Illkirch-Graffenstaden

Illkirch-Graffenstaden Ìllkìrich-Gràffestàde
Town hall of Illkirch-Graffenstaden
Coat of arms
Illkirch-Graffenstaden
Location within Grand Est region  Illkirch-Graffenstaden
Coordinates: 48°32′N 7°43′E / 48.53°N 7.72°E / 48.53; 7.72Coordinates: 48°32′N 7°43′E / 48.53°N 7.72°E / 48.53; 7.72
Country	France
Region	Grand Est
Department	Bas-Rhin
Arrondissement	Strasbourg
Canton	Illkirch-Graffenstaden
Intercommunality	Strasbourg
Government
• Mayor (2001–2008–2014)	Jacques Bigot
Area1	22.21 km2 (8.58 sq mi)
Population (2006)2	26,368
• Density	1,200/km2 (3,100/sq mi)
Time zone	CET (UTC+1)
• Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)
INSEE/Postal code	67218 / 67400
Elevation	139–146 m (456–479 ft) (avg. 140 m or 460 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.

Illkirch-Graffenstaden (French pronunciation: ​[ilkiʁʃ gʁafənʃtadən]) is a commune in the Bas-Rhin department in Grand Est in north-eastern France. It is the second-largest suburb of the city of Strasbourg, and is adjacent to it on the south-southwest. Illkirch-Graffenstaden is one of the fastest growing cities in France and probably in Europe, its population having more than doubled in less than forty years (from 11,648 in 1968 to 26,368 in 2006).

In the past Illkirch and Graf(f)enstaden were two separate villages. Illkirch-Graffenstaden therefore differs from more conventional towns, being akin to two long villages, one to the north of the other, giving rise to an exceptionally long main street lined with traditional small half-timbered houses: where these have been supplemented by modern designs, the modern buildings tend to respect the traditional size and look of the older ones.

During periods when Alsace-Lorraine was part of Germany (1871–1918, 1940–1945) the commune was known as Illkirch-Grafenstaden (with a single 'f' in place of the francophone 'ff'): this spelling is still used in German. Among French speakers from outside Alsace the commune is sometimes known colloquially as 'Illkirch' which avoids the needs to grapple with the four syllable German/Alsatian concatenation which some may find challenging.

By population level, Illkirch-Graffenstaden is the third largest commune in the urban community of Strasbourg, the fourth largest in the département and the sixth largest taking together the two departments comprising Alsace.

The larger adjacent communes, like Illkirch-Graffenstaden, are effectively outer suburbs of the Strasbourg conurbation. These include , Ostwald and Geispolsheim. Illkirch-Graffenstaden is crossed by the River Ill which here runs from south to north, parallel with and roughly ten kilometres to the west of the River Rhine: the two finally converge a short distance to the north of Strasbourg. The town also lies by the Rhône-Rhine Canal which here runs between the two rivers.