Strasbourg

The canals of Strasbourg

We took the streetcar into the city is Strasbourg, the central part of the city is almost an island with canals and the river surrounding the city. In fact, its historic name is Grande Île. Many of the buildings here are built with a rose-colored sandstone, a unique feature. The German section built when Alsace was part of Germany, consists of grey stone because it was cut from a German quarry. We started our walk at St. Pierre-le-Vieux, which is a split church Catholic on one side and Protestant on the other with a wall between. In 2012, in the spirit of ecumenism a door was put in the wall, but it is always locked. We walked along the canal in Petite France (or Tanner's Quarter), once home to the various tradesmen like fisherman, bakers and especially tanners. Strasbourg is where Gutenberg invented a new alloy that would hold its shape as it cooled, allowing him to later invent the printing press.

Petite France

The highlight of the city center is Notre Dame de Strasbourg. Coming around the corner, you see this glorious pink sandstone façade. The spire on the church is magnificent. This was the tallest building in the world from 1647 to 1874. The sandstone is easy to carve, and the façade is covered with bible scenes, saints, and kings. Inside the cathedral are stained glass windows that glow in the sunlight. There is also a floor to ceiling celestial clock. Many people were anticipating the clock to strike 3, and what we got was a single ‘ting’.  

Mary and I also visited the nearby Musée de L’oeurvre Notre-Dame, which has many of the original statues and windows from the church. There were also many unusual artworks from the middle ages like St.  Ursula and maidens in a boat being shot by archers or the deceased lovers. A unique discovery was the 13^th century architectural drawings for the towers and facades.

Samuel and Singers from the Cathedral

That evening our three program directors, Jörn, Simone, and Amir, prepared us to enter Germany with a "Fun German Evening" including what tourists should know about the German language and customs as well as a "Bill and Betty" skit about American tourists in Germany.

Autonomous Alsace

We learned the history of Alsace from a local. In 1648 France annexed this region from the Holy Roman Empire. France lost this region to Germany after the Franco Prussian war. Back to France in 1918, lost to Germany in 1940, back to France in 1944. Strasbourg became the home of the European Parliament in 1949 as part of the European Coal and Steel Community. The Community was the first effort at eliminating war between France and Germany by making these countries mutually dependent upon each other in the Community. As the European Union came into being, Strasbourg is one of three capital cities in the Union.

France has promised that Alsace will gain some more local control in 2021, because of its unique situation, some 25% actually work in Germany or Switzerland creating a need for more German classes and better infrastructure.