An unusual “Town of Art and History”

A bit of history…

Mulhouse was mentioned for the 1st time in 803 under the name of Mulinhuson (mill houses) and, legend has it, was founded around a mill. It belonged to the Germanic Roman Holy Empire when it was founded, and obtained the status of an imperial town in 1308, thereby answering directly to the Emperor himself.

In 1354, it joined the Decapolis, a federation of 10 imperial towns. In 1515, it signed an alliance treaty with the thirteen Swiss cantons. At the end of the Hundred Years War, the whole of Alsace became French... except Mulhouse, which obtained the status of independent republic.

Mulhouse, a Protestant enclave in the Kingdom of France, was unaffected by the prohibition on the production of Indiennes (floral printed fabrics) which had been in force on French territory since 1686. Its destiny was sealed in 1746 when the first Indienne factory was founded by four young entrepreneurs: Samuel Koechlin, Samuel Koechlin, Jean-Jacques Schmalzer, Jean-Henri Dollfus
and Jean-Jacques Feer.

By the time the Kingdom of France legalised Indiennes in 1759, the industry
in Mulhouse already had a considerable head start! This was the beginning of an industrial golden age: in a few years, the small craft town of the 18th century was profoundly transformed.

In 1798, the small, prosperous republic of Mulhouse chose to become part of France.

In 1846, Mulhouse, had 45 spinning mills. This period also saw the creation of the forerunner of the SACM and ALSTOM, and the commissioning of the 1st railway line in France, between Mulhouse and Thann (1839). The paternalistic, Protestant ruling classes of Mulhouse, who were mainly freemasons, were responsible for a great deal of economic, technical and social progress.

In 1822, Europe’s first chemistry school opened - it still enjoys an excellent reputation to this day. In 1826, 22 young industrialists founded the Mulhouse Industrial Society (Société Industrielle de Mulhouse - SIM), which is still
active today, thus helping to improve local people’s living conditions: they created the zoological and botanical park (1868), a day nursery, Hasenrain hospital (1899), the first workers’ housing development in France (1853)...

Between 1870 and 1945, Mulhouse, like the rest of Alsace, changed nationality 4 times. The town suffered severe damage at the end of the 2nd World War.

In the 1970’s, Mulhouse was hit hard by the 2 oil crises and saw its flagship industry, textiles, move to the Asian countries. Yet it remained dynamic and reinvented itself, with the opening of the Peugeot factory, the international expansion of Clemessy and the creation of the University of Upper Alsace.

In 2006, the arrival of the tram gave the town a new vision, and was followed in 2010 by the introduction of France’s first ever tram-train, connecting Mulhouse to the Thann Valley (30 km).

Alfred Dreyfus
born in 1859 in Mulhouse, a French army captain accused of treason in a case which divided opinion in France at the end of the 19th century.

The famous "J'accuse", "I accuse" from Emile Zola where the famous author denounced the anti-semitism of the whole affair, helped saving the honnor of Dreyfus, who was finally recognised innocent after years of humiliation, and awarded Cross of the Légion d'honneur, which stated, “a soldier who has endured an unparallelled martyrdom.

William "Billy" Wyler
My favourite EVER Director.
Born in 1902 in Mulhouse, naturalised American in 1928 after he had to flee Germany because of his jewish origins.

Wilder is one of only five people to have won Academy Awards as producer, director, and writer for the same film (The Apartment - Jack Lemon, Shirley Mclaine). Most of you would know him for Ben Hur, for which is also got an oscar, but he's also made gems like Ninotchka, Sunset Boulevard, Seven year itch, Sabrina, or Some Like it hot... Like I said, my favourite director...