Mulhouse (German Mülhausen), city in eastern France, in Haut-Rhin Department, on the Ill River, in Alsace, near Germany. A textile center since the 18th century, the city also has a fertilizer industry based on nearby potash deposits. Peugeot operates one of its main automobile plants in Mulhouse. Mulhouse dates from the 9th century. In 1308 it became a free imperial city, and in the 16th century it was allied with the Swiss Confederation. In 1798 the city voted to join France. It was under German rule from 1871 to 1918, when it was returned to France. Population (1999) 110,359.
