Strasbourg Squares

Whether you’ve been here before and would enjoy a virtual re-visit, or you’ve never thought of Strasbourg and would like to catch a glimpse through my lens, or you are itching to visit and want a preview… I hope you will enjoy the tour and learning more about this charming and fascinating place with me.

According to the history books, the people who gradually reassembled the city from VI to VIII centuries were a multicultural, polyglot mix from here, there and everywhere around Europe. Which is also still true today. Anyone who has seen pictures of its architecture can guess that Strasbourg has changed hands between the Germans and the French a few times. It also served as a symbolic locale for European peacemaking and rebuilding after WWII.

(Image: Suckling Pig Square - By Charles Pinet, 1910)
There is something marvelous to me about the idea that the timeworn walls of these public gathering places have stood as passive witnesses to the constantly evolving living conditions, fashions, world events, cultural trends, governments and approach to community in Strasbourg. I’ve made it one of my missions during COVID-19 confinement to learn the stories of Strasbourg’s squares.

For hundreds of years, Pont du Corbeau was the site of public executions. Criminals of all kinds—petty thieves, murderers and quite often women accused of adultery, infanticide or witchcraft—were publicly shamed before being dipped or drowned in the putrid (and often frigid) waters below.

Exploring past epidemics as we lived through the COVID-19 one in Strasbourg enriched my understanding of and connection with the city’s history. I'd like to share some intriguing learnings before I move on to the most mysterious of epidemics in Chapter 6.

Strasbourg itself was the epicenter of an intriguing epidemic known as the dancing plague, which compels its victims to dance for hours, days and even weeks on end—often to the point of death by exhaustion. Compared to the Coronavirus, this dancing plague sounded to me like much more interesting times…

I value the widespread commitment to environmental sustainability in Europe, all over France and notably in Strasbourg. Building on this little example of its history of harnessing and preserving natural resources, Strasbourg is now the #1 biking city in France with extensive bike-friendly infrastructure that has substantially cut pollution in this river valley, while also making for healthier commuters and a quieter urban ambiance. Most impressively of all, the Strasbourg metropolitan area is striving to transition to renewable energy sources over the next three decades, aiming to reach 100% by the year 2050.