Jump to content

Strasbourg: Difference between revisions

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Content deleted Content added
Nlarch1 (talk | contribs)
No edit summary
Nlarch1 (talk | contribs)
No edit summary
Line 19: Line 19:
[[Image:Ponts_couverts.jpg|300px|thumb|Strasbourg townscape]]
[[Image:Ponts_couverts.jpg|300px|thumb|Strasbourg townscape]]


The city is known for its [[sandstone]] [[Gothic architecture|gothic]] [[Notre-Dame de Strasbourg|cathedral]], and for its medieval cityscape of [[Rhineland]] black and white timber-framed buildings, particularly in the ''[[Petite-France]]'' district alongside the river Ill, which has been declared a [[World Heritage site]] by the [[United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization|UNESCO]]. Strasbourg also offers impressive [[neo-classic]] buildings in its German district, being the main witness of whilelmian architecture since Germany suffered intensive damages during World War II
The city is known for its [[sandstone]] [[Gothic architecture|gothic]] [[Notre-Dame de Strasbourg|cathedral]], and for its medieval cityscape of [[Rhineland]] black and white timber-framed buildings, particularly in the ''[[Petite-France]]'' district alongside the river Ill. Strasbourg historic center was selected a [[World Heritage site]] by the [[United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization|UNESCO]] (for the first time for a whole city center). Strasbourg also offers impressive [[neo-classic]] buildings in its German district (Place de la République, Place Brant), being the main witness of whilelmian architecture since Germany suffered intensive damages during World War II.


== History ==
== History ==

Revision as of 03:53, 30 September 2005

For other places named Strasburg or Straßburg see Strasburg.

Template:Strasbourg infobox Strasbourg (French: Strasbourg; Alsatian: Strossburi; German: Straßburg) is the capital and principal city of the Alsace région of northeastern France, with approximately 650,000 inhabitants in the metropolitan area in 1999. Located close to the border with Germany, it is the préfecture (capital) of the Bas-Rhin département.

The city's name means "town (at the crossing) of roads". Stras- is cognate to the English street, while -bourg and the German -burg ("fortress, town") are cognate to the English borough.

Strasbourg is an important centre of manufacturing and engineering, as well as of road, rail and river communications.

Strasbourg is the seat of the Council of Europe and the European Court of Human Rights and it hosts the new seat of the European Parliament (with Brussels) after the asbestos scandal in the 1980s.

Geography

Strasbourg is situated on the Ill River, where it flows into the Rhine on the frontier with Germany. The German town across the river g= is Kehl.

Sights

River Ill
Petite France district
Strasbourg townscape

The city is known for its sandstone gothic cathedral, and for its medieval cityscape of Rhineland black and white timber-framed buildings, particularly in the Petite-France district alongside the river Ill. Strasbourg historic center was selected a World Heritage site by the UNESCO (for the first time for a whole city center). Strasbourg also offers impressive neo-classic buildings in its German district (Place de la République, Place Brant), being the main witness of whilelmian architecture since Germany suffered intensive damages during World War II.

History

At the site of Strasbourg, the Romans established a military outpost and named it Argentoratum. It belonged to the Germania Superior Roman province. From the 4th century, Strasbourg was the seat of a bishopric.

The Alamanni fought a battle against Rome in Strasbourg in 357. They were defeated by Julian, later Emperor of Rome, and their king Chonodomarius was taken prisoner. On January 2, 366 the Alamanni crossed the frozen Rhine in large numbers, to invade the Roman Empire. Early in the 5th century the Alamanni appear to have crossed the Rhine, conquered and then settled what is today Alsace and a large part of Switzerland.

The town was occupied successively in the 5th century by Alamanni, Huns and Franks. In 842, Strasbourg was the site of the Oath of Strasbourg.

File:Map Strasbourg MK1888.png
1888 German map of Strasbourg

A major commercial centre in the later Middle Ages, it became in 1262 an Imperial Free City of the Holy Roman Empire, with a broad-based city government from 1332. The minster of Strasbourg was completed in 1439, and became the World's Tallest Building, surpassing the Great Pyramid of Giza. During the 1520s the city embraced the religious teachings of Martin Luther, whose adherents established a university in the following century.

Annexing Strasbourg in September 1681, France was confirmed in possession of the city by the Treaty of Ryswick (1697). The official policy of religious intolerance which drove many Protestants from France after the Edict of Fontainebleau (1685) was not applied in Strasbourg, as the Edict of Nantes (1598) had still been in effect in France at the time of the city's annexation. With the growth of industry and commerce, the city's population tripled in the 19th century to 150,000.

Claude Joseph Rouget de Lisle composed "La Marseillaise" on April 25, 1792 in Strasbourg during a dinner organised by Frédéric de Dietrich, Strasbourg's mayor.

Annexed to the newly-established German Empire, as part of the Reichsland Elsaß-Lothringen, in 1871 following the Franco-Prussian War (Treaty of Frankfurt), the city was restored to France after World War I, in 1919 by the Treaty of Versailles. It was again effectively a part of Germany during World War II, from 1940 to 1945.

Education

Strasbourg has a long history of higher education excellence, melting french and german intellectual traditions. Goethe and Metternich had both studied in Strasbourg. Nowadays, Strasbourg is known to offer among the best university courses in France after Paris.

There are three universities in Strasbourg:

The campus of the École nationale d'administration (ENA) is located in Strasbourg (the former one being in Paris). The location of the "new" ENA was meant to give a European vocation to the school.

The permanent campus of the International Space University (ISU) is located in the south of Strasbourg (Illkirch-Graffenstaden).

File:Strasbourg Tram.jpg
Tram station in Place de la République

Transportation

A modern-looking tram system has operated in Strasbourg since 1994.

Two TGV lines are planned to link Strasbourg to the European high-speed train network:

  1. TGV Est (Paris-Strasbourg) (under construction, to open 2007)
  2. TGV Rhin-Rhône (Strasbourg-Lyon)

European role

File:Cathedral rosace.jpg
West façade of the Strasbourg Cathedral
File:Cathedral by night.jpg
the Cathedral by night
File:Palais du rhin.jpg
Palais du Rhin, Place de la République


Strasbourg is sometimes regarded as:

Strasbourg also houses the Eurocorps headquarter

France and Germany are negotiating the creation of a Eurodistrict straddling the Rhine river combining the Greater Strasbourg and the Ortenau district of Baden-Württemberg, with some common administration. The combined population of this "European Washington, D.C." would be 860,000.

Miscellaneous

Births

Strasbourg was the birthplace of:

Famous residents

Twin towns

Strasbourg is twinned with:

See also