Sundgau

Sundgau (suŋɡo or syŋɡo; ˈzʊntɡaʊ) is a geographical territory in the southern Alsace region (Haut Rhin and Belfort), on the eastern edge of France. The name is derived from Alemannic German Sunt-gowe ("South shire"), denoting an Alemannic county in the Old High German period. The principal city and historical capital is Altkirch. The considerably smaller French pays of Sundgau, implemented by the 1999 Loi Voynet, roughly corresponds to the arrondissement of Altkirch, comprising four cantons and 112 communes in the south of the larger Sundgau region. The hilly region is bounded on the south by the Swiss border and the foothills of the Jura, in the east by the valley of the Rhine in the vicinity of Basel, to the north by Mulhouse and the potassium-rich basin of Alsace, and to the west by the Belfort Gap. It comprises parts of the modern Department of Haut-Rhin and the Territory of Belfort in the regions of Alsace and the Franche-Comté. The fertile loess soil has traditionally favoured a non-specialised agriculture, with crop production being largely organised into strips. The main crops are maize, wheat and colza. The Ill, the most important river in Alsace, crosses Sundgau from south to north before flowing into the Rhine. Its source is at Winkel in the foothills of the Jura. Other rivers define the region's valleys, such as the Largue, which rises near Courtavon, passes through Dannemarie, and meets the Ill at Illfurth. In medieval times, monks raised carp in the small valley ponds and carpe frite (fried carp) remains a regional speciality. The images of two carp also appear in the coat of arms of Sundgau. Archaeological digs have revealed vestiges of palaeolithic and Neolithic settlements. Traces of Bronze Age cremation pyres have also been found. Excavations at Illfurth date from the Iron Age (650 BC to 430 BC). In the 1st century BC, the Sequani tribe (the most "Gaulish of Gauls" according to historian Henri Martin), which was centered around Besançon, settled in Sundgau.