The historical center of Strasbourg
la petite France
is located on the Grande Ile, surrounded by two tributaries of the Ile River. Known as "Petite France", this area has a large number of exquisite buildings from the Middle Ages. It was listed as a World Cultural Heritage by UNESCO in 1988. This was the first time that the entire downtown area of ??a city received this honor. Little France is also known as "Little Venice". There the River Ill forks into a number of canals, passing through a small area dotted with medieval timber-trussed houses and Baroque sandstone buildings. The name "Little France" comes from a syphilis hospital in the late 15th century, when syphilis was also known as the French disease (Franzosenkrankheit) in some places. There were many prostitutes here in the Middle Ages, and prostitution used to be called "French business" in Germany. The area was completely destroyed during World War II and rebuilt after the war. After the first construction, by 1970, the city decided to continue investing in restoring its original spirit. This task was entrusted to the UA5 studio, headed by architect Jean Apprill. What you can see today is Strasbourg after its rebirth. The German-style maisons à colombages complement the intertwined small canals, making it as beautiful as a fairy tale. Its historical soul can be found in those reconstructed buildings. reflect.
Architecture
The most famous building in Strasbourg is the Gothic Cathedral (built of sandstone, with the famous Strasbourg Astronomical Clock), and Street scenes of black-and-white timber-framed buildings in the medieval Rhineland - especially in the Petite France district along the River Ill, as well as the medieval streets and squares surrounding the cathedral (e.g. Cathedral Square, Place Saint-Etienne).
In addition to the cathedral, there are several medieval churches in Strasbourg that have survived many wars and still survive today: the Romanesque Saint-Etienne Church, part of which was destroyed by British and American air raids in 1944 ; The huge St. Thomas Church, a combination of Romanesque and Gothic, with a pipe organ made by Sbermann, where Mozart and Schweitzer once played; the Gothic Protestant Church of St. Pierre-le-Jeune, whose crypt dates back to 5th century, while the cloister was built in the 11th century; the Gothic church of Saint-Guillaume, with early Renaissance stained glass; the Gothic church of St. John; the neo-Gothic Catholic church of Saint-Pierre-le-Vieux ( There is also a nearby Protestant church (Saint-Pierre-le-Vieux) with some 15th-century wooden painted altars. The now ruined church is used for exhibitions. Among the many medieval buildings, the Old Customs House (Ancienne Douane) stands out.
The German Renaissance left a number of striking buildings to the city, such as the former town hall on Gutenberg Square; French Baroque and classicist buildings include several hotels, such as h?tels particuliers , H?tel du Préfet, H?tel des Deux-Ponts and H?tel de Ville, etc. The largest Baroque building in Strasbourg is the almshouse from the 1720s. French neoclassical style buildings are represented by the Opera House on Place de Broglie. During the reign of German Emperor Wilhelm I, a number of high-quality eclectic buildings were left to the German Quarter of Strasbourg. The wide boulevards were neatly arranged
The buildings on both sides of the streets were solid and huge. , the architectural style is a mixture of various European architectural styles over the past five centuries, as well as Neo-Egyptian, Neo-Greek and Neo-Babylonian styles. The former royal palace is the most political, but the most palatial buildings of the time are the Ecole Pontonière (girls' school) with its multiple rectangular towers, and the Ecole des Arts Decoratives with its ornate painted brick facade, woodwork and floral-decorated pottery.
Famous streets in the German Quarter include Black Forest Avenue, Vosges Avenue, Alsace Avenue, Marseille Avenue, Liberty Avenue, Foch Road, Joffre Road, etc. Famous squares include the Republic Square, University Square, etc. An important example of Prussian military architecture in the 1880s can be found on the rebuilt Fortress Road, a huge fortress named Kriegstor. In terms of modern architecture, Strasbourg has some fine Art Nouveau buildings, such as the huge Palais des Fêtes and a number of villa residences. Among examples of post-World War II functional architecture, the European Court of Human Rights designed by Richard Rogers, located in the vast Quartier Européen, is undoubtedly the most spectacular.
Other notable modern buildings include the Municipal School of Music and Dance, the Museum of Modern Art, and the tram terminal and parking lot on the outskirts of the city.
The city also has some beautiful bridges, the most fascinating of which is the medieval covered bridge (Ponts Couverts) with four ancient towers, nearby is the 17th-century Vauban Barrage (part of the Vauban Fortress) ). Other beautiful bridges include the ornate Fonderie Bridge (stone bridge) and Auvergne Bridge (iron bridge) from the 19th century, as well as the futuristic pedestrian bridge over the Rhine (Passerelle, opened in 2004).
Parks
One of the characteristics of Strasbourg is that it has many first-class parks, some of which have considerable historical and cultural value. Citrus Park presents significant French garden characteristics, with a neoclassical castle and a small zoo; Castle Park, a 17th-century fortress standing on the banks of the Rhine; Pourtalès Park is an English-style open-air museum of modern sculptures with A Neo-Baroque castle (now Schiller International University). The Botanical Garden was established during the German rule and is located near the Strasbourg Observatory. It was built in 1881 and still retains some greenhouses from that time. Although Contades Park is the oldest park in the city, it was completely rebuilt after World War II. Poteries Park is futuristic and an example of the European park concept of the late 1990s. The Jardin des deux Rives (Jardin des deux Rives) straddles Strasbourg and Kehl on both sides of the Rhine. It is the latest park opened (2004) and the largest (60 hectares).
Museums
As a small city, Strasbourg has a huge number of museums: the Museum of Fine Arts collects Goya, Rubens, Van Famous paintings by Dyck, Greco and others; the Notre Dame Museum, located next to the cathedral, collects medieval and Renaissance manuscripts and stained glass; the Museum of Decorative Arts collects 18th-century furniture and porcelain); animals The scientific museum is the oldest in France and is especially famous for its many species of birds); the "Big Ship" is a science and technology center specially designed for children); there are also the Rhine Shipping Museum; the Pasteur Museum; the Ancient Egyptian Museum, etc. You can also see the famous French horn (which ordered the Jews out of the city at 10 o'clock every night since the Middle Ages).
It was built in 1176 and was not completed until 1439. It was built with pink sandstone from the Vosges Mountains. On the top of the front, there is a 142-meter-high minaret on one side, and there is only a platform on the other side. This was supposed to be a symmetrical minaret, but it was not built due to limited financial resources at the time. Now it has become its characteristic. The Cathedral of Rasborg is also very famous for this reason. There is an 11-meter-high astronomical clock (L'Horloge astronomique; Astronomical Clock) in the church, which was built in 1838. Every 15 minutes, robots representing the four stages of life, namely children, youth, adults and old age, appear, but each time On the hour, the God of Death comes out with an axe, and it is accurate so far. When the bell rings at 12:30 noon, many characters will take turns to appear, creating an eye-catching, lively, humorous scene.