[3] In 1681, the Imperial City of Strasbourg, a territory of the Holy Roman Empire that included Kehl, was annexed by Louis XIV, King of France.

This annexation was recognized by the Treaty of Ryswick in 1697, but all right-bank territories were restored to the Empire,[3] leading to Kehl's cession to the Margraviate of Baden the following year.

This island, which was uninhabited at the time but turned into a middle class settlement until the First World War, became known as Kommissionsinsel after the commission that took over Marie Antoinette.

The village was badly damaged during the French Revolutionary Wars, especially during the Rhine Campaign of 1796, during the first and second battles of Kehl, and it was besieged by the Austrians in late 1796 until its surrender on 9 January 1797.

After briefly being subject to Austria, the city was finally returned to Baden (now a Grand Duchy) in 1815 and the fortress was dismantled.

In 1861, the first railway bridge was built and the first direct connection from Paris to Vienna was established, with locomotives being changed over in Kehl.

During the French occupation of the 1690s, Kehl became Roman Catholic again, only to revert to Lutheranism after being ceded back to the margrave of Baden.

Population development:[8] The city of Strasbourg lies opposite Kehl over the river Rhine and the two share some municipal services.