Strasbourg is located in the historic region of Alsace, of which it is considered the capital, and was the capital of the administrative region of the same name from 1982 to 2015. Strasbourg is mainly known as the capital of Europe, the city is home to many European institutions (European Parliament, Council of Europe, Human Rights Palace). But it is also a very interesting tourist destination, be it at the historical level with its old city inscribed on UNESCO World Heritage since 1988 or for the diversity of the neighborhoods that make it up; from the nineteenth-century university district to the European quarter. The city itself is one of the 9 largest cities in France, and the agglomeration has nearly half a million inhabitants. It is located in the heart of the so-called European megalopolis which makes it easy for all tourists wishing to visit the city.
Strasbourg, seat of the European Parliament and capital of Alsace, has a
semi-continental climate, with cold winters and relatively hot summers.
Indeed, due to its eastern position, the climate is "German", that is to
say that of the Rhine corridor to which it belongs.
The average
temperature in January is 2°C, that of July is 20°.
Precipitation
amounts to 660 mm per year, so it is not abundant, but it is well
distributed throughout the year, given that the Atlantic disturbances
can pass all year round; however, the rains are more abundant between
May and September, thanks to the afternoon thunderstorms which can break
out in the hot season.
Winter, from December to February, is cold
and grey, with average temperatures close to freezing. However, there
are different weather situations. When the currents come from the
Atlantic, the temperatures are quite mild, so much so that the maximums
can reach or exceed 10 degrees, it can rain and there can be strong
winds. When the air is more stable and the winds are light, temperatures
are near average and there can be fog and low clouds. On the other hand,
when cold winds from Eastern Europe arrive, the temperature drops below
freezing and it can snow.
Sometimes there can be cold spells,
during which temperatures can drop to -10°C or even below. The
temperature fell to -24°C in January 1942, to -22°C in February 1956, to
-23°C in January 1971, to -18°C in January 1982, to -17.5°C in January
1985 , -19.5°C. °C in February 1986, -18.5°C in January 1987, -17°C in
January 1997, -16.5°C in December 2009, -18.5°C in December 2010, and
-15°C in February 2012.
Spring, from March to May, is cool and
unstable, and moderately rainy. The season is cold at first, with
snowfall and possible frosts in March, then gradually becomes milder,
but with a possible return of the cold, in April. In May, it can be
cold, especially in the first half of the month, with lows close to
zero, but the first hot days can also be recorded, especially in the
second half of the month, when the first thunderstorms after noon can
also occur.
In summer, from June to August, the temperatures are
generally pleasant and suitable for outdoor activities, although
sometimes there can be rains and thunderstorms.
Sometimes very
hot periods can occur, usually of short duration, which in recent years
have become more frequent due to global warming, and in which
temperatures can exceed 32°C. The temperature reached 38.5°C in August
2003, 37°C in June 2014, 38.5°C in July 2015, 39°C in August 2015, and
again, in two separate episodes, at the end of June and in August 2019.
Autumn, from September to November, is initially mild and not too
rainy, and gradually becomes more grey, cold and rainy. In November, the
first frosts and the first snowfalls usually occur, but already in
October it can sometimes be cold.
Sunshine in Strasbourg is rare
in winter, when gray and cloudy days prevail, and it is discreet from
May to August, when the sun shines on average 7 hours a day. There are
1700 hours of sunshine per year.
The best time to visit Strasbourg is from mid-May to the end of September. There are a few afternoon thunderstorms, cool and rainy days, and even very hot days (especially from mid-June to mid-August), but generally the weather is pleasant.
Strasbourg and Region Tourist Office 17, Place de la Cathédrale, telephone +33 3 88 52 28 28, email: info@otstrasbourg.fr opening hours Mon.-Sun.: 9 a.m. - 7 p.m.
There are many possibilities from one mode of transport to
another to reach Strasbourg and its surroundings.
By plane
Strasbourg-Entzheim International Airport +33 3 88 64 67 67 – It is
located about twenty kilometers south-west of Strasbourg.
Due to
the European role of Strasbourg, the airport is connected not only
to the main French cities but also to many European cities and the
rest of the world (Casablanca and Tunis for example...).
A
rail shuttle provided by the T.E.R. Alsace serves Strasbourg train
station and provides direct access to the city center by the tram
and bus network, all in just ten minutes. The price of a ticket
combining the single route on the two networks is €4.
For
motorists, the airport is well connected to the local road network,
in particular by the A 35 and A 352 motorways which are completely
free to use.
By train
Strasbourg station +33 892 35 35 35
Since the establishment of the TGV Est in June 2007 between
Vaires-sur-Marne (Seine-et-Marne) and Baudrecourt (Moselle), it took
a travel time of 2 h 20 from Paris. Since 2014, the second section
between Baudrecourt and Vendenheim (Bas-Rhin) has completed the
line, and the journey between Paris and Strasbourg now takes just 1
hour 50 minutes. This event confirms the city's vocation as a
crossroads-European capital , by connecting it to the TGV Rhin-Rhône
network as well as to the German ICE (equivalent to the French
T.G.V., etc.).
To get to Strasbourg from other provincial
towns, it takes 6:30 to 7:00 from Bordeaux (three direct TGVs per
day), 3:20 to 4:00 from Lille and 3:40 from Lyon (3:15 in December
2012…).
On this occasion, many development works were
undertaken at Strasbourg station to cope with the massive influx of
new passengers. Thus, an extension of the infrastructures with the
huge glass roof or "Hall des Transports" which covers part of the
station square, and an improvement of the transport platform giving
correspondence to the tram lines A and D in their underground
station as well than towards the lines of urban buses and interurban
coaches has been extensively operated. Since the end of 2011, the
new line C, whose terminus is located on the surface (north exit of
the station), provides direct access to the university campus via
the city center, Homme de Fer station and Place Broglie.
You
should also know that it is possible to take lines B and F directly
from the Faubourg National station. it can be reached on foot (in a
few minutes) via the Petite Rue de la Course.
Locally in
Alsace, the T.E.R. is very efficient and fast while providing good
geographical coverage. It takes 50 minutes to connect Mulhouse from
the Alsatian capital. But the Strasbourg agglomeration and the
region are tending to improve it considerably by creating the
tram-train (which is scheduled for delivery in 2016...) which
connects the Strasbourg urban tram network to that of the T.E.R.
Alsace serving the Piedmont of the Vosges. We can thus take the tram
in the historic center of Strasbourg to embark on the discovery of
the Alsace region without changing the mode of transport, therefore
without taking the train and this on the S.N.C.F network. classic.
By car
West
A4
From Paris
Perfectly connected to
the many Ile-de-France ring roads, the A4 motorway or Autoroute de
l'Est allows direct access to the center of the Alsatian capital in
just 5.5 hours, via Reims and Metz. The entire route generally
presents no traffic problems and even allows you to admire the most
beautiful forest valleys, especially in the crossing of the Northern
Vosges which is among the most remarkable. Count €35.8 in toll
charges in 2011.
From Paris
The N4 road which passes
through Saint-Dizier and Nancy is ideal if you wish to follow a
route without tolls, be aware however that this route remains
dangerous (traffic sometimes heavy and infrastructures not always
secure...) and quite basic in terms of comfort (rather rare service
areas...). Allow at least 6.5 hours for the journey, arriving in the
Strasbourg conurbation via the A351 motorway, which is certainly
free, but congested during office hours. It is nevertheless possible
to recover the A4 motorway near Phalsbourg if you decide to reduce
your long and difficult journey by 0:30, the toll therefore costs
3.3 € in 2011.
From Belgium and Luxembourg
Follow the
Luxembourg A3 motorway once past the capital of the Grand Duchy
which communicates with the French A31, turn off onto the A4
motorway north of Metz towards Strasbourg.
South
A35
From Burgundy and Lyon
The most chosen route is from the A36
motorway via Besançon and Belfort, take the A35 motorway (free...)
once you have crossed the town of Mulhouse.
From Switzerland
North of Basel, the A35 motorway begins at Saint-Louis once you have
crossed the border, but it is possible to go through Germany by
following motorway 5 and exit at Appenweier near Offenburg, take
road 28 in management of Kehl.
East and North from Germany
The possibilities of crossing the border are numerous. There are
obviously other crossing points.
A35 to the north – The A35
motorway crosses the border at Lauterbourg, about 50 km from
Strasbourg.
N4 to the east. – The Pont de l'Europe, between
Strasbourg and Kehl on the German road 28 and the French road N4
N353 to the south – The Pflimlin Bridge leads directly onto the A35
motorway and the N353 road
On a boat
Marina Rue de
Boulogne
The city center of Strasbourg (historic center) is very largely
pedestrian, driving there is therefore strongly discouraged. It is
better to prefer public transport, cycling or walking to get there
and get around.
Cycle paths
With more than 560 kilometers
of cycle paths and lanes, Strasbourg has the largest cycling network
in France. In addition, the many routes arranged in the Bas-Rhin and
Haut-Rhin allow you to travel through all of Alsace by bike. A map
of the cycle paths of the Strasbourg agglomeration is available in
all tourist offices, district town halls and bicycle shops, as well
as on the city's website: Strasbourg.eu: Section Travel Another map
(cycle paths of the Bas -Rhin) covers routes leaving the
agglomeration, in particular those along canals to Saverne, Molsheim
or Sélestat; it is available at the Hôtel du Département (Conseil
Général du Bas-Rhin.)
It is possible to purchase a bicycle
from the Vélhop rental service:
In one of the 4 shops
Central station: level -1
Center: 3, rue d'Or (Porte de l'Hôpital
tramway station)
University campus: 23, boulevard de la Victoire
Koenigshoffen: 67, route des Romains;
7 days a week, 24 hours a
day at one of the 11 automatic stations.
The rates for an
occasional rental are variable: € 1 per hour, € 5 per day, € 15 per
week (in store), monthly or yearly packages ... Information and list
of stations available on: Vélhop
Except Vélhop, it is
possible to rent bikes at One City Bike, a shop open 7 days a week
(Sundays and public holidays), at the following address: 5 Petite
Rue du Vieux Marché aux Vins, Strasbourg. The different routes are
recommended and maps and helmets are provided. It is also possible
to request children's bikes and baby seats.
Urban transport
Strasbourg is served by a network of 34 bus lines covering the
entire city and its metropolitan area, and by a mesh network of
trams comprising 6 lines (line F was opened on November 28, 2010):
Line A: from Hautepierre Maillon to Illkirch Lixenbuhl
Line
B: from Lingolsheim Tiergartel to Hoenheim Gare
Line C: from Gare
Centrale to Neuhof Rodolphe Reuss
Line D: from Rotonde to
Aristide Briand
Line E: from Robertsau Boecklin to Baggersee
Line F: from Elsau to Place d'Islande
Bus lines numbered 2 to
72 serve the city more or less well. Here is a selection of routes
that effectively serve the remarkable places of the city and its
surroundings:
Line 2: from Campus d'Illkirch to Pont du Rhin
(serves the central station and the north of the city center.)
Line 6: from Souffelweyersheim Canal (or 6a: Niederhausbergen Ouest
and 6b: Hoenheim Cigognes) to Pont Phario via the banks of the Ill
(Les Halles Pont de Paris stop) and Place de la République.
Line
10: runs around the city center in both directions via the central
station and the banks of the Ill (serves most of the museums along
the waterways.)
Line 21: from Jean Jaurès (tram lines C and D) to
the Jardin des Deux Rives and the border town of Kehl
Line 30:
from Wattwiller to Robertsau (Sainte-Anne and Chasseur variants) via
Saint-Paul Church, the Orangery and the European institutions
district.
The range of service is from 4.30 a.m. to 12.30
a.m., varying according to the mode of transport and the line taken.
The number of passages on the bus lines decreases considerably
during the summer period, as well as in the evening after 9 p.m. The
route of certain tram lines can also be temporarily modified
following unforeseen events (in particular in the city center), or
in the summer due to works.
Some prices:
One Way Ticket: €
1.7 (€ 1.6 for the electronic version on the Badgéo card);
Return
ticket: 3.3 €;
24H ALSA + EMS ticket: € 4.3, individual ticket
which also allows you to borrow the coaches of Network 67 and the
TER Alsace within the territorial limits of the CTS urban network,
as well as the bus line 21 towards Kehl, for a unlimited number of
trips for 24 hours after validation of the ticket;
24H Trio
ticket: 6.8 € (idem, valid for two to three people);
ALSA ticket
+ EMS GROUP DAY Bus-Tram-Car and TER Train: € 6.6 (same lines and
networks, valid for one day on Saturdays, Sundays and public
holidays for a group of two to five people);
P + R ticket: € 4.1
(or € 4.6 at Rotonde station);
P + R Elsau Camping-Car ticket: €
6.
Most tickets are available from ticket vending machines, single
tickets can be purchased from bus drivers (no sale on board trams.)
Relay parkings
It should be noted that the Compagnie des
Transports Strasbourgeois (CTS) has set up a "parking-relay" system,
open Monday to Saturday from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. (exit possible after 8
p.m.), which allows you to park your car for a whole day at a
relatively modest price (3.5 € or 4 € at the Rotonde car park.) This
formula also includes a return tram ticket for all passengers in the
vehicle. There are already a dozen of these car parks.
Information: Park and ride map on the CTS website
A few relay
car parks (P+R) are available at the most practical entrances to the
Strasbourg conurbation:
Baggersee: tram lines A and E + bus lines
7, 27, 62, 65 and 66 (south of the Strasbourg conurbation near
interchange no. 5 of the A35)
Elsau: tram lines B and F + bus
line 40 (accessible directly from interchange No. 4 of the A35),
also open to motorhomes and tourist coaches
Hoenheim Gare: tram
line B at the northern terminus + bus lines 4 and 6
Banks of the
Aar: tram line B + bus line 50 (accessible by interchanges n°35 from
the A4 or n°1 from the A35...)
The advantage is parking for
the day + round trip by tram for all passengers in the vehicle (7
people maximum) for €3.5 except for the P+R Rotonde at €4. The P+R
are open Monday to Saturday from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. and the exit is
free. Maps and timetables available on: Compagnie des Transports
Strasbourgeois Practical information on Vialsace
Taxi
Clic-VTC 1 place de l'homme de fer, +33 6 98 19 47 70, email:
contact@clic-vtc-strasbourg.com €25. – Private transport on demand
with VTC driver. Reservation of short or long journeys in advance
(up to 24 hours in advance) on the platform. The company offers free
customer service available 24 hours a day, including on public
holidays.
ARM VTC, 39 rue de Salm, telephone +33 6 52 17 44 11,
email: contact@armvtc.fr 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. – Your VTC
driver in Strasbourg and Alsace. Best alternative to Taxis and Uber.
ARM VTC, a company that has existed since 2017 to meet the needs of
daily transport with a private driver. Indeed, you do not have to
wait for a taxi to pass in front of you. Simply book your trip in
advance with ARM VTC to save time. Many years of experience have
allowed us to perfect our service.
VTC Van Strasbourgeoise 40 rue
de Molsheim, telephone +33 6 51 08 71 72, email:
Contact@vtc-van-strasbourgeoise.fr open 24 hours a day. – Your VTC
Driver in Strasbourg, Alsace, Germany and Switzerland. Best
alternative to Taxis and Uber. VTC VAN Strasbourgeoise, a company
that meets the needs of daily transport with a private driver.
Transport ART VTC , 3 rue des Frères Lumières 67201 Eckbolsheim, +33
369 145782, email: contact@transportvtcstrabourg.fr Logo indicating
24/7 hours. – Your private VTC driver in Strasbourg, Alsace, Germany
and Switzerland. Strasbourg Europa Park shuttle, airports. The
alternative to Taxis and Uber. Transport ART VTC, a company that
meets the needs of daily transport with private driver VTC in Sedan
or VAN.
Landmarks
Cathedrale Notre- Dame
, 1 place de la Cathédrale Logo indicating hours Open daily from 7:30
a.m. to 11:30 a.m. and 12:40 p.m. to 7 p.m. From 12 p.m. - 12:40 p.m.,
access to the cathedral is reserved for holders of a ticket for the
astronomical clock with the parade of the apostles at 12:30 p.m.
preceded by an explanatory video. stands on a large square paved as in
the Middle Ages. It rests on the foundations of an old Rhine basilica
built in 1015 by Bishop Wernher, of the Habsburg family. Destroyed by
fire, it was replaced by a new cathedral. Almost three centuries passed,
from the foundations begun in 1176 to the spire completed in 1439 only.
Its height of 142 meters made Notre-Dame de Strasbourg the highest
building in Christianity until the 19th century. A climb to the
cathedral's 66 m high viewing platform provides a breathtaking view of
the city and its surroundings.
Maison Kammerzell, 16 Place
Cathédrale – Built in 1589, it is located at the foot of Strasbourg
Cathedral. Its all-wooden exterior and its frescoes painted by Leo Shnug
make it a must-see place in the city. Since 1929, it has been listed in
the Supplementary Inventory of Historic Monuments. Since the 19th
century, it has served as a hotel and restaurant where you can taste the
many specialties of Alsatian gastronomy and all this in a pleasant
setting.
A detour via rue du Maroquin to place du Marché au Cochon is
also unmissable. You are then close to the pier for visits to Strasbourg
by boat as well as the historical museum.
La Petite France/ Small France – La
Petite France is the most picturesque district of old Strasbourg. This
district owes its name to the hospital which was built there to
accommodate French soldiers suffering from smallpox. Built on the banks
of the Ill, it has long been home to fishermen, millers and tanners. The
alleys of Petite France also retain the names of these professions. They
also offer a succession of half-timbered houses from the 16th and 17th
centuries, with vast interior courtyards with large sloping roofs,
opening onto attics where the skins used to be dried. In particular, you
can see the house where Goethe lived. Near the Petite France district,
one can find the Ponts Couverts, dominated by four towers from the 12th
century and the 14th century. These are the remains of the old ramparts
that protected the city of Strasbourg.
The European Parliament
Avenue du Président Robert Schuman, Logo indicating a telephone number
+33 3 88 17 40 01 – Visits last approximately three hours during
sessions and one to two hours outside sessions. Seat of the Parliament
(part-time), it is in these premises that most European decisions are
taken. This is why we also call Strasbourg the capital of Europe.
The
Council of Europe Avenue de l'Europe, Telephone +33 3 88 41 20 29,
e-mail: visits@coe.int Free, but reservation required. – The visits last
one hour, possibility of school groups. Individual visits will be
integrated into the vacant places for group visits.
The European
Court of Human Rights Allée des Droits de l'Homme, Telephone +33 3 88 41
20 18 – Imposing building in the district of the European Institutions.
Specialized conference programs can be offered to the public aware of
human rights issues (min. 15 people), the building cannot be visited
from the inside (information visits only intended for legal
professionals and students in law), the hearings of the Court are public
and take place the last full week of each month.
Price for the museums below €6 - reduced rate €3 Except for the MAMCS €7
- reduced rate €3.5. Admission to museums is free for everyone under 18,
visitors with disabilities, art history students, job seekers, welfare
recipients, members of the ICOM and holders of the PASS-Museums of the
Upper Rhine Prices. Admission to museums is free for everyone on the
first Sunday of each month, with some exceptions.
Museum of
Modern and Contemporary Art (MAMCS), 1 Place Hans Jean Arp, Logo
indicating a telephone number +33 3 88 23 31 31 Open Tuesday to Saturday
from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., Thursday from 12 p.m. to 10 p.m. , Sunday from
10 a.m. - 6 p.m., closed on Monday. Price €7 - reduced price €3.5
(access to the temporary exhibition rooms included). – Located in
Strasbourg, the museum has collections, enriched by several deposits
from institutions and individuals, covering the period from 1870
nowadays. Its geographical domain is mainly centered on Western Europe.
Musee Alsacien,
23-25 Quai Saint-Nicolas, Logo indicating a telephone number +33 3 88 52
50 01 Closed on Tuesdays, from January to March and in July and August:
from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. - from April to June and September to December:
12 p.m. to 6 p.m. on weekdays and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sundays. 6 € -
reduced rate (groups from 20 people, students < 25 years old, 3rd age):
3 € - Free for children under 18. – Discover Alsatian craft traditions:
religious images, furniture, toys, ceramics, costumes.
Rohan Palace (Palais Rohan),
2 Place du Château, telephone +33 3 88 52 50 00 6 € - reduced rate €3
for each museum. – Built between 1732 and 1741 by the architect Robert
de Cotte, the Palais Rohan is the former residence bishops. The Rohan
Palace houses three museums: an archaeological museum in the basement
with many pieces of Latin epigraphy. A Fine Arts museum on the first
floor. It presents a very fine collection of Italian, French, Spanish,
Flemish and Dutch painting, ranging from the 14th century to 1870. You
can see works by Giotto, Memling, Botticelli, Raphaël, El Greco Rubens,
Goyat, Delacroix, Courbet, a museum of Decorative Arts on the ground
floor. It includes two sections: the sumptuous apartments of the
cardinals and a panorama of the decorative arts of Strasbourg from 1681
to the middle of the 19th century (ceramics of the Hannong, furniture,
sculpture, painting, clocks, etc.).
Tomi Ungerer Museum (Tomi Ungerer
Museum/International Center for Illustration), 2 Avenue de la
Marseillaise, Telephone +33 3 69 06 37 27 – Don't miss the erotic
drawings grouped together in the basement.
Zoological Museum, 29
Boulevard de la Victoire, Telephone +33 3 68 85 04 85 – It presents very
varied and rich collections of birds, mammals, marine invertebrates and
insects, with particular emphasis on Alsatian fauna. The museum is
closed for renovation and transformation until an undetermined date in
2023.
Musee Historique/ Strasbourg
Historical Museum, 2 Rue du Vieux Marché aux Poissons, Telephone +33 3
88 52 50 00 – The Historical Museum aims to evoke the urban history of
the city, as well as its political, economic, social and cultural
history.
Musée de l'Œuvre Notre-Dame, 3 Place du Château, Logo
indicating a telephone number +33 3 88 52 50 00 – Medieval and
Renaissance collections of the city.
Cabinet of Prints and Drawings,
5 Place du Château, Telephone +33 3 88 52 50 00 Free. – Works covering
five centuries: fine arts, decorative arts, architecture, history,
popular arts. PLEASE NOTE: Open by appointment only.
Strasbourg
Planetarium, Jardin des Sciences, 13 rue de l'Observatoire, Telephone
+33 3 68 85 24 50, fax: +33 3 68 85 04 88, email:
jds-reservation@unistra.fr – Located in the university district, the
Strasbourg observatory was created in 1981 and inaugurated the following
year. It is equipped with a 481 mm astronomical telescope which is
hidden under a cupola of more than 34 tons!
Parc de l'Orangerie – In the largest park in the city stands a
pleasure pavilion built in 1806 in honor of the Empress Joséphine, who
made several stays in Strasbourg. The development of the French-style
park had begun around 1740, with the rectilinear and radiating layout of
its paths. It was integrated in the 19th century into an English-style
park. The Orangerie is endowed with pleasant attractions. Among them, a
lake, surrounded by a romantic waterfall, which allows amateurs to
indulge in the joys of canoeing, a zoo and a breeding of storks are
growing and multiplying happily. Nearby, at the "mini-farm", barnyard
and domestic animals delight the little ones. The "Buerehiesel", a
pretty half-timbered house brought here for the Industrial Exhibition of
1885, houses a gourmet restaurant.
Jardin des Deux Rives – Strasbourg
and Kehl brought the two banks of the Rhine together in 2004 by creating
a vast cross-border garden in an area of more than 60 hectares for the
Festival des Deux-Rives. By the particular geographical situation and
the strong historical density of the invested place, this garden is
highly symbolic. It is the first park designed on both sides of a border
and seals the Franco-German friendship. Plant waves undulate to the
Rhine, and the aerial Passerelle des Deux Rives designed by the
architect Marc Mimram, allows walkers and cyclists to easily cross the
mythical river. The city of Strasbourg has also invited international
artists to design works that reformulate the dialogue between nature and
art in a contemporary way.
Strasbourg Botanical Garden, 28 rue
Goethe, Logo indicating a telephone number +33 3 68 85 18 65 opening
hours from March to mid-December, open exclusively in the afternoon to
individual visitors. Free rates. – The Botanical Garden of Strasbourg is
close to the Astronomical Observatory and the Universities. Created in
1880 and located in the heart of the city, the Botanical Garden exhibits
more than 6,000 species of plants to the public. It houses various
thematic collections spread over three and a half hectares: greenhouses,
arboretum, school of botany, useful plants, etc. Its primitive function
intended it more especially for students of botany, medicine and
pharmacy. However, it welcomes all visitors who find themselves charmed
and educated. Indeed, each plant bears the indication of its Latin name
and its origin. Managed and maintained by the University of Strasbourg,
it is home to part of the biodiversity of our planet, revealing to
visitors the infinite richness of the plant world.
Parc de la
Citadelle – the park is built around the remains of the citadel built by
Vauban. It is one of the largest parks with 12.5 ha.
The Pourtalès
park – located northeast of the Robertsau district is home to a castle
and the Forts track passes a few meters away.
Christmas market, (Places de la Cathédrale, Broglie, Kléber, Gutenberg and throughout the illuminated city), Telephone +33 3 68 98 50 00, email: courier@strasbourg.eu Prices Free. – From the end of November to the end of December, come and experience Christmas at Alsatian time. Illuminations, wooden huts (where you can find Christmas decorative items, regional or artisanal products) generally make up a Christmas market. There is also something to eat (mulled wine, cakes, pancakes, tarte flambée). Several free concerts take place in the churches and the cathedral. The city publishes a comprehensive guide every year, which is also available online. The tram stops in the interior space of the market are not served at certain times.
Activities for children
Le vessel, 1 bis rue Philippe Dollinger,
Logo indicating a telephone number +33 3 69 33 26 69 Opening hours Tue.
- Sun.: 10 a.m. - 6 p.m. Prices €0-€8. – A space to introduce children
aged 3 to 15 to science in a fun way (in French and German).
Events & exhibitions
You will find information and documentation at
the Boutique Culture, 10 place de la Cathédrale, with a weekly cultural
calendar available online with the free events also listed there.
It
is also a ticket office and is open Tuesday to Saturday from 12 p.m. to
7 p.m.
In July and August
Each year free entertainment is offered
with
Summer courtyard, summer garden in 2 places (Taps gare, Taps
scala Neudorf) depending on the day shows for children, stories, current
music, classical, jazz and musical readings follow one another each week
from mid July to the end of August. Admission is free but it is best to
book, reservations are made one week before the show at the Boutique
Culture. If the show is sold out you can also come the same evening to
be on the waiting list, rare are the people who cannot return.
A
water jet, sound and light show at the Bassin d'Austerlitz - Presqu'île
André Malraux every evening (except July 14 when there is the fireworks
next door) at 10:30 p.m. in July and at 10 p.m. h in August (duration 25
min)
In September
The European Fair, – commercial event which
is held annually in September and which offers visitors a wide variety
of consumer products (furnishings, cooking, housing, well-being, sports,
Lépine competitions, crafts from Alsace and around the world,
agriculture ). Each year, a country is invited to introduce visitors to
its traditions, customs and other particularities. The organizations
want to make this event a moment of exchange and discovery between
countries of the European Union. On this occasion the different sectors
are represented: namely the world of beauty, care and well-being,
interior furnishings, crafts and food with the Garden of Delights. In
addition, nearly 70 sports disciplines will be represented at the fair
to satisfy the curiosity of visitors. Please note: The 7-day withdrawal
period does not apply at fairs and shows. If you sign an order form, you
will not be able to reconsider your decision.
European Fantastic Film
Festival – starts every year in September with a Zombie Walk through the
streets. During the festival meetings, conferences, exhibitions,
retrospectives, etc. have places
Musica – is an international
festival of contemporary music. The festival lasts between 2 and 3 weeks
(from the end of September to the beginning of October) and takes place
in several places.
Electronic Nights of the Ososphere – Festival held
during the last weekend of September. Since 1997, the festival has taken
over the time of two nights, an entire district of Strasbourg. In
addition to an impressive program, this extraordinary event invites the
public to discover an artistic, futuristic and original universe. The
festival consists of 6 stage spaces and dance floors which offer no less
than 60 concerts and a double space dedicated to digital arts, in
particular visual arts and network arts.
In November
St'art
(contemporary art fair of Strasbourg) usually the third week of
November, lasts 4 days from Friday to Monday. – takes place in the
Artists from all over the world come to exhibit their works, which makes
ST'ART one of the largest European art fairs. Second fair in terms of
contemporary art in France, it is also the only French fair to welcome
galleries from all regions of France. Many artists recognized today have
been launched this cultural event. In addition, ST'ART wants to be
accessible to all and respond to the sensitivity of a diverse audience
from connoisseurs to beginners. The main artistic currents of the last
fifty years are thus represented, as well as the young talents of
tomorrow.
University of Strasbourg, 4 Rue Blaise Pascal, Telephone number +33 3
68 85 00 00 – Born from the merger of the three universities Louis
Pasteur, Marc Bloch and Robert Schuman, on January 1, 2009, the
University of Strasbourg becomes the largest French university by number
of students (nearly 42,000).
INSA (National Institute of Applied
Sciences), 24 Boulevard de la Victoire, Telephone +33 3 88 14 47 00 –
Public engineering school.
Local Mission for Employment
The Local Mission. is a community
that helps young people between the ages of 16 and 25 in particular with
their job search.
Several reception points are present in the
city:
Center Ville, 13 rue Martin Bucer, Tel. +33 3 88 76 24 00.
Hautepierre, Maille Catherine - 10 boulevard Balzac, Tel: +33 3 88 27 16
51.
Cronenbourg, 1 rue d'Alembert, Tel. +33 3 90 20 16 20.
Koenigshoffen, 16 rue Tite Live, Tel. +33 3 88 26 96 16.
Strasbourg offers a wide variety of shopping opportunities:
From
the very touristy offer around the Minster to the standard French chain
stores and department stores in the Rue des Arcades, the Place Klebér,
the Rue du Novembre and the Rue Francs-Bourgeois, to the noble
ready-made clothing in the Rue de la Mesange.
There are also
owner-managed, individual shops throughout the old town that offer
fashion, handicrafts, antiques, jewelery and accessories, delicacies,
books, etc. Especially in the area around Rue des Juifs and on the right
bank of the Ill, there are offers for a more urban audience.
During
the Advent season, the entire old town is the scene of a large and very
beautiful Christmas market.
Large shopping centers are Place des
Halles north of the old town and Rivetoile in the Etoile district, as
well as malls on the outskirts of the suburbs (in Reichstett).
Markets are held regularly at various locations in the city, weekly
market Marche du Boulevard de la Marne, Tue and Sat 8 a.m. to 1 p.m
In the city you will find restaurants of all categories and different
cuisines: in addition to traditional Alsatian and classic French
restaurants, there are also Chinese, Arabic, African and Indian
restaurants, some of which are of a high standard.
The
"Winstubs", wine bars with Alsatian cuisine of varying quality, are very
popular with tourists, but also with the people of Strasbourg
themselves. Tourist bars can be found especially in the Petit France
area and in the area around the Minster.
Original Strasbourg
cuisine is quite hearty: Wurstsalat, Presskopf, Fleischschnaka
(meatballs), Choucroute (sauerkraut), etc. There are also French
classics such as foie gras and coq au vin (in this case Riesling).
Strasbourg's "fast food" is the tarte flambee, a thin dough
traditionally "topped" with sour cream, bacon and onions.
Strasbourg is a city of beer drinkers (Kronenbourg), although it is
located in the wine region of Alsace. In the winstubs in particular,
however, some excellent regional wines are offered (Riesling, Pinot,
Gewürztraminer).
Cheap
Flam's. "Upscale" Tarte Flambee
McDonald's.
Winter. “Omi-Treff” for drinking coffee. With restaurant.
Real life almost without tourists.
Aux Petits Crocs. Inexpensive,
quite regional cuisine, very nice service.
Middle
Pepper
Briader. Winstub in a lively alley, view of the Domspitze.
Le Clou.
Winstub - this is where people from Strasbourg go with out-of-town
guests.
Hailich Grab. Winstub - authentic or not, it's natural here.
Restaurant de la Choucrouterie. Sauerkraut, dialect theater, Daniel
Cohn-Bendit.
Upscale
Buerehiesel. A Michelin star.
Au
Crocodile. French, a star, showing its age.
Maison Kammerzell.
Historical building, lives from tradition.
Chez Yvonne -
S'Burjerstuewel. German: Bürgerstube, Edel-Winstub, MEPs
Group accommodation
There is only one youth hostel left in
Strasbourg:
Auberge de Jeunesse Strasbourg - Deux Rives (Auberge de
Jeunesse du Parc du Rhin), 9 Rue des Cavaliers, 67100 Strasbourg (6 km
from the train station, from there by bus no. 2 to "Garden of the Two
Shores", then 10' walk. Alternatively, from the German train station
Kehl, a good 15' walk via the Rhine promenade, over the pedestrian Rhine
bridge, straight ahead to the main exit of the park (side exits closed
in the evening), sharp left about 400 m, past the caravan parking
space.). Tel: +33 3 88455420, Fax: +33 3 88455421, Email:
strasbourg@hifrance.org. The equipment is modern, but still a typical
French bunker with lots of concrete. Preference is given to booking
through "International Booking System" Open: 24 hours/day, all year
round. Price: Senior approx. €29, including bed linen and light
breakfast, HI membership required.
The municipal caravan site right
next to the youth hostel was permanently closed from January 2017.
The more central
René Cassin Youth Hostel, 9, rue de l'Auberge de
Jeunesse. was closed.
Alternatively, you can also stay in Kehl Youth
Hostel, which is a few kilometers away but is temporarily closed for the
winter.
Upscale
Régent Contades, 8 avenue de la Liberté. Tel:
+33(0)388 150505, Fax: (0)388 150515, Email: rc@regent-hotels.com.
Feature: ★★★★.
Régent Petite France, 5 rue des Moulins. Tel:
+33(0)388 764343, Fax: (0)388 764376, Email: rpf@regent-hotels.com.
Feature: ★★★★.
In Strasbourg, as in some other European cities, there is the problem of youth unemployment. In order to earn money, members of fringe groups in particular resort to creative, but also illegal, means. Individual tourists are often approached by hawkers and forced to buy some souvenirs, pickpocketing is also a common crime. However, tourist groups can move around the city quite safely.
By far not all Strasbourg residents speak or understand German or
Alsatian. At the main train station and at hotel receptions, English is
the common language of education.
The postcodes for Strasbourg are
67000, 67100 and 67200.
The Roman predecessor settlement, which arose from a Celtic
settlement, was called Argentorate, to Gallic Argento-, probably a river
name, and rate 'fortification'. Middle Latin forms of names such as
Argentoratum and Argentina can still be found up to the 16th/17th
centuries. Century (Frans Hogenberg, Matthäus Merian, Hartmann Schedel).
The name Straßburg, first attested in 589, is made up of Old High
German strāʒe 'army road' and Old High German burg 'fortified city' and
thus means 'fortified place on the military road from Inner Gaul'. Early
mentions can be found in Gregory of Tours as ad Argentoratesm urbem quam
nunc Strateburgum vocant (589) and Stradeburgum (590), in Nithard as
Strazburg (842) and on Merovingian coins as Stradiburg and Stradeburgo.
An alleged mention already around 400: civitas Argentoratensium id est
Strateburgum is probably an addition from around 600.
Position
The city is situated on the river Ill, which branches out
in the urban area, at an altitude of 139 to 141 m above sea level. The
historic old town is located on the Grande Île (Big Island), which is
surrounded by the two arms of the Ill. The eastern parts of the city
with the harbor border on the Rhine. The town of Kehl is located on the
opposite eastern bank of the Rhine on the German side. Both cities are
connected by the Europa Bridge for road traffic, a railway bridge and a
pedestrian bridge. Since April 29, 2017, there has also been a tram
connection between Strasbourg and Kehl: Line D of the Strasbourg tram
connects Kehl's town hall with the center of Strasbourg, crossing the
Rhine via the Beatus-Rhenanus Bridge. Strasbourg is the terminus of the
Canal de la Marne au Rhin.
Antiquity
The Strasbourg Basin has been more or less continuously
inhabited since around 1300 BC. on. There was already a Gallic
settlement in Strasbourg.
The Roman general Drusus founded
Strasbourg in 12 BC. as a military outpost called Argentoratum in what
later became the province of Germania Superior. Under Trajan and after
the fire of 97, Argentoratum had reached its greatest extent and
strongest fortification. Strasbourg was probably a bishop's seat from
the 4th century: in 1956 the remains of an apse building from this
period were excavated below today's Église Saint-Étienne. In 357, the
Battle of Argentoratum took place in the area. In the 5th century the
Alamanni, Huns and Franks had conquered the city.
The Strasbourg
Oaths were sworn here in 842 and, apart from Latin, were also recorded
in the languages of the respective retainers, Old High German and Old
French, making this the oldest document in an early French language. At
that time, the language of the city and region was Old High German.
Middle Ages, free imperial city, early modern period
The city of
Strasbourg belonged to the Holy Roman Empire from the Middle Ages until
its capitulation in modern times on 30 September 1681 after being
surrounded in peacetime by troops of the Kingdom of France.
The
Müllenheim family (who moved to Strasbourg from neighboring Müllheim im
Breisgau) and the Zorn family were the most important patrician families
in Strasbourg in the Middle Ages, whose rivalry for supremacy in the
imperial city (1262 to 1681) was fought out in regular street battles.
For example, the town hall received B. Two extra entrances, one for the
Müllenheim and one for the Zorn. The two banks of the Ill were also
named after these families; one is called Quai Müllenheim, the other
Quai Zorn.
Under the rule of these families, Strasbourg developed
into one of the most important economic centers in the region. When the
bishop tried to curtail the city's rights, open warfare broke out with
the citizens. In 1262 Bishop Walter von Geroldseck was decisively
defeated in the Battle of Hausbergen and the city gained its
independence from the Bishopric of Strasbourg. As a result, it developed
into a free imperial city (privileged by Emperor Charles IV in 1358. It
remained so until 1681). At about the same time, i. H. By the end of the
13th century, the building management of the Strasbourg Cathedral was no
longer in the hands of the bishop, as was usual with cathedral
buildings, but was the responsibility of the council and the masters
appointed by the city. They appointed the administrative officials who
ran the church factory, which is first found as a "women's work" in
sources from the 1220s, and which was responsible for the construction
and asset management of the Strasbourg Cathedral. The administrators
consisted of two or three orderlies and a conductor, whose duties
included, for example, the twice-yearly accounting, in which the annual
income and expenditure of the women's work were settled.
Strasbourg was a member of both Rhenish town leagues (First Rhenish Town
League from July 13, 1254 to 1257 and Second Rhenish Town League from
1381 to 1389).
The climax of the violent conflict between the
Müllenheim and Zorn families was the so-called "Geschell of the
Müllenheim and Zorn" on May 20, 1332, as a result of which the supremacy
of the city nobility was overthrown, because the real winners of this
fight were the guilds. They ruled in the Fifteenerwörth (Council of
Fifteen), which mainly dealt with the affairs of the guilds, crafts,
trades and commerce. Thus, as a free city, Strasbourg was one of the
first small republics in the Holy Roman Empire. In the years that
followed, around 40 different members of the Müllenheim family were
elected Stettmeister (noble members of the magistrate who alternately
headed the city executive) in 1760. The patriciate had to accept a
further disempowerment after uprisings by the craftsmen in 1482: the new
constitution, which was in force until the French Revolution, gave
two-thirds of the seats in the council to the guilds.
In
connection with the devastating European plague epidemic of 1348-1349
(the Black Death), one of the first and largest pogroms in the wave of
persecution of Jews in connection with the plague in Germany took place
on February 14, 1349: in the course of the Valentine's Day massacre
several hundred (according to some sources even up to 3000) Jews from
Strasbourg were publicly burned, the survivors were expelled from the
city. Until the end of the 18th century, Jews were forbidden on pain of
death to remain within the city walls after 10 p.m.
The western
facade of the Strasbourg Cathedral received its northern steeple from
1399 to 1439. The floors of the facade below already deviate from the
draft of a double tower front from the year 1275. The cathedral remained
the tallest building in the world from 1647 (destruction of the spire of
Stralsund's St. Marienkirche) to 1874 and is still one of the tallest
church towers in the world.
In 1496 syphilis was rampant in
Strasbourg (Geiler von Kaysersberg confused it with smallpox).
After the invention of the printing press in Europe by Johannes
Gutenberg, Strasbourg quickly became an important center for book
production. The Strasbourg printers made a significant contribution to
the spread of the Reformation, because thanks to the far-reaching
religious tolerance of the city, writings by Martin Luther and other
reformers could be published here early on. A third of the writings
printed in the 16th century were Bibles or excerpts from them. In 1605,
Johann Carolus published the news sheet Relation of all Princes and
Memorable Histories here, which is considered the first printed
newspaper in the world.
The idea of the Reformation gained a
foothold in Strasbourg early on. The first evangelical preacher in 1521
was the priest at the Strasbourg Cathedral Matthäus Zell. In 1524 the
council took over the supervision of the church. Although most of its
members were not evangelical themselves, it approved of evangelical
preaching and at times allowed those who were persecuted elsewhere to
settle there, such as Hans Denck, Kaspar Schwenckfeld and various
Anabaptist groups. On February 20, 1529, the city council abolished the
Holy Mass. At the Diet of Augsburg in 1530, Strasbourg also made a
commitment to the Reformation. Strasbourg did not initially join the
Lutheran "Protestants" of the Confessio Augustana, but instead made its
own confession with Memmingen, Constance and Lindau, written by Martin
Bucer and Wolfgang Capito, the Confessio Tetrapolitana, named after the
four cities. In 1531 representatives of the city took part in the
convention in Schmalkalden and later Strasbourg became a member of the
Schmalkaldic League to defend the evangelical estates against Emperor
Charles V. The Wittenberg Agreement of 1536 negotiated between Martin
Luther and Bucer ensured a firmer theological and political connection
to the city Lutheranism. However, members of deviating theological
tendencies were still tolerated as long as they did not endanger the
social peace of the city. The Huguenots found refuge here, and Johannes
Calvin (1509-1564) also stayed in Strasbourg, where Sebastian Castellio
made his acquaintance. Melchior Hofmann, on the other hand, was expelled
in 1531 and arrested on his return in 1533.
The Augsburg Interim
forced the council to return some churches to the bishop, who had been
ousted in 1524, and urged Bucer to emigrate to England. Although the
population refused to attend the fair, it was only abolished in 1559.
Under the influence of Johannes Pappus, the Lutheran doctrine (in
contrast to the Reformed) gained sole validity. In 1584, Strasbourg
applied to join the Confederation. However, their diet delayed the
request because it would have changed the denominational balance to the
detriment of Catholics. In 1598, Strasbourg also committed itself to the
Formula of Concord in a new church order. In the Strasbourg chapter
dispute from 1583 to 1604, however, the Catholic party was able to
assert itself, and the area of the Prince-Bishopric of Strasbourg, i. H.
a large part of the Strasbourg area remained Catholic.
After 1648, France aimed for the Rhine as a border, whereby the
imperial bailiwick gained in the Peace of Westphalia over the
Alsatian imperial cities was used for its own purposes; Strasbourg
was initially exempt from this. Only as part of King Louis XIV's
reunion policy, which began in 1679, did Strasbourg become a target.
The city with Königshofen and Illkirch was occupied by France in the
middle of the peace in September 1681. The French king took
advantage of the military weakness of the Strasbourg protecting
power (the Roman-German Emperor Leopold), since the Habsburg
residence city of Vienna was itself threatened by the Turks. This
change in rulership was confirmed in the Peace of Rijswijk in 1697.
Protestants were barred from public office and the Minster was
re-catholicized. However, the repeal of the Edict of Tolerance of
Nantes by the Edict of Fontainebleau in 1685, which finally
legalized the repression of Protestantism in France, was not applied
in Alsace and freedom of religion prevailed, although the French
authorities tried to outlaw Catholicism, wherever possible to favor.
In 1685, the office of a praetor acting on behalf of the French
ruler was created, who had to ensure that the elected city officials
and the city administration did not act contrary to the interests of
the French king, and who always had to be a Catholic.
The
Lutheran, German-influenced University of Strasbourg continued to
exist. In addition, until 1789 Alsace, as a de facto foreign
province (province à l'instar de l'étranger effectif), was separated
from the rest of France by a customs border running along the
Vosges, i.e. a foreign country under customs law, while there was no
customs border with the Empire. Therefore, the city and its
surroundings remained German-speaking and culturally German.
It was a similar story with the city's coin history. Even after the
occupation by France in 1681, Strasbourg minted coins with the
inscription "MONETA NOVA ARGENTINENSIS" (= New coined money from
Strasbourg) until 1708. The adaptation to the French monetary system
(franc and sous) was only gradual, so that pfennigs (French denier)
and sols (= old French for sous) were occasionally minted in
Strasbourg.
In the years 1770/71 Johann Wolfgang Goethe
studied in Strasbourg. During this time, the city became a focal
point of the literary movement Sturm und Drang. Jakob Michael
Reinhold Lenz and Johann Gottfried Herder lived here, among others.
During the French Revolution, the city became a magnet for
republicans from Germany. The best known of them is Eulogius
Schneider. At the end of April 1794, Enragés from his circle
suggested tearing down the north tower of the Minster as a symbol of
clerical arrogance and violation of the principle of equality
(Égalité). The citizens of Strasbourg resisted this by crowning the
tower with a huge Phrygian cap made of painted tin in mid-May. This
was later kept in the municipal museum and destroyed in 1870 by
Prussian artillery fire. In the following years and decades,
Strasbourg became an exile for German opposition figures and
revolutionaries, such as B. for Georg Büchner.
Claude Joseph
Rouget de Lisle composed the Marseillaise in Strasbourg in April
1792.
In 1790, Strasbourg became the seat of the prefecture
of the newly founded Bas-Rhin department and was also the capital of
the subordinate administrative units, the Strasbourg district (1790
to 1795) and the canton of Strasbourg. When the subordinate
administrative units were reorganized in 1800, Strasbourg became the
capital of the Arrondissement of Strasbourg.
Napoleon
Bonaparte stayed in Strasbourg in 1805, 1806 and 1809 with his first
wife, Joséphine de Beauharnais. In 1810, his future second wife,
Marie-Louise of Austria, spent her first night on French soil in the
city. In 1828 King Charles X also stayed there. On October 29, 1836,
the future Napoleon III. a first, unsuccessful coup attempt in
Strasbourg.
During the Franco-Prussian War, Strasbourg was
besieged and heavily shelled by German troops. The city library was
destroyed with the majority of its valuable holdings (including the
"Hortus Deliciarum") and the city art museum. On September 28, 1870,
the city's surrender was signed in a Chemins de fer de l'Est (French
Eastern Railway) baggage car near Koenigshoffen (Königshofen), after
a month of braving the cannonade.
After the Peace of Frankfurt of May 10, 1871, Strasbourg became
the capital of the imperial state of Alsace-Lorraine in the newly
founded German Empire.
After 1871, alongside the fortresses
of Metz and Cologne, Strasbourg became one of the most important
fortresses in the western part of the German Empire. In the course
of urban expansion and the planning of a new town by Jean Geoffroy
Conrath, a modern wall was built that included older wall sections
from the French period. Remnants of Vauban's citadel are preserved
from the ramparts in the east of the city, but above all large parts
of the Prussian fortifications along the rue du Rempart behind the
train station, including the "War Gate". Iron ditch weirs can still
be seen here today, an absolute rarity then and now. In addition to
this inner wall, in a wide radius around the city, a fortress belt
was built according to the uniform fort system of Hans Alexis von
Biehler, most of which are still standing today and are registered
as monuments historiques, such as Fort Roon (today Fort Desaix) and
Fort Podbielski ( today Fort Ducrot) in Mundolsheim, Fort Moltke
(today Fort Rapp) in Reichstett, Fort Bismarck (today Fort Kléber)
in Wolfisheim, Fort Kronprinz (today Fort Foch) in Niederhausbergen,
Fort Grand Duke of Baden (today Fort Frère) in Oberhausbergen and
Fort Crown Prince of Saxony (today Fort Joffre) in Holtzheim. These
forts were later used by the French Army (For example, Fort
Podbielski/Ducrot was included in the Maginot Line) and also served
as POW camps in 1918 and 1945.
Politically, the situation
after the Franco-Prussian War and the annexation of Alsace-Lorraine
by the German Reich was complex. In 1871, the majority of the
Alsatian population opposed incorporation into the newly founded
German Reich, which was evident in the Reichstag elections after
1871: the Autonomists were the leading party until 1890. In the
years after 1871, however, there was a strong economic upswing in
the city of Strasbourg and Alsace, which at least reconciled part of
the population with German rule. During the period of
industrialization until the late 19th century, the population
tripled to 150,000.
The university was founded in 1872 as the
Kaiser Wilhelm University (after Wilhelm I.) and in the years that
followed developed into one of the most important universities in
the German Empire. Another important change in the cityscape was
brought about by the construction of the new Strasbourg train
station, which was pushed ahead primarily for military reasons. It
was inaugurated in 1883 and remained largely unchanged until the
beginning of the 21st century. The historian Rodolphe Reuss was
commissioned to rebuild the city archives that had been destroyed in
the war. From 1889 to 1914, the imperial curator Wilhelm von Bode
was in charge of reestablishing and equipping the art collections.
The library, which was destroyed in the war, was built up, also by
Reuss, into one of the most important university libraries (today,
after Paris, it is the second largest in France) through donations
from all over the German Reich, among other things. The architects
Hermann Eggert, August Hartel, Skjøld Neckelmann, Otto Warth,
Jacques Albert Brion and Fritz Beblo were primarily commissioned
with the Wilhelmine redesign of the city. Other prestigious
commissions went to Ludwig Becker, Ludwig Levy and Carl Schäfer as
well as Karl und Paul Bonatz.
Municipal economic and social
policy in the pre-war period
The German administrative system
gave the municipalities their own creative freedom, unlike the
centralized French bureaucracy. The municipal code issued in 1895
gave the city of Strasbourg more scope for municipal decision-making
than comparable French municipalities have to date. In
Alsace-Lorraine there was universal equal municipal suffrage, in
contrast to the three-class suffrage in Prussia and restricted
suffrage in most other German states. This made Strasbourg the only
major German city before the World War in which the Social Democrats
were massively represented in the municipal council and, together
with the Left Liberals, were able to significantly influence local
politics. The new town with numerous representative buildings had
already been laid out under the mayor Otto Back. In 1906, with the
decisive votes of the SPD, Rudolf Schwander was elected mayor, who,
with the help of a staff of socio-politically committed employees,
pushed ahead with the expansion of the city. In the so-called Great
Breakthrough, which became the most extensive urban redevelopment
project in the German Reich, run-down slums were demolished and
replaced by generously designed new buildings. A regulation of urban
poor relief and health care was introduced, the Strasbourg system,
with regular visits by the school dentist and doctor. As part of
municipal health care, a municipal public bath and a tuberculosis
sanatorium were built in the Vosges. The expansion of the Strasbourg
Rhine port served the economic upswing. On Schwander's initiative,
the city of Strasbourg also acquired the majority of shares in the
Elektrizitätswerk Straßburg AG, which belonged to the AEG company
empire. The systematic electrification of the central and northern
Alsatian villages then took place under municipal control but
private-sector management, which opened up new sources of income for
the city. Even today, the successor company Électricité de
Strasbourg has a mixed municipal-private legal form; in contrast to
the fully nationalized Électricité de France in the rest of France.
This social-democratically inspired local policy met with
mistrust in conservative circles in Germany. Overall, relations
between the Alsatians and the rest of Germany did not remain free of
tension despite these positive developments. In particular, the
appearance of the military in the Zabern Affair (from November 1913)
met with violent protests in Alsace and also in large parts of the
rest of Germany.
Between the two world wars in the 20th
century
After the First World War and the Kaiser's abdication,
Alsace-Lorraine declared itself an independent Republic of
Alsace-Lorraine, but was occupied by French troops within a few
days. From November 11 to 22, 1918, a socialist Soviet Republic
existed in Strasbourg. The name of one of the main streets, Rue du
22 novembre, is a reminder of their suppression today. The city was
then returned to France under the 1919 Treaty of Versailles.
The annexation by France took place according to the 14 points of US
President Woodrow Wilson without a popular vote. The day of the
armistice (November 11, 1918) was set retrospectively as the date of
assignment.
In 1920, the city became the seat of the
international central commission for navigation on the Rhine, which
had been based in Mannheim since 1861 and moved into the former
imperial palace. The relocation of the seat from Mannheim to
Strasbourg was a consequence of the war lost by Germany. Art. 355
sentence 2 of the Versailles Treaty stipulated: "The Central
Commission will have its seat in Strasbourg." The relocation of the
seat caused irritation in the Netherlands and Switzerland because
these two states had remained neutral and therefore had not signed
the Versailles Treaty. The Netherlands and Switzerland therefore did
not take part in the first meeting of the Central Commission in
Strasbourg on June 21, 1920.
When the Maginot Line was built
in 1930, the area around the city of Strasbourg was placed under the
"fortified sector of the Lower Rhine" (secteur fortifié du
Bas-Rhin). Numerous remnants of the bunkers of the "fortified
sub-sector of Strasbourg" (sous-secteur fortifié de Strasbourg)
along the Rhine can still be seen, particularly in the Robertsau
Forest. Along the Route du Rhin, which currently leads to the Europa
Bridge, there were other weir systems until it was demolished in
2009-2010.
Between the German invasion of Poland on September 1, 1939 and the
Anglo-French declaration of war on the German Reich on September 3,
1939, the entire city (a total of 120,000 people) was evacuated, as were
all the other towns near the border. Until the Wehrmacht troops marched
in in mid-June 1940, only barracked soldiers were in Strasbourg for ten
months.
After the surrender-like armistice of Compiègne (22 June
1940), Alsace was annexed to the German Reich and surrounding towns and
villages, including Kehl and Schiltigheim, were incorporated into
Strasbourg. Under Robert Wagner, the city experienced a strict
Germanization policy. When the first evacuees returned in July 1940,
only residents of Alsatian origin were admitted. Jews were turned away;
the synagogue, a neo-Romanesque building from 1898 with a 54 meter high
dome, was set on fire by members of the Hitler Youth on September 12,
1940 and later demolished. The Jewish community fled to Périgueux and
Limoges, the university to Clermont-Ferrand. The street names,
exclusively French since 1918, were again replaced by German street
names and the French language was banned. Club life and religious
activities ceased.
From 1943, Western Allied aircraft bombed
Strasbourg, with several important buildings being damaged by bombs in
1944, including the Palais Rohan, the Old Customs and (on August 11) the
Strasbourg Cathedral.
During the course of the Second World War,
the Minster acquired a symbolic character for both parties. Adolf
Hitler, who visited it on June 28, 1940, wanted to make it a national
shrine of the German people; on March 1, 1941, in Kufra (in Libya),
Major General Leclerc swore "to not lay down arms until our [France's]
beautiful [country's] colors are again waving over Strasbourg
Cathedral". On November 23, 1944, Strasbourg was liberated by US troops
and the French 2nd Armored Division.
After the Second World War
After the Second World War and the official liberation of the city by
the French armored division under Major General Leclerc on November 23,
1944, the first task was to deal with the destruction caused by the
British-American air raids (especially those of August 11, 1944) in the
old town and the industrial areas remedy. In addition to the irreparable
loss of old buildings, there was a catastrophic fire in 1947 that
destroyed a considerable part of the city's collection of paintings by
old masters.
In the 1950s and 1960s, new residential areas were
built in the city to solve both the problem of the housing shortage
caused by war damage and the strong increase in population due to the
baby boom and immigration from French North Africa: Cité Rotterdam in
the north-east, Quartier de l'Esplanade to the south-east, Hautepierre
to the north-west. South of Hautepierre, the Quartier des Poteries was
created between 1995 and 2010 with a capacity of 8,000-10,000
inhabitants. The 1950s also saw the expansion of the University of
Strasbourg and its division into three main campuses: the historic
buildings, the campus in the Esplanade district and that to the east of
Illkirch-Graffenstaden.
In 1949 the city became the seat of the
Council of Europe initiated by Winston Churchill. In 1952 it became the
headquarters of the European Parliament. In 1992 it became the seat of
the Franco-German cultural channel Arte. In 2005 the Eurodistrict of
Strasbourg-Ortenau was created, the first ever. It is thanks in
particular to the commitment of the long-serving Mayor of Strasbourg and
top politician Pierre Pflimlin that the city was able to become a symbol
of Franco-German reconciliation and European unification.
In
2000, a group of Algerian Islamists who had planned to attack the
Christmas market in front of Strasbourg Cathedral were arrested in
Frankfurt am Main. A centuries-old plane tree fell as a result of a
sudden thunderstorm during an outdoor concert on July 6, 2001, killing
13 and injuring 97 people. This ranks as one of the most devastating
accidents of its kind in history. On March 27, 2007, the city of
Strasbourg was found guilty of negligence and fined €150,000.
On
March 16, 2008, the socialist Roland Ries received the most votes with
58.6% in the second ballot, replacing Fabienne Keller (UMP) as mayor of
the city. Ries had already held the office from 1997 to 2001, as deputy
to Catherine Trautmann, who had been appointed Minister of Culture.
In 2011, the largest urbanization project since the imperial era
started between the Fronts de Neudorf and the banks of the Rhine: 9,000
new apartments are to be built on 250 hectares.
In 2014,
Strasbourg received the honorary title of “European City of
Reformation”, awarded by the Community of Evangelical Churches in
Europe.
On December 11, 2018, an Islamist-motivated attack took
place at the Strasbourg Christmas market, killing five people.
On
July 4, 2020, Jeanne Barseghian was elected Mayor.
Christianity
Since the Reformation in Strasbourg, which joined as
an imperial city early (1524) and was partly re-Catholicized under
French rule, the contrast between Protestants and Catholics formed an
important component of the city's history.
The first Lutheran
sermon was given by Matthäus Zell in 1521. The city became formally
Lutheran in 1524. At the same time, with reformers such as Martin Bucer,
Kaspar Hedio and Wolfgang Capito, Strasbourg also developed into a
reformed center. The city welcomed Huguenots and signed the reformed
Confessio Tetrapolitana. In addition, many Anabaptists and supporters of
the radical Reformation such as Hans Denck, Kaspar Schwenkfeld and
Melchior Hoffmann were received. The diversity of Strasbourg's
Protestantism encouraged the immigration of Protestants with diverse
views and provided space for theological discussions. Protestant
pluralism was to last more or less decades.
Finally, in the
1580s, Lutheran orthodoxy gained the upper hand through the work of
Johannes Pappus. This led to the establishment of Orthodox Lutheranism
and the banning of all other denominations.
Since the 19th
century, the majority of the city's residents have been Catholic, which
was reinforced by immigration from the surrounding areas, the rest of
France and southern Europe; However, the Protestant communities have a
large number of church buildings from the time of the German Empire.
Strasbourg is the seat of the Archdiocese of Strasbourg.
The
city's Catholic churches include the Strasbourg Cathedral (Cathédrale
Notre-Dame), Church at Jung-St. Peter, the Johanniskirche (Saint-Jean),
the Magdalenenkirche (Sainte-Madeleine), the Moritzkirche
(Saint-Maurice), the Ludwigskirche (Saint-Louis), the Stephanskapelle
(Chapelle Saint-Étienne) and the Josefskirche. Among the Protestant ones
are Saint-Pierre-le-Jeune protestant, the Temple Neuf, the Thomaskirche
(Saint-Thomas), the Paulskirche (Saint-Paul), the Nikolaikirche
(Saint-Nicolas), the Wilhelmskirche (Saint-Guillaume) and the Aurelia
Church (Sainte-Aurélie). The church of Saint-Pierre-le-Vieux has been
divided between the denominations since 1683 (simultaneous church), only
since 2012 has there been a connecting door between the choir and the
nave.
In addition, there are ecclesiastical buildings of the
Serbian, Russian (All Saints' Church), Bulgarian, Romanian and Greek
Orthodox Churches in the city.
Because of the variety of
churches, monasteries, congregations and synagogues, Strasbourg was once
nicknamed the ville aux mille églises (“city of a thousand churches”).
Judaism
The city was formerly home to a large Jewish community.
In 1349 there was a pogrom in Strasbourg, in which around 2000 Jews were
killed. From 1389 to 1789 Jews were forbidden to enter the city, which
is why they settled in the surrounding communities. In the 19th century
the Jewish community flourished again. Most of the members of the Jewish
community were deported and murdered during the occupation by Nazi
Germany from 1940 to 1944, but since then the community has grown again
to around 20,000 members, mainly due to the arrival of Sephardic Jews
from North Africa in the 1960s. The Jewish community has the
representative Synagogue de la Paix and seven other synagogues, two
prayer rooms, a hospital, a retirement home, an eruv, three yeshivot and
several schools.
Islam
The Muslim community consists mainly of
immigrants from Muslim countries such as Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia and
Turkey. More than thirty mosques and prayer rooms are available to
believers. In the summer of 2012, the second largest mosque in France
was opened in the Heyritz district in the presence of numerous
high-ranking personalities. There are also the Mosquée de la Gare near
the train station, the Mosquée Al-Fateh in the Quartier de l'Esplanade
and mosques in the Meinau (2), Hautepierre (2), Neudorf, Robertsau and
Koenigshoffen quarters as well as several prayer rooms. In addition,
France's first Muslim cemetery, with up to 1,000 graves, has been in
Strasbourg since February 2012. A private Islamic faculty in Strasbourg
has been training imams since January 2013.