Kehl

Sister cities

• Montmorency
• Kotor

History

The village of Kehl was first mentioned in 1038. In 1338, the first permanent bridge between Kehl and Strasbourg was completed. In 1678, the city was taken over by France, as it was considered to be part of the defense system of Strasbourg. Hence the village was transformed into a fortress in 1683 by the French architect Vauban. In 1681, the Imperial City of Strasbourg, a territory of the Holy Roman Empire that included Kehl, was annexed by Louis XIV, King of France. This annexation was recognized by the Treaty of Ryswick in 1697, but all right-bank territories were restored to the Empire, During World War II Kehl was located in the so-called "Red Zone" on the western wall, which was cleared when the war broke out: in the night from 3 to 4 September 1939, the population was evacuated to the Black Forest by special trains and was only allowed to return after German troops occupied France. On November 10, 1938, the Jewish synagogue of Kehl was broken into by Kehl supporters of the SS and members of the Gestapo and all ritual objects were destroyed. All Jewish men from Kehl and the surrounding area were taken to the city hall, abused and then deported to the Dachau. After this night, the Jewish community had to sell the synagogue to the city, after which it was demolished in 1939. Kehl then became a suburb of Strasbourg. This status was retained even after the war. Kehl was released in accordance with the Washington Agreement on the Clearance of the City of Kehl by France from April 8, 1949, in 42 partial releases from July 29, 1949, to April 8, 1953. At that time (1945 to 1953) Sondheim was an independent municipality, which was then reunited with the city of Kehl. The city and the entire district of Kehl then belonged to the administrative district of South Baden…

Most-observed species

• Great Tit

  Parus major Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  2,136
• Eurasian Blackbird

  Turdus merula Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  2,097
• Carrion Crow

  Corvus corone Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  1,940
• Common Chaffinch

  Fringilla coelebs Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  1,638
• House Sparrow

  Passer domesticus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  1,625
• Eurasian Blue Tit

  Cyanistes caeruleus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  1,617
• Common Wood-Pigeon

  Columba palumbus Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  1,527
• Mute Swan

  Cygnus olor (J.F.Gmelin, 1789) · Aves
  1,386

Most recent

• M 3.5 — 2024-06-27
  1 km SSW of Todtmoos, Germany
• M 3.4 — 2022-10-16
  Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany
• M 4 — 2022-07-09
  2 km NNE of Grosselfingen, Germany
• M 4.1 — 2021-06-26
  2 km SE of Hœrdt, France
• M 3.1 — 2018-05-04
  2 km W of Schliengen, Germany
• M 2.7 — 2008-12-25
  1 km NNW of Blodelsheim, France