Landau is a town with 43000 inhabitants and an area of 83 km².

 

 

Landau was founded by count Emich IV. of the house of Leiningen, who erected a fortification in the strategical advantageous lowlands in front of castle Landeck near Klingenmuenster.

Landau was conferred town ordinances in 1274 by Rudolph I. of Germany. Landau was mortgaged to the bishop of Speyer in 1324. It was released in 1511 by holy roman emperor Maximilian I.

After the peace of Westphalia in 1648 parts of the Alsace where transferred to France, Landau and other towns of the Alsace still belonged to Germany but where abandoned by the german government, so Landau belonged to France from 1680. It was reconstructed as a fortification town by Sebastien Le Prestre de Vauban from 1688 to 1691, burning down large parts of the medieval town.

In the war of the spanish succession in 1701 the leadership of the french fortification Landau changed numerous times, in 1702 imperial royal troops alternated the french command, 1703 french troops recaptured Landau, in 1704 imperial royal troops recaptured Landau again. In 1713 duke Karl Alexander of Wuerttemberg besieged the fortress and the french troops recaptured Landau once again.

Like in the rest of France the french revolution from 20 july 1789 reached Landau. After the first victory in the liberation war against Napoleon Bonaparte in 1814 Landau still belonged to France. The congress of Vienna in 1816 attached Landau to the kingdom of Bavaria after it was under provisorily austrian administration in 1815.

After the war of 1871 Landau was no border town no more because Germany outstretched in french territory. The fortification was dismantled and Landau became the center of palatinate wine trade und shortly after the most prosperous palatinate town what is still noticeable by magnificent architecture