Wissembourg

Wissembourg is a commune in the Bas-Rhin department in Grand Est in northeastern France.It is situated on the little river Lauter close to the border between France and Germany approximately 60 km north of Strasbourg and 35 km west of Karlsruhe. Wissembourg was a sub-prefecture of the department. The name Wissembourg is a Gallicized version of Weißenburg in German meaning "white castle". The Latin place-name, sometimes used in ecclesiastical sources, is Sebusium.The town was annexed by France after 1648 but then incorporated into Germany in 1871. It was returned to France in 1919, but reincorporated back into Germany in 1940. After 1944 it again became French.