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| Sometimes this is how you know where you are! |
I had mapped out possible stops along the way, but Scott was anxious to get to Strasbourg, so we motored on, arriving in time for lunch.
Strasbourg
Strasbourg is in Alsace, a region of France that looks more German than French. The name Alsace can be traced to the Old High German Ali-saz or Elisaz, meaning "foreign domain.”
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| Typical Alsatian architecture; Left photo: Scott Stevens |
In prehistoric times, Alsace was inhabited by nomadic hunters. By 4000 BC, locals built timber longhouse settlements, made incised pottery and used small clearings in the forest for crops and livestock. These Germanic peoples were eventually overtaken by Gauls and Celts and, then, Romans, who built fortifications and military camps, many of which, including Strasbourg, evolved into modern towns and cities.
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| Modern-day Strasbourg; Middle photo: Scott Stevens |
With the decline of the Roman Empire, Alsace became the territory of the Germanic Alemanni, then the Franks who Christianized the population. Alsace remained under Frankish control, and, then, under Charlemagne, became part of the Holy Roman Empire. After Charlemagne ’s death, his heirs divided and subdivided Alsace, as it continued to grow in size and importance.
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| It is a substantial city, but not overwhelming |
As in much of Europe, the prosperity of Alsace was brought to an end in the 14th Century by a series of harsh winters, bad harvests and the Black Death. These hardships were blamed on Jews who had immigrated to the area, leading to pogroms in 1336, 1339 and 1349.
After the conclusion of the Hundred Years' War, France took Alsace, and it was later sold to Austria. Strasbourg accepted Protestantism in 1523, resulting in a mosaic of Catholic and Protestant territories. After the end of the Thirty Years War in 1648, southern Alsace was annexed by France, with most of the remainder conquered later in the century. Protestants were permitted to practice their faith in Alsace even after that privilege was abolished in the rest of France.
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| Église Saint-Thomas is testament to strong Protestant roots; Left photo: Scott Stevens |
Alsatians played an active role in the French Revolution. In 1792, Rouget de Lisle composed in Strasbourg the Revolutionary marching song "La Marseillaise,” which later became the anthem of France. Some of the most famous generals of the French Revolution came from Alsace.
After the 1870-71 Franco-Prussian War, Alsace was re-annexed by Germany. After World War I, it went back to France, where it stayed except for the German occupation in World War II. Although German dialects were spoken in Alsace for most of its history, the dominant language today is French.
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| It seemed more German to me; Photos: Scott Stevens |
The traditional home, like in other regions of Germany and Northern Europe, is constructed with walls in timber framing and cob and roofing in flat tiles.
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| Half-timbered buildings |
Alsace produces some of the world's most noted dry Rieslings and is the main beer-producing region of France. The Easter Bunny comes from an Alsace tradition of an Easter Hare bringing Easter eggs.
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| The Easter Bunny was first mentioned in a book published in 1682; Photo: Best of the Upper Rhine |
Strasbourg has a city population of 300,000 and a greater metro population of 500,000. Its historic city center, the Grande Île (Grand Island), was classified a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1988, with the newer Neustadt being added to the site in 2017.
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| Night in Strasbourg; Photos: Scott Stevens |
Strasbourg lies in the Upper Rhine Plain, just 400-500 feet above sea level, with the upland areas of the Vosges Mountains some 12 miles to the west and the Black Forest 16 miles to the east. Its port is the second-largest on the Rhine and the second-largest river port in France after Paris.
When we arrived, we stopped by our hotel, the Hôtel Du Dragon, where they allowed us to park even though it was too early to check-in.
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| Hôtel Du Dragon; Photos: Scott Stevens |
Hôtel Du Dragon was just across the River Ill from Grande Île, which made it very convenient for exploring. However, even with an urban setting, it had easy access and nice, secure parking. The perfect city hotel.
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| Crossing the river provided some pretty views; Left photo: Scott Stevens |
I had switched to it late in planning because my other selected hotel advertised parking, but, upon investigation, I discovered the parking was "nearby." That is seldom good. The other hotel was near Gutenberg Square, but I think it wouldn't have been as nice.
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| East access night and day |
After we had settled in, we took a quick walk over a bridge onto Grande Île.
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| The Ile River |
We were looking for La Fignette, which the concierge recommended for good flammkuchen (tarte flambée in French), a specialty of the region that we discovered last time we were there. It is composed of bread dough rolled out very thinly in the shape of a rectangle or oval (sometimes it is actually a thinly spread crepe-like batter) and is covered with fromage blanc or crème fraîche, thinly sliced onions and bacon (European bacon, which is like ham). Yum!
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| Yum! Photos: Scott Stevens |
Then, we walked around, admiring the canals, picturesque houses and carousel in Gutenberg Square.
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| Gutenberg Square |
The square is named for Johannes Gutenberg, who perfected his invention, the printing press, in Strasbourg.
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| Statue of the square's namesake |
Much of the Grande Île is touristy, but in a very upscale way, with lots of shops and restaurants. The food stores were beautiful. It was too bad we were leaving in a day. This would have been a good place to pick up some snackies.
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| Cheese and meats |
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| Sweets |
Strasbourg has buildings from many architectural eras, many in the extensive shopping area.
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| Variety |
The city has many bridges, including the three medieval ponts couverts that, despite their name, are no longer covered.
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| One of the city's many bridges |
While in Strasbourg, we visited two churches.
Église Saint-Thomas
First, we went in the beautiful part-Romanesque, part-Gothic Église Saint-Thomas. The main Lutheran church of the city, it is often called the Protestant Cathedral or the Old Lady (Die alte Dame). It is the only example of a hall church in the Alsace region.
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| Beautiful interior; Right photo: Scott Stevens |
The site on which the current church stands was used as a place of worship under the patronage of Thomas the Apostle as early as the 6th Century. In the 9th Century, Bishop Adelochus established a magnificent church with adjoining school, however both burned down in 1007 and again in 1144. In 1196, construction began on the façade of a new, fortress-like building with an imposing steeple, built in the Roman style. Interrupted several times, the building work was completed in 1521, in the style of the late Gothic. In 1524, the church became Protestant.
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| Mausoleum of Maurice of Saxony, French Army Commander in the War of the Austrian Succession |
The church is internationally renowned for its historic and musically-significant organs: the 1741 Silbermann organ, played by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart in 1778 and faithfully restored in 1979. The other organ is a 1905 organ in the Neo-Baroque style installed in 1906.
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| Silbermann organ |
Strasbourg Cathedral
Then, we went to Strasbourg Cathedral (Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Strasbourg), a sandstone Gothic masterpiece. It was built over a Roman settlement from the 12th Century. The first cathedral built on the present site was erected about 550-575. A funeral crypt was added in about 778.
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| Strasbourg Cathedral at night |
This Carolingian church is believed to have had an apse flanked by two chapels and a nave covered with a wooden beamed roof, but no trace remains today. After that building was burned in battle, work on a new church began in 1015.
The new building, with wooden roof beams, suffered from fires in 1136, 1140, 1150 and 1176 (yikes!!!!).
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| Perhaps the guy in the painting on the left is a fire marshal |
The church was repaired after each, and reconstructions and modifications made, but it retained its essentially Romanesque form, with thick walls, small windows and massive columns. Work on the church was frequently interrupted by wars and political crises.
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| Votive devotional |
Later, construction began on a new cathedral using foundations of the preceding structures. Some Romanesque features were kept, but most of the new construction was Gothic. It was completed in 1439. Reddish-brown sandstone from the Vosges mountains gives the cathedral its distinctive color.
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| Local stone |
Following the religious changes in France, it became a Protestant church in 1524, switching back to catholic in 1681.
After the outbreak of the French Revolution in 1789, all church property was seized by the French state and was vandalized by the most ardent revolutionaries, the Enragés. Although some items were saved, 215 statues were smashed with hammers, as were the angels atop the gables on the facade, and the crowns and scepters of the statues of the kings.
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| Gargoyles and spires; Left photo: Scott Stevens |
The spire was almost destroyed, but citizens of Strasbourg crowned it with a giant tin Phrygian cap of the kind the Enragés wore, saving the structure. Seven church bells were removed and melted down to made into canons; gold and other precious objects were confiscated.
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| Creche figurines |
The cathedral was returned to church control in 1801, along with confiscated property that had not been destroyed. Official ownership of the structure was given to and still belongs the French state and is administered by the Mayor of Strasbourg.
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| Bright colors |
Strasbourg Cathedral was the world's tallest building from 1647 to 1874 and today it is the sixth-tallest church in the world and the tallest extant structure built entirely in the Middle Ages.
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| A very impressive structure; Photos: Scott Stevens |
In 1915, during the First World War, a large-scale project was begun to replace the entire foundation with concrete. It was not completed until 1926.
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| Panoramic views; Photos: Scott Stevens |
During World War II, the stained glass was removed and stored in a salt mine near Heilbronn, Germany. After the war, it was returned to the cathedral. The cathedral was hit by British and American bombs during air raids in 1944. Repairs to war damage wasn’t completed until the early 1990s.
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| Stained glass windows; Upper right photo: Scott Stevens |
The grand organ, located high on the wall of the north side of the nave, is recorded as existing in 1260. It was rebuilt 1298, 1324-1327, 1384, 1430, 1489 and 1716. It was hoisted up to its present position in 1327.
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| The grand organ |
The astronomical clock is one of the most famous features of the cathedral. Installed from 1352 and used until 1500, the first version was called the Dreikönigsuhr (three-king clock) and was located at the opposite wall from where today's clock is. At noon, a group of three mechanical kings would prostrate themselves before the infant Jesus, while the chimes of the clock sounded the hour.
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| Astronomical clock |
A new clock built between 1547 and 1571 with more ambitious mechanical figures functioned until 1788. The present clock was built between 1837 and 1842.
The 59-foot-tall clock shows official time, solar time, day of the week (each represented by a mythological god), month, year, sign of the zodiac, phase of the moon and positions of several planets. The lower part of the base has statues of Apollo and the Goddess Diana presenting a revolving face pointing to dates of major religious festivals and events. This part of the clock is surrounded by painted figures representing the ancient empires of Greece, Assyria, Persia and Rome.
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| Clock face and astrolabe |
The level above has mechanical chariots with allegorical figures representing the days of the week that move daily to bring to the front the current day. Figures of two reclining women hold a clock face that tells the minutes between them.
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| Astronomical clock |
Above this level is a celestial globe in a sky of painted stars that makes a complete revolution every 23 hours, 56 minutes and 4 seconds. As it turns, it shows the 1,022 stars identified by Ptolemy, as viewed above the horizon of Strasbourg.
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| Celestial cherub; Photo: Scott Stevens |
The central tower has three levels. On the bottom, figures of the Four Seasons surround a mechanical astrolabe, which indicates the location of the planets according to Copernicus, and is surrounded by the signs of the zodiac. Above is a globe, with painted figures of the Church and the Antichrist confronting each other. This mechanism displays the phases of the moon.
Above this are two levels of animated mechanical figures, above that a figure of Christ and the four Evangelists, under a dome formed by crossed arches.
Animated characters launch into movement at different hours of the day. One angel sounds the bell while a second turns over an hourglass. Different characters, representing the ages of life (from a child to an old man) parade in front of Death. On the last level are the Apostles, passing in front of Christ.
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| Strasbourg Cathedral; Photo: Scott Stevens |
All these mechanical operations are turned on daily at 12:30 p.m. except Sundays. Unfortunately, when we were there, nothing was on.
In 1519 Strasbourg Cathedral commissioned what was said to be the largest bell in Europe; nine feet in diameter and weighing 20 tons. This enormous bell was installed but cracked shortly afterwards. Its place as the bourdon, or largest and deepest-sounding bell, was taken by an older bell, the Totenglock (death bell), which was traditionally used for mourning. It weighs 7.5 tons and 6.5 feet in diameter.
During the French Revolution when other bells were melted, the Totonglock and a second bell were preserved to ring the hours and serve as alarm bells for the city. Newer bells were cast between 1974 and 2006.
Strasbourg at Night
Because we were staying so close to the historic part of town, we were able to easily walk around after dark, dodging rain and enjoying the ambiance of the lovely city.
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| Lots of warmth, despite the rain |
It wasn't incredibly busy, but there were just enough people to make it feel cozy and cheerful.
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| Pretty at night; Right photo: Scott Stevens |
Even though this was our last real night in France (the next night would be at a hotel at Charles De Gaulle Airport), we just couldn’t when it came to French food. We had had enough.
