Lingolsheim, Bas-Rhin Département, Grand Est, France

🇫🇷 Lingolsheim is a commune in the Bas-Rhin department in Grand Est in north-eastern France. The town lies near Strasbourg.

Geography Lingolsheim is situated south-west of Strasbourg, being a principal suburb between the city centre and Strasbourg Airport. Road access to the city is provided by departmental roads RD 392 and RD 222 and, less directly, by the region's main south-north autoroute. The commune is on the railway line that connects Strasbourg with Molsheim and Sélestat, and is served by Line B of the Strasbourg tram network as well as several bus routes.

It lies on the small rivers Bruche and Ill.

History Nineteenth-century industrialisation Outcomes of the Franco-Prussian War included the annexation in 1871 of Alsace by Germany. A period of rapid modernisation ensued throughout the Strasbourg region, involving population growth, urbanisation and industrial expansion.

For Lingolsheim, a defining feature of this modernisation was the creation and rapid development of a large industrial tannery by Adler & Oppenheimer Aktiengesellschaft. By 1914 the business employed 2,000 and leather dominated the town's economy.

These years also saw the establishment of a major sand extraction industry. The local soil, rich in red and white sands, was intensively exploited during the closing years of the nineteenth century.

Twentieth century wars Lingolsheim was not much affected by the fighting in the First World War, but following the defeat of Germany the whole of Alsace found itself transferred back to France.

The Second World War was more damaging. Immediately before the German invasion of 1940, the town's tanneries were evacuated to Rennes where they remained until after the war. In the autumn of 1940 Lingolsheim was incorporated into "Großstraßburg". The buildings that had housed the tanneries were converted into a large workshop dedicated to repairing tanks. During this war Lingolsheim was subjected to several bombardments.

Geography: Location It is adjacent to Strasbourg (Green Mountain district) and the cities of Eckbolsheim, Entzheim, Geispolsheim, Holtzheim and Ostwald, which are like it part of the Eurometropolis of Strasbourg.

Transport • Public transport: the municipality is served by the Strasbourg-Molsheim-Sélestat train line at Lingolsheim station, by line B of the Strasbourg tram as well as by the buses of the Strasbourg transport company No. L1, 12, 13 and 22 and the Illkirch-Lingolsheim shuttle. • Route: Lingolsheim is located in the western/southwest suburbs of the Strasbourg agglomeration and is accessible from Strasbourg by the A35 motorway (via exit No. 4 "Porte de Schirmeck" and the D 392/Route de Schirmeck or via exit 6 "La Vigie" at the Échangeur de la Vigie and the D 222), and by • Air: it is located 5 km from Strasbourg Entzheim airport.

Economy The Mexican building materials multinational, Cemex, has a ready-to-use concrete unit there[ref. necessary].

Canberra, a manufacturer of nuclear measuring devices, has established one of its twelve global sites in Lingolsheim.

The German group Jungheinrich has established its Strasbourg agency there.

One of the five national locations of the Sigma Group is in Lingolsheim.

Octapharma operates two sites (including a logistics) in Lingolsheim.

Higher education A private higher education institution is located on the activity park known as: Parc Club des Tanneries. It is an antenna of the Cesi group, an engineering school.

Secondary and primary education The city has 3 kindergartens, 3 elementary schools, and 3 primary schools, each offering a school catering and daycare service and 2 secondary school colleges. It has a bilingual Franco-German network allowing training in both languages, from kindergarten to college.

Cultural education The city has an art and music school, La Maison des Arts, located in the city centre not far from the town hall, as well as a dance school, Le Studio, located at the entrance to the city from Strasbourg.

Culture The Médiathèque Ouest, which is one of the three media libraries directly belonging to the Eurometropolis of Strasbourg, is located in Lingolsheim.

Places and monuments • Lingolsheim station • Tanneries