Kehl, a town of Germany, in Alsace-Lorraine, on the right bank of the Rhine, at its junction with the Kinzig, opposite Strasburg; pop. about 4,000. It was fortified by the French toward the close of the 17th century, and was restored to Germany by the treaty of Ryswick (1697). Subsequently the fortifications were razed, and it became a thriving manufacturing and commercial place. During the revolution the fortifications were restored, and in 1815 again demolished, the town having been in the interval alternately in German and French possession, and endured many sieges and other vicissitudes. A new bridge over the Rhine, completed in 1861, placed Kehl in direct communication with the French railways, and trade prospered till 1870, when the Franco-German war injured the place. On July 22 the Germans began to blow up the railway bridge, and the French subsequently opened fire, destroying the handsome Gothic church, the custom house, the railway depot, and 40 private houses. Kehl belonged to the grand duchy of Baden till 1874, when it became part of Alsace-Lorraine.