Huningue

Place Abbatucci

Coat of arms

Huningue

Location within Grand Est region

Huningue

Coordinates: 47°35′31″N 7°35′04″E / 47.5919°N 7.5844°ECoordinates: 47°35′31″N 7°35′04″E / 47.5919°N 7.5844°E

Country

Huningue

Trois Frontières

Government

• Mayor (2008–2014)

Jean-Marc Deichtmann

Area¹

2.86 km² (1.10 sq mi)

Population (2008)²

6,503

• Density

2,300/km² (5,900/sq mi)

Time zone

CET (UTC+1)

• Summer (DST)

CEST (UTC+2)

INSEE/Postal code

68149 / 68330

Dialling codes

0389

Elevation

242–259 m (794–850 ft)

¹ French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

²Population without double counting: residents of multiple communes (e.g., students and military personnel) only counted once.

¹ French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

Huningue (French pronunciation: [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.

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 of the Treaty of Paris (1815) at the request of Basel.

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