Strasbourg Attractions

East of the University in Strasbourg is the old Citadel, built in 1682-1684 as the central element in Vauban's system of fortifications. It is now an attractive park, laid out in 1967.

1km/0.75mi west of the University in Strasbourg is the large complex of buildings occupied by the Hôpital Civil, one of France's largest teaching hospitals.

On the north side of the Place de la Cathédrale in Strasbourg is the Maison Kammerzell (restaurant), the finest old burgher's house in the city, with a stone-built ground floor (1467), half-timbered upper floors (1589), leaded windows and rich carved ornament. At the corner of the Place de la Cathédrale and Rue Mercière is the half-timbered Pharmacie du Cerf (1567), on a site which has been continuously occupied by a pharmacy since 1268. Nearby, in Rue des Juifs, are the excavations of the Roman fort, begun in 1986.

At the southwest corner of the Place du Château in Strasbourg is the Maison de l'Oeuvre Notre-Dame, which has housed the Oeuvre Notre-Dame (the authority responsible for the maintenance of the cathedral) since 1349. The east wing dates from 1347 (renovated in the 16th C), the west wing from 1579-1585. It contains the Musée de l'Oeuvre Notre-Dame, with the originals of sculpture from the cathedral and a number of pictures, mainly by artists from the Upper Rhine region.

1km/0.75mi north of the Place de la République, on the east side of the Place de Bordeaux, is the Maison de la Radio, the Strasbourg headquarters of the French radio and television service, and farther north, in a large park, is the hexagonal Palais de la Musique et des Congrès, an international congress center built in 1973-1975. Northeast of this is the Terrain d'Exposition (Exhibition Grounds), with an exhibition hall and ice rink, flanked by sports and recreation grounds.

The hub of Strasbourg's traffic is Place Kléber, named after General J. B. Kléber, born in Strasbourg in 1753. In the square is a statue of Kléber, under which is a vault containing his remains. On the north side of the square is the Aubette (Orderly Room), built by Blondel in 1765-1772, which until 1918 housed the Conservatoire and the main police station.

In Strasbourg, from the Ancienne Douane the Pont du Corbeau leads over the Ill to the Place du Corbeau, with an old inn, the Hôtellerie du Corbeau (14th C, picturesque courtyard), once a posting station, where many notable people stayed between the 16th and 18th centuries, including Frederick the Great in 1740.

In Strasbourg, from the Place Kléber, the busy Rue des Grandes-Arcades runs south to Place Gutenberg, in the center of which is a statue of Gutenberg (1840). On the southwest side of the square is the finest Renaissance building in Lower Alsace, originally the Town Hall (1582- 1585) and now occupied by the Chamber of Commerce (tourist information office). From the southeast corner of the square Rue Mercière leads to the Place de la Cathédrale, with a magnificent view of the west front of the cathedral.