Seltz

Seltz
Coat of arms
Seltz
Location within Alsace region  Seltz
Coordinates: 48°54′N 8°07′E / 48.90°N 8.11°ECoordinates: 48°54′N 8°07′E / 48.90°N 8.11°E
Country	France
Region	Alsace-Champagne-Ardenne-Lorraine
Department	Bas-Rhin
Arrondissement	Haguenau-Wissembourg
Canton	Wissembourg
Government
• Mayor (2001–2008)	Hugues Kraemer
Area^1	21 km^2 (8 sq mi)
Population (2006)^2	3,184
• Density	150/km^2 (390/sq mi)
INSEE/Postal code	67463 / 67470
Elevation	107–165 m (351–541 ft)
^1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries. ^2 Population without double counting: residents of multiple communes (e.g., students and military personnel) only counted once.

Seltz (German: Selz) is a commune in the Bas-Rhin department of the Alsace-Champagne-Ardenne-Lorraine region in north-eastern France. It is located on the Sauer river near its confluence with the Rhine, opposite the German town of Rastatt.

History

The former Celtic settlement of Saliso near a crossing of the Rhine river was mentioned as the Roman castrum Saletio in the Notitia Dignitatum about 425. Later a part of the German stem duchy of Swabia, Emperor Otto I granted the area to his wife Adelaide of Burgundy in 968. Saint Adelaide established Selz Abbey in 991 and died here eight years later.

In 1357 Emperor Charles IV of Luxembourg raised Selz to an Imperial city, after which the town joined the Alsatian Décapole league. It however lost its immediate status in 1414, when it was mediatised by Elector Palatine Louis III of Wittelsbach. Seltz finally was annexed by France in 1680.

Landmarks

Église Saint-Étienne de Seltz was last built in 1954-6.

Twin Towns - Sister Cities

Seltz is twinned with:

• Obervellach, Austria
• Santa Adélia, Brazil

See also

• Communes of the Bas-Rhin department

References

• Commune website
• INSEE commune file