built-up area has a population of about 355,000 (2021) while the greater Freiburg metropolitan area ("Einzugsgebiet") has about 660,000 (2018). Freiburg straddles the Dreisam river at the foot of a Schlossberg and acts as the hub of the Breisgau region on the western edge of the Black Forest.
BesançonBesançon (UKˈbɛzənsɒn, USbəˈzænsən, bəzɑ̃sɔ̃, bəzɑ̃ˈsɔ̃; archaic Bisanz; Vesontio) is the prefecture of the department of Doubs in the region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté. The city is located in Eastern France, close to the Jura Mountains and the border with Switzerland. Capital of the historic and cultural region of Franche-Comté, Besançon is home to the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté regional council headquarters, and is an important administrative centre in the region.
Enclave and exclaveAn enclave is a territory (or a small territory as part of a larger one) that is entirely surrounded by the territory of one other state or entity. Enclaves may also exist within territorial waters. Enclave is sometimes used improperly to denote a territory that is only partly surrounded by another state. Vatican City and San Marino, both enclaved by Italy, and Lesotho, enclaved by South Africa, are completely enclaved sovereign states.
Ancien RégimeThe Ancien Régime (ˌɒ̃sjæ̃_reɪˈʒiːm; ɑ̃sjɛ̃ ʁeʒim; old rule), also known as the Old Regime, was the political and social system of the Kingdom of France from the Late Middle Ages (1500) until 1789 and the French Revolution which abolished the feudal system of the French nobility (1790) and hereditary monarchy (1792). The Valois dynasty ruled during the Ancien Régime up until 1589 and was subsequently replaced by the Bourbon dynasty. The term is occasionally used to refer to the similar feudal systems of the time elsewhere in Europe such as that of Switzerland.
AlsaceAlsace (ælˈsæs, USalsoælˈseɪs,_ˈælsæs; alzas; Low Alemannic German/Elsàss ˈɛlsɑs; Elsass ˈɛlzas; Alsatia) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in eastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine next to Germany and Switzerland. In January 2023, it had a population of 1,921,014. Alsatian culture is characterized by a blend of Germanic and French influences. Until 1871, Alsace included the area now known as the Territoire de Belfort, which formed its southernmost part.
Alsatian dialectAlsatian (Elsässisch or Elsässerditsch "Alsatian German"; Lorraine Franconian: Elsässerdeitsch; Alsacien; Elsässisch or Elsässerdeutsch) is the group of Alemannic German dialects spoken in most of Alsace, a formerly disputed region in eastern France that has passed between French and German control five times since 1681. Alsatian is closely related to other nearby Alemannic dialects, such as Swiss German, Swabian, and Markgräflerisch as well as Kaiserstühlerisch.
Free imperial cityIn the Holy Roman Empire, the collective term free and imperial cities (Freie und Reichsstädte), briefly worded free imperial city (Freie Reichsstadt, urbs imperialis libera), was used from the fifteenth century to denote a self-ruling city that had a certain amount of autonomy and was represented in the Imperial Diet. An imperial city held the status of Imperial immediacy, and as such, was subordinate only to the Holy Roman Emperor, as opposed to a territorial city or town (Landstadt) which was subordinate to a territorial prince - be it an ecclesiastical lord (prince-bishop, prince-abbot) or a secular prince (duke (Herzog), margrave, count (Graf), etc.
