Strasbourg been populated since the middle Paleolithic. Between 362 and 1262, Strasbourg was governed by the bishops of Strasbourg; their rule was reinforced in 873 and then more in 982. In 1262, the citizens violently rebelled against the bishop's rule (Battle of Hausbergen) and Strasbourg became a free imperial city. It became a French city in 1681, after the conquest of Alsace by the armies of Louis XIV. In 1871, after the Franco-Prussian War, the city became German again, until 1918 (end of World War I), when it reverted to France. After the defeat of France in 1940 (World War II),
Strasbourg-Ortenau Eurodistrict Strasbourg-Ortenau Eurodistrict The Eurodistrict Strasbourg-Ortenau is a Franco-German eurodistrict, a cross-border administrative entity ("European Grouping for Territorial Cooperation") sharing common institutions, established on 17 October 2005 and definitely functional since 4 February 2010. The district is formed by the Eurométropole de Strasbourg (centred on the city of Strasbourg) and 3 other urban communities (of Rhinau, Erstein and Benfeld) in the Grand Est region on the French side of the Rhine and the Ortenau district (including Achern, Kehl, Lahr, Oberkirch and Offenburg) in the Baden-Württemberg region on the German side. The population of the district was 915,000 in 2014. It covers