Economically, Strasbourg is an important centre of manufacturing and engineering, as well as a hub of road, rail, and river transportation. Theport of Strasbourg is the second-largest on theRhine afterDuisburg in Germany, and the second-largest river port in France afterParis.[14][15]
Until the fifth century AD, the city was known asArgantorati (in thenominative,Argantorate in thelocative), a CelticGaulish nameLatinised first asArgentorate (with Gaulish locative ending, as appearing on the firstRoman milestones in the first century) and then asArgentoratum (with regular Latin nominative ending, in later Latin texts). That Gaulish name is a compound of-rati, the Gaulish word for fortified enclosures, cognate to theOld Irishráth (seeringfort) andarganto(n)- (cognate to Latinargentum, which gave modern Frenchargent), the Gaulish word for silver, but also any precious metal, particularly gold, suggesting either a fortified enclosure located by a river gold mining site, or hoarding gold mined in the nearby rivers.[16]
After the fifth century the city became known by a completely different name, laterGallicized as Strasbourg (Lower Alsatian:Strossburi;German:Straßburg). That name is ofGermanic origin and means 'town (at the crossing) of roads'. The modernStras- iscognate with the GermanStraße and Englishstreet, both derived fromLatinstrata ("paved road"), while-bourg is cognate with the GermanBurg and Englishborough, both derived fromProto-Germanic*burgz ("hill fort, fortress").
Gregory of Tours was the first to mention the name change: in the tenth book of hisHistory of the Franks written shortly after 590 he said thatEgidius,Bishop of Reims, accused of plotting against KingChildebert II ofAustrasia in favor of his uncle KingChilperic I ofNeustria, was tried by asynod of Austrasian bishops inMetz in November 590, found guilty and removed from the priesthood, then taken "ad Argentoratensem urbem, quam nunc Strateburgum vocant" ("to the city of Argentoratum, which they now callStrateburgus"), where he was exiled.[17]
Strasbourg is situated at the eastern border of France with Germany. This border is formed by theRhine, which also forms the eastern border of the modern city, facing across the river to the German townKehl. The historic core of Strasbourg, however, lies on theGrande Île in the riverIll, which here flows parallel to, and roughly 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) from, the Rhine. The natural courses of the two rivers eventually join some distance downstream of Strasbourg, although several artificial waterways now connect them within the city.
The city lies in theUpper Rhine Plain, at between 132 and 151 metres (433 and 495 ft) above sea level, with the upland areas of theVosges Mountains some 20 km (12 mi) to the west and theBlack Forest 25 km (16 mi) to the east. This section of the Rhine valley is a major axis of north–south travel, with river traffic on the Rhine itself, and major roads and railways paralleling it on both banks.
The city is some 397 kilometres (247 mi) east ofParis.[21] The mouth of the Rhine lies approximately 450 kilometres (280 mi) to the north, or 650 kilometres (400 mi) as the river flows, whilst the head of navigation inBasel is some 100 kilometres (62 mi) to the south, or 150 kilometres (93 mi) by river.
In spite of its position far inland, Strasbourg has anoceanic climate (Köppen:Cfb),[22][23] though with less maritime influence than the milder climates of Western andSouthern France.[24] The city has warm, relatively sunny summers and cool,overcast winters.
The third highest temperature ever recorded was 38.5 °C (101.3 °F) in August 2003, during the2003 European heat wave. This record was broken, on 30 June 2019, when it reached 38.8 °C (101.8 °F)[25] and then on 25 July 2019, when it reached 38.9 °C (102.0 °F). The lowest temperature ever recorded was −23.4 °C (−10.1 °F) in December 1938.[26]
Strasbourg's location in the Rhine valley, sheltered from strong winds by the Vosges and Black Forest mountains, results in poor natural ventilation, making Strasbourg one of the most atmospherically polluted cities of France.[27][28] Nonetheless, the progressive disappearance ofheavy industry on both banks of the Rhine, as well as effective measures of traffic regulation in and around the city have reduced air pollution in recent years.[29]
Climate data for Strasbourg-Entzheim (SXB), elevation: 150 m (492 ft), 1991–2020 normals, extremes 1924–present
Panorama from theBarrage Vauban with the medieval bridgePonts Couverts in the foreground (the fourth tower is hidden by trees at the left) and thecathedral in the distance on the rightLa Petite France during golden hour
The city is chiefly known for itssandstoneGothicCathedral with its famousastronomical clock, and for its medieval cityscape ofRhineland black and whitetimber-framed buildings, particularly in thePetite France district orGerberviertel ("tanners' district") alongside the Ill and in the streets and squares surrounding the cathedral, where the renownedMaison Kammerzell stands out.
Notable medieval streets includeRue Mercière,Rue des Dentelles,Rue du Bain aux Plantes,Rue des Juifs,Rue des Frères,Rue des Tonneliers,Rue du Maroquin,Rue des Charpentiers,Rue des Serruriers,Grand' Rue,Quai des Bateliers,Quai Saint-Nicolas andQuai Saint-Thomas. Notable medieval squares includePlace de la Cathédrale,Place du Marché Gayot,Place Saint-Étienne,Place du Marché aux Cochons de Lait andPlace Benjamin Zix.
Place du Marché aux Cochons de LaitPlace Gutenberg with statue of Gutenberg and CarouselMaison des tanneursView of the Ill withÉglise Saint-Thomas
Strasbourg also offers high-classeclecticist buildings in its very extended German district, theNeustadt, being the main memory ofWilhelmian architecture since most of the major cities in Germany proper suffered intensive damage during World War II. Streets, boulevards and avenues are homogeneous, surprisingly high (up to seven stories) and broad examples of German urban lay-out and of thisarchitectural style that summons and mixes up five centuries of European architecture as well as Neo-Egyptian,Neo-Greek and Neo-Babylonian styles. The former imperial palacePalais du Rhin, the most political and thus heavily criticized of all German Strasbourg buildings epitomizes the grand scale and stylistic sturdiness of this period. But the two most handsome and ornate buildings of these times are theÉcole internationale des Pontonniers (the formerHöhere Mädchenschule, with its towers, turrets and multiple round and square angles[36] and theHaute école des arts du Rhin with its lavishly ornate façade of painted bricks, woodwork andmajolica.[37]
Notable streets of the German district include:Avenue de la Forêt Noire,Avenue des Vosges,Avenue d'Alsace,Avenue de la Marseillaise,Avenue de la Liberté,Boulevard de la Victoire,Rue Sellénick,Rue du Général de Castelnau,Rue du Maréchal Foch, andRue du Maréchal Joffre. Notable squares of the German district includePlace de la République,Place de l'Université,Place Brant, andPlace Arnold.
Impressive examples ofPrussian military architecture of the 1880s can be found along the newly reopenedRue du Rempart, displaying large-scale fortifications among which the aptly namedKriegstor (war gate).
The city has many bridges, including the medieval and four-toweredPonts Couverts that, despite their name, are no longer covered. Next to thePonts Couverts is theBarrage Vauban, a part ofVauban's 17th-century fortifications, that does include a covered bridge. Other bridges are the ornate 19th-centuryPont de la Fonderie (1893, stone) andPont d'Auvergne (1892, iron), as well as architectMarc Mimram's futuristicPasserelle over the Rhine, opened in 2004.
The largest square at the centre of the city of Strasbourg is thePlace Kléber. Located in the heart of the city's commercial area, it was named after generalJean-Baptiste Kléber, born in Strasbourg in 1753 and assassinated in 1800 inCairo. In the square is a statue of Kléber, under which is a vault containing his remains. On the north side of the square is theAubette (Orderly Room), built byJacques François Blondel, architect of the king, in 1765–1772.
ThePavillon Joséphine (rear side) in theParc de l'OrangerieTheChâteau de Pourtalès (front side) in the park of the same name
Strasbourg features a number of prominent parks, of which several are of cultural and historical interest: theParc de l'Orangerie, laid out as a French garden byAndré le Nôtre and remodeled as anEnglish garden on behalf ofJoséphine de Beauharnais, now displaying noteworthy French gardens, a neo-classical castle and a smallzoo; theParc de la Citadelle, built around impressive remains of the 17th-centuryfortress erected close to theRhine byVauban;[38] theParc de Pourtalès, laid out in English style around abaroque castle (heavily restored in the 19th century) that now houses a small three-star hotel,[39] and featuring anopen-air museum of international contemporary sculpture.[40] TheJardin botanique de l'Université de Strasbourg (botanical garden) was created under the German administration next to theObservatory of Strasbourg, built in 1881, and still owns somegreenhouses of those times. TheParc des Contades, although the oldest park of the city, was completely remodeled after World War II. The futuristicParc des Poteries is an example of European park-conception in the late 1990s. TheJardin des deux Rives, spread over Strasbourg andKehl on both sides of the Rhine opened in 2004 and is the most extended (60-hectare) park of the agglomeration. The most recent park isParc du Heyritz (8,7 ha), opened in 2014 along a canal facing thehôpital civil.
As of 2020, the city of Strasbourg has eleven municipal museums (includingAubette 1928),[41] eleven university museums,[42] and at least two privately owned museums (Musée vodou andMusée du barreau de Strasbourg). Five communes in the metropolitan area also have museums (see below), three of them dedicated to military history.
The collections in Strasbourg are distributed over a wide range of museums, according to a system that takes into account not only the types and geographical provenances of the items, but also the epochs. This concerns in particular the following domains:
Old Master paintings from the GermanicRhenish territories and until 1681 are displayed in theMusée de l'Œuvre Notre-Dame (MOND); old master paintings from all the rest of Europe (including the Dutch Rhenish territories) and until 1871, as well as old master paintings from the Germanic Rhenish territories between 1681 and 1871, are displayed in theMusée des Beaux-Arts; paintings since 1871 are displayed in theMusée d'art moderne et contemporain (MAMCS).
Decorative arts until 1681 are on display in the MOND, decorative arts from the years 1681 until 1871 are on display in theMusée des arts décoratifs, decorative arts after 1871 are on display at the MAMCS, with items from each epoch also shown in theMusée historique.
Prints and drawings until 1871 are displayed in theCabinet des estampes et dessins, save for the original plans of Strasbourg Cathedral, displayed in the MOND. Prints and drawings after 1871 are displayed in the MAMCS, and in theMusée Tomi Ungerer/Centre international de l'illustration (the combined number of prints and drawings amounts to well over 200,000).
Artefacts from Ancient Egypt are on display in two entirely different collections, one in theMusée archéologique and the other belonging to theInstituts d'Égyptologie et de Papyrologie of the University of Strasbourg.
TheMusée de l'Œuvre Notre-Dame (located in a part-Gothic, part-Renaissance building next to the cathedral) houses a large and renowned collection of medieval and Renaissance upper-Rhenish art, among which original sculptures, plans and stained glass from the cathedral and paintings byHans Baldung andSebastian Stoskopff.
TheMusée des Arts décoratifs, located in the sumptuous former residence of the cardinals of Rohan, thePalais Rohan displays a reputable collection of 18th century furniture and china.
TheMusée archéologique presents a large display of regional findings from the first ages of man to the sixth century, focusing on the Roman and Celtic period. It also includes a collection of works from Ancient Egypt and Ancient Greece, assembled and bequeathed byGustave Schlumberger.[43]
TheMusée alsacien is dedicated to traditional Alsatian daily life.
Le Vaisseau ("The vessel") is a science and technology centre, especially designed for children.
TheMusée historique (historical museum) is dedicated to the tumultuous history of the city and displays many artifacts of the times, including theGrüselhorn, the horn that was blown at 10 every evening during medieval times to order the Jews out of the city.
TheMusée vodou (Voodoo museum) opened its doors on 28 November 2013. Displaying a private collection of artefacts fromHaiti, it is located in a former water tower (château d'eau) built in 1883 and classified as aMonument historique.
TheMusée du barreau de Strasbourg (The Strasbourgbar association museum) is a museum dedicated to the work and the history oflawyers in the city.[44][45]
TheUniversité de Strasbourg is in charge of a number of permanent public displays of its collections of scientific artefacts and products of all kinds of exploration and research.[46]
TheMusée zoologique is one of the oldest in France and is especially famous for its collection of birds. The museum is co-administered by the municipality.
TheGypsothèque (also known asMusée des moulages orMuséeAdolf Michaelis) is France's second-largestcast collection and the largest university cast collection in France.
TheMusée d'Égyptologie houses a collections of archaeological findings made in and brought from Egypt and Sudan. This collection is entirely separate from the Schlumberger collection of the Musée archéologique (see above).[47]
TheCrypte aux étoiles ("starcrypt") is situated in the vaulted basement below theObservatory of Strasbourg and displays old telescopes and other antique astronomical devices such as clocks andtheodolites.
The commune of Strasbourg proper had a population of 291,313 on 1 January 2021,[9] the result of a constant moderate annual growth which is also reflected in the constant growth of the number of students at itsuniversity (e. g. from 42,000 students in 2010 to 52,000 students in 2019).[51] Themetropolitan area of Strasbourg had a population of 853,110 inhabitants in 2019 (French side of the border only),[4] while the transnationalEurodistrict had a population of 1,000,000 in 2022.
In theMiddle Ages, Strasbourg (afree imperial city since 1262), was an important town. According to a 1444census, the population was circa 20,000; only one third less thanCologne, then a major European city.[52]
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Strasbourg, well known as a centre ofhumanism, has a long history of excellence in higher education, at the crossroads of French and German intellectual traditions. Although Strasbourg had been annexed by the Kingdom of France in 1683, it still remained connected to the German-speaking intellectual world throughout the 18th century, and the university attracted numerous students from theHoly Roman Empire, withGoethe,Metternich andMontgelas, who studied law in Strasbourg, among the most prominent. With 19 Nobel prizes in total, Strasbourg is the most eminent French university outside of Paris.
Until 2009, there were threeuniversities in Strasbourg, with an approximate total of 48,500 students in 2007, and another 4,500 students attended one of the diversepost-graduate schools:[56]
The ENA (École nationale d'administration). ENA trains most of the nation's high-ranking civil servants. The relocation to Strasbourg was meant to give a European vocation to the school and to implement the French government's "décentralisation" plan.
The European Center for Studies and Research in Ethics[57] is a tertiary establishment for research and education inEthics. This center is located at the premises of the old faculty of medicine in Strasbourg. The Center’s name in French is CEERE (Centre européen d’enseignement et de recherche en éthique).
TheBibliothèque nationale et universitaire (BNU) is, with its collection of more than 3,000,000 titles,[60] the second-largest library in France after theBibliothèque nationale de France. It was founded by the German administration after the complete destruction of the previous municipal library in 1871 and holds the unique status of being simultaneously a students' and a national library. The Strasbourg municipal library had been marked erroneously as "City Hall" in a French commercial map, which had been captured and used by the German artillery to lay their guns. A librarian from Munich later pointed out "...that the destruction of the precious collection was not the fault of a German artillery officer, who used the French map, but of the slovenly and inaccurate scholarship of a Frenchman."[61]
The municipal library Bibliothèque municipale de Strasbourg (BMS) administers a network of ten medium-sized libraries in different areas of the town. A six stories high "Grande bibliothèque", theMédiathèqueAndré Malraux, was inaugurated on 19 September 2008 and is considered the largest in Eastern France.[62]
As one of the earliest centres of book-printing in Europe (see above: History), Strasbourg for a long time held a large number ofincunabula — books printed before 1500 — in its library as one of its most precious heritages: no less than 7,000.[63] After the total destruction of this institution in 1870, however, a new collection had to be reassembled from scratch. Today, Strasbourg's different public and institutional libraries again display a sizable total number of incunabula, distributed as follows:Bibliothèque nationale et universitaire, ca. 2,120,[63]Médiathèque de la ville et de la communauté urbaine de Strasbourg, 349,[64]Bibliothèque du Grand Séminaire, 238,[65]Médiathèque protestante, 66,[66] andBibliothèque alsatique du Crédit Mutuel, 5.[67]
One of Strasbourg's trams passes over one of its canals, whilst a tourist trip boat passes underneath.
Train services operate from theGare de Strasbourg, the city's main station in the city centre, eastward toOffenburg andKarlsruhe in Germany, westward toMetz and Paris, and southward toBasel. Strasbourg's links with the rest of France have improved due to its recent connection to theTGV network, with the first phase of theTGVEst (Paris–Strasbourg) in 2007, theTGVRhin-Rhône (Strasbourg-Lyon) in 2012, and the second phase of the TGV Est in July 2016.
Strasbourg also has itsown airport, serving major domestic destinations as well as international destinations in Europe andnorthern Africa. The airport is linked to theGare de Strasbourg by a frequent train service.[68][69]
City transport in Strasbourg includes theStrasbourg tramway, which opened in 1994 and is operated by the regional transit companyCompagnie des Transports Strasbourgeois (CTS), consisting of 6 lines with a total length of 55.8 km (34.7 mi). The CTS also operates a comprehensive bus network throughout the city that is integrated with the trams. With more than 500 km (311 mi) of bicycle paths, biking in the city is convenient and the CTS operates a cheapbike-sharing scheme namedVélhop. The CTS, and its predecessors, also operated a previous generation oftram system between 1878 and 1960, complemented bytrolleybus routes between 1939 and 1962.[70]
Being on theIll and close to theRhine, Strasbourg has always been an important centre offluvial navigation, as is attested by archeological findings. In 1682 theCanal de la Bruche was added to the river navigations, initially to provide transport forsandstone from quarries in theVosges for use in the fortification of the city. That canal has since closed, but the subsequentCanal du Rhône au Rhin,Canal de la Marne au Rhin andGrand Canal d'Alsace are still in use, as is the important activity of thePort autonome de Strasbourg. Water tourism inside the city proper attracts hundreds of thousands of tourists yearly.
The tram system that now criss-crosses the historic city centre complements walking and biking in it. The centre has been transformed into apedestrian priority zone that enables and invites walking and biking by making these active modes of transport comfortable, safe and enjoyable. These attributes are accomplished by applying the principle of"filtered permeability" to the existing irregular network of streets. It means that the network adaptations favouractive transport and, selectively, "filter out" the car by reducing the number of streets that run through the centre. While certain streets are discontinuous for cars, they connect to a network of pedestrian and bike paths which permeate the entire centre. In addition, these paths go through public squares and open spaces increasing the enjoyment of the trip. This logic of filtering a mode of transport is fully expressed in a comprehensive model for laying out neighbourhoods and districts – thefused grid.
At present theA35 autoroute, which parallels the Rhine betweenKarlsruhe andBasel, and theA4 autoroute, which linksParis with Strasbourg, penetrate close to the centre of the city. TheGrand contournement ouest (GCO) project, programmed since 1999, planned to construct a 24-kilometre-long (15 mi) highway connection between the junctions of the A4 and the A35 autoroutes in the north and of the A35 andA352 autoroutes in the south. This routes well to the west of the city in order to divest a significant portion of motorized traffic from theunité urbaine.[71] The GCO project was opposed by environmentalists, who created aZAD (orZone to Defend).[72] After much delay, the GCO was finally inaugurated on 11 December 2021.[73]
The average amount of time people spend commuting on public transport in Strasbourg on weekdays is 52 min. 7% of travellers on public transport travel for more than 2 hours every day. The average amount of time people wait at a stop or station for public transport is 9 min and 11% of passengers wait for more than 20 minutes on average every day. The average distance people usually travel in a single trip on public transport is 3.9 km (2.4 mi), whilst none travels for more than 12 km (7.5 mi) in a single direction.[74]
France and Germany have created aEurodistrict straddling the Rhine, combining the Greater Strasbourg and theOrtenau district ofBaden-Württemberg, with some common administration. It was established in 2005 and has been fully functional since 2010.
Early February 2011, principal photography forSherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows (2011) moved for two days to Strasbourg. Shooting took place on, around, and inside the Strasbourg Cathedral. The opening scene of the movie covers an assassination-bombing in the city.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart called hisThird violin concerto (1775)Straßburger Konzert because of one of its most prominentmotives, based on a local,minuet-like dance that had already appeared as a tune in a symphony byCarl Ditters von Dittersdorf.[88] It is not related to Mozart's ulterior stay in Strasbourg (1778), where he gave three concert performances on the piano.
Havergal Brian's Symphony No. 7 was inspired by passages in Goethe's memoirs recalling his time spent at Strasbourg University. The work ends with an orchestral bell sounding the note E, the strike-note of the bell of Strasbourg Cathedral.
Britishart-punk bandThe Rakes had a minor hit in 2005 with their song "Strasbourg". This song features witty lyrics with themes of espionage and vodka and includes a count of 'eins, zwei, drei, vier!!', even though Strasbourg'sspoken language is French.
On their 1974 albumHamburger Concerto, Dutch progressive bandFocus included a track called "La Cathédrale de Strasbourg", which included chimes from a cathedral-like bell.
^"Répertoire national des élus: les maires" (in French). data.gouv.fr, Plateforme ouverte des données publiques françaises. 13 September 2022.Archived from the original on 28 June 2020. Retrieved2 December 2022.
^Office pour la Langue et la Culture d'Alsace."Strasbourg".oclalsace.org (in French).Archived from the original on 22 August 2019. Retrieved11 June 2019.
^"Strasbourg, Grande-Île and Neustadt".UNESCO World Heritage Centre. United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization.Archived from the original on 11 July 2017. Retrieved17 October 2021.
^"STRASBOURG–ENTZHEIM (67)"(PDF).Fiche Climatologique: Statistiques 1991–2020 et records (in French). Meteo France. Archived fromthe original(PDF) on 9 March 2022. Retrieved14 July 2022.
^ab"Les incunables" (in French). Bibliothèque nationale et universitaire de Strasbourg. 10 December 2019.Archived from the original on 28 May 2020. Retrieved9 January 2020.
^"Présentation des Fonds patrimoniaux" (in French). Portail des médiathèques de la ville et de l'Eurométropole de Strasbourg.Archived from the original on 1 August 2020. Retrieved9 January 2020.
Connaître Strasbourg by Roland Recht, Georges Foessel and Jean-Pierre Klein, 1988,ISBN2-7032-0185-0.
Histoire de Strasbourg des origines à nos jours, four volumes (ca. 2000 pages) by a collective of historians under the guidance of Georges Livet andFrancis Rapp, 1982,ISBN2-7165-0041-X.
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