I have often thought that borders drawn by humans between nation states are somewhat artificial. Of course there are exceptions. For someone like me from the United Kingdom, some of the borders between the UK and other nation states are natural. There is a coastline. But staying in Saarbrücken, located in the west of Germany near the French border I was reminded of how arbitrary borders between nation states can be. We had spent the previous day in Luxemburg, so we had crossed quite a few borders in the last few days; although - of course - since 1992, within the European Union you can just drive straight through (albeit at a reduced speed).
Furthermore, the borders between nation states in Europe have been dynamic over the years. Under the treaty of Versailles (1919) and as compensation for the destruction of French coal mines during the first world war, the Saar coal mines (Saarbrücken is the capital of the region of Saarland in Germany) were given to France as exclusive property. As part of this treaty, a plebiscite was required in 1935. In this ballot, more than 90% of the electorate voted for re-unification with Germany, 0.8% of that population voted to stay within France, with the remainder voting for maintenance of the league of nations administration. The Saar subsequently rejoined Germany.
Saarbrücken was heavily bombed during the war and then made part of the French zone of occupation in 1945. In 1947, France created the nominally politically independent Saar protectorate, and merged it economically with France to exploit it's vast coal reserves. Political pressure on France from West Germany together with the rejection by Saarlanders of the Europeanisation of the area, led to the reunion with West Germany on 1 January 1957. It is said that economic re-integration would take many more years.
Although the border between France and Germany has been dynamic in many areas over the years, I understand that it is unique that this area has become it's own country (They even had their own national football team, which has played Germany.). This makes the Saarland and Saarbrücken unique. My travelling companion went to University in this area, and she notes that the Saarland is famous for it's good food and beer. Also, the people around there are noted for being - perhaps - a little bit more relaxed and easy going, than Germans as a whole
From the four or five days that we spent there, I can attest to that. The food was excellent - particularly two meals that we had in a particular pub attached to a brewery. The company we had in this area, mostly consisting of my old friends of my companion was excellent. The local people seem very welcoming to strangers.
I should also mention that the weather we experienced in mid April was excellent: warm and sunny. So on a sunny day my travelling companion and I decided to do a walk that she had enjoyed many times in previous years. I found it unusual that the walk started from a car park half way up a hill above a hospital. The first time - I think - that I had set of for a walk from near a hospital car park.
We set off on our short walk over the hill. Somewhere on that walk we entered France. It is not clear as you walk along the wide path, when you walk into France. So an interesting thing about this walk was that we weren't quite sure whether to greet people in French or German.
After a couple of miles you get to a small settlement, with a pub a car park and - strangely - a tank, called Spicherer Höhe. The tank commemorates efforts by, I believe, American troops to liberate this area during the war. We went for a drink in the pub and suddenly the atmosphere was definitely French. I still think it remarkable that by taking a short walk you can go from somewhere that is definitely German (albeit with it's own unique twist) to somewhere that feels French.
For a long time it has seemed really obvious to me that borders in Africa are entirely arbitrary. I understand that they were drawn up by Europeans sitting in offices, that were remote to the borders themselves. And they took no account of tribal domains or local culture. I suppose that it is less true of Europe, surely national borders between sovereign countries is a Western European notion. But, despite that, I still feel that they are somewhat arbitrary even in Europe.
However, given this short walk that we took, I have to concede that you do seem to experience something entirely different when you cross the border into France. The people speak a different language, they behave in a different way, their attitudes come with a different hallmark. The place feels culturally different. In this part of the world, as soon as you cross the border the whole place seems to scream France! Perhaps in Europe, borders are not so arbitrary after all.
Furthermore, the borders between nation states in Europe have been dynamic over the years. Under the treaty of Versailles (1919) and as compensation for the destruction of French coal mines during the first world war, the Saar coal mines (Saarbrücken is the capital of the region of Saarland in Germany) were given to France as exclusive property. As part of this treaty, a plebiscite was required in 1935. In this ballot, more than 90% of the electorate voted for re-unification with Germany, 0.8% of that population voted to stay within France, with the remainder voting for maintenance of the league of nations administration. The Saar subsequently rejoined Germany.
Saarbrücken was heavily bombed during the war and then made part of the French zone of occupation in 1945. In 1947, France created the nominally politically independent Saar protectorate, and merged it economically with France to exploit it's vast coal reserves. Political pressure on France from West Germany together with the rejection by Saarlanders of the Europeanisation of the area, led to the reunion with West Germany on 1 January 1957. It is said that economic re-integration would take many more years.
Although the border between France and Germany has been dynamic in many areas over the years, I understand that it is unique that this area has become it's own country (They even had their own national football team, which has played Germany.). This makes the Saarland and Saarbrücken unique. My travelling companion went to University in this area, and she notes that the Saarland is famous for it's good food and beer. Also, the people around there are noted for being - perhaps - a little bit more relaxed and easy going, than Germans as a whole
From the four or five days that we spent there, I can attest to that. The food was excellent - particularly two meals that we had in a particular pub attached to a brewery. The company we had in this area, mostly consisting of my old friends of my companion was excellent. The local people seem very welcoming to strangers.
I should also mention that the weather we experienced in mid April was excellent: warm and sunny. So on a sunny day my travelling companion and I decided to do a walk that she had enjoyed many times in previous years. I found it unusual that the walk started from a car park half way up a hill above a hospital. The first time - I think - that I had set of for a walk from near a hospital car park.
We set off on our short walk over the hill. Somewhere on that walk we entered France. It is not clear as you walk along the wide path, when you walk into France. So an interesting thing about this walk was that we weren't quite sure whether to greet people in French or German.
After a couple of miles you get to a small settlement, with a pub a car park and - strangely - a tank, called Spicherer Höhe. The tank commemorates efforts by, I believe, American troops to liberate this area during the war. We went for a drink in the pub and suddenly the atmosphere was definitely French. I still think it remarkable that by taking a short walk you can go from somewhere that is definitely German (albeit with it's own unique twist) to somewhere that feels French.
For a long time it has seemed really obvious to me that borders in Africa are entirely arbitrary. I understand that they were drawn up by Europeans sitting in offices, that were remote to the borders themselves. And they took no account of tribal domains or local culture. I suppose that it is less true of Europe, surely national borders between sovereign countries is a Western European notion. But, despite that, I still feel that they are somewhat arbitrary even in Europe.
However, given this short walk that we took, I have to concede that you do seem to experience something entirely different when you cross the border into France. The people speak a different language, they behave in a different way, their attitudes come with a different hallmark. The place feels culturally different. In this part of the world, as soon as you cross the border the whole place seems to scream France! Perhaps in Europe, borders are not so arbitrary after all.
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