La Petite France/ Small France,
Alsatian Französel, is a picturesque district in the historic center
of Strasbourg. It has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site
since 1988.
The district is delimited to the north by the
quai de la Bruche, the rue du Bain-aux-Plantes, the place
Benjamin-Zix and the rue des Dentelles; to the east by rue du
Pont-Saint-Martin, the Saint-Martin bridge and the Moulins
footbridge; to the south by the Zorn mill canal; to the west by the
Covered Bridges.
The Petite France district only appeared as an urban unit during the
20th century. Originally, the term "Little France" was in fact reserved
for the embankment which separates the canal from the Spitz mill and the
navigation canal. The expression extended to include during the 20th
century three entities that had been distinct until then: the covered
bridges, the Moulins district and the area around rue du
Bain-aux-Plantes, whose creations date back to the Middle Ages. . In
this sense, Petite France does not constitute a historic district of the
city stricto sensu but rather a picturesque district which has emerged
as an image of the Epinal of Alsace with its half-timbered houses
forming narrow alleys at the edge of the Ill.
Rue du
Bain-aux-Plantes, part of which is also called the tanners' quarter, was
occupied by many tanneries, as evidenced by the oldest houses which have
ventilated attics for drying hides. The Moulins district was populated
by millers. The territories of what is now Petite France were poor and
poorly frequented. There were executioners and prostitutes but also
fishermen. Because of this poverty, the houses were built in
half-timbered construction, which today gives the neighborhood its
identity.
In 1687, an establishment intended for patients with
syphilis, then called “mal des Français”, was transferred there from
Finkwiller, which later gave its name to the district (see “History of
the name of Petite France” below). Until the 19th century, rue du
Bain-aux-Plantes was separated from the Saint-Thomas district by the
Tanneurs ditch, which was filled in 1840 and allowed the creation of
Place Benjamin-Zix.
As mentioned above, the district of Petite France seems to have
appeared under this name only during the 20th century. Indeed, neither
Adolphe Seyboth nor Frédéric Piton mention it in their works on the
history of urban planning in Strasbourg published at the end of the 19th
century. The term "im kleinen Frankreich" then refers only to the
embankment separating the Spitz mill canal and the navigation canal.
Until the 19th century, the three entities which today form the
district were designated “am Pflanzbad”, “der Mühlenplan” and “bei den
Gedeckten Brücken”. "Am Pflanzbad" designated the current rue and
impasse du Bain-aux-Plantes which were then separated from the rue des
Dentelles by the ditch of the Tanners, which ran in place of the current
rue du Fossé-des-Tanneurs and Place Benjamin Zix. The “Mühlenplan” still
corresponds today to the rue des Moulins, which is sometimes called the
mill district.
Incurables Hospital
The origin of the
expression "Little France" is to be found in the Alsatian hospice
Blatterhüs. The hospice for lansquenets was first founded in Finkwiller,
then moved in 1687 to a new building erected at No. 6 rue des Moulins,
Alsatian Blodergängel, on the current Quai de la Petite-France and
baptized Alsatian Französel (Little-France ).
The foundation in
1503 of the first hospice located at Finkwiller followed the return of
the bands of lansquenets of the King of France Charles VIII, who had
just besieged Naples and brought back with them syphilis, from then on
called "French sickness".
In the 18th century, the place was
called Hôpital des Incurables and the house was renamed La Petite France
in 1795. which was formerly called “am Pflanzbad” and the “Mühlenplan”.
A picturesque district, very popular with tourists and with many
restaurants, Petite France is crossed by the Zorn (“Zornmühle”), Düntz
(“Düntzmühle”) and Spitz (“Spitzmühle”) mill canals, as well as by the
navigation. It has preserved a large number of half-timbered houses,
including the Tanners' house and the Haderer house.
La Petite
France has two churches: the former Saint-Martin church, next to the
bridge of the same name, which now houses the TJP theater and the
Methodist church of Sion on Benjamin-Zix square just opposite the house
tanners.
The former Glacières de Strasbourg ceased operations in
1990. They now house a hotel.
The covered bridges, formed by four
towers, close the district to the west. Just upstream is the Vauban dam.
Please note: rue des Dentelles is not strictly part of the Petite
France district. Indeed, before the filling of the tanners' ditch, it
was excluded from it; which is also noticeable in the architecture of
its houses, often built of masonry, whereas the habitats of Petite
France were made of half-timbering.