Strasbourg, France is among my favorite cities, and I suspect that's in part because of its unique mix of cultures. A French city that spent years in Germany almost within living memory, and one that has its own Alsatian heritage as well.
Strasbourg's local history museum located in a historic market hall used by butchers, tells the long tale of conflict, and how it has affected the region over time, and why it became one of the capitals of the European Union, whose parliament building (below) faces the Rhine River.
And that history of living on the edge between powerful neighbors goes back far further than the 19th and 20th century events that saw the city change hands four times in 75 years. It starts with Charlemagne, really.
The 8th century King of the Franks assembled a large empire that included most of present-day France and Germany as well as parts of Italy and had himself proclaimed Holy Roman Emperor. His son Louis the Pious succeeded him, but after Louis's death in 841, his three sons, Charlemagne's grandsons, divided the empire among them, leaving Strasbourg on the border between the realms of Louis the German and Lothar.
In 842, Louis the German and Charles the Bald, rulers of the eastern and western portions, met in Strasbourg and signed the Oaths of Strasbourg, agreeing mutual aid against their older brother Lothair. Incidentally, it's the first important political document that wasn't written in Latin, but in Old French and Old High German.
Conflicts among them and their heirs continued, with territories passing back and forth frequently.
But, by less than a hundred years later, the Carolingian kingdoms of Charlemagne's grandsons were no longer powerful single units, and the area we know as Alsace was in the hands of many local rulers. The map at right is the situation as of about 1450.
Strasbourg itself became a 'free city' in 1201, under protection of the Emperor, with the Bishop of Strasbourg as ruler until the local burghers overthrew him in 1262.
By the end of the 14th century, Strasbourg was issuing its own currency and had a written city charter and its own coat of arms, below. The name Argentinensis on the insignia refers to the Roman name for Strasbourg, Argentoratum.
Times were not peaceful, loyalties were strained, alliances came and went, and it's no surprise that displays of arms and armor are well-represented in the museum's collection.
Strasbourg's independence came to an end in 1689, when Louis XIV conquered the area and incorporated it into France. French priests, nobles and administrators moved to the area, introduced French styles, and built new fortifications. The 1727 model below, at 1:500 scale, was built for military planning purposes. Below that, a model of the 13th century city hall that survived until 1780.
The first 200 years of French rule in the area were marked by a religious shift that changed many of the city's churches, including the cathedral, from Protestant to Catholic worship, and a shift in building styles, at least for the wealthy, to French models. It was also a period of artistic endeavor.
Strasbourg also had other influences; sleighs, although usually less decorated than this one, showed up in Strasbourg, likely from the east, and in images of the city during the 17th century, a century before they became fashionable in most of France. Furniture for the wealthy also took on new looks.
The French Revolution came to Strasbourg, although with less anti-Royal sentiment than in some other places. A satiric cartoon mocks the radical Jacobins. For a time, the Cathedral was declared a 'Temple of Reason.' and plans were afoot to tear down the tower; it was saved when a revolutionary Phrygian cap was put on it, replacing a cross. Strasbourg had another role in the revolution: revolutionary propaganda in German was printed there for distribution across the border.
During the same period, the French anthem La Marseillaise, was written in Strasbourg and introduced as an inspiration to local troops heading off to war with Austria. It only got its name later when volunteers from Marseilles, who had heard it, introduced it in Paris.
Glass models of soldiers in various uniforms of the Napoleonic era and models of Strasbourg-built coaches and horse-drawn buses.
Between the Revolution and the Franco-Prussian war of 1870, Strasbourg went through a period of modernization and new public works. Parks and gardens were laid out, the railroad arrived, the university expanded, and public works were modernized. On the roof of the cathedral, a signaling system was installed that used semaphore arms to pass messages to other stations. A message could reach Paris in 45 minutes.
The 1870 war ended with Alsace and most of Lorraine ceded to the victorious Germans, who quickly began a program of major public works to 'Germanize' the city. Schools were shifted to German language, officials were replaced, and a new German university was created. Below, Kaiser Wilhelm II visiting Strasbourg, an annual event.
The period of German rule left Strasbourgers and Alsatians in general with many issues, notably whether or not to take part in German elections and local government. Many demanded at least autonomy for Alsace if it could not be French.
When World War I came, along with propaganda for both sides, thousands of Alsatians were drafted into the German army. Before the war was a year old, Germany decided to doubt their loyalty, and sent them to serve only in the east, not in France. At war's end, Strasbourg made clear what it thought of German rule and of Kaiser Wilhelm.
At the beginning of World War II, France evacuated much of the population to other parts of France, but eventually they returned; when France was invaded, Germany declared Alsace and Strasbourg German again, but this time only five years passed before French rule returned. As after World War I, those with German loyalties were pushed out and big efforts went into strengthening pro-French feeling. The poster here basically urges that 'it's cool to speak French.'
In the end, perhaps in large part because of its mixed heritage and mixed history, Strasbourg was among the areas that were quick to embrace the early beginnings in 1949 toward European unity, and toward its status today as one of Europe's capitals.
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