World City Guide

Culture

Fabienne Keller, Strasbourg’s new mayor, is dedicated to allocating a large portion of the city’s budget to culture. Music is its forte but Strasbourg does well across the cultural spread, with several events open to the public every day of the year.

The concert and opera seasons run from October until May. The largest concerts are shown at the Palais de la Musique et des Congrs, place de Bordeaux (tel: (03) 8837 6767; website: www.strasbourgmeeting.com ). Recitals and chamber music can be heard inside churches and smaller concert halls. Every year, for a weekend in September during journe du patrimoine, Strasbourg’s cultural institutions allow free entry to the public. Since September 2002, two key cultural venues, TAPS Scala, 96 route du Polygone (tel (03) 8834 1036), and TAPS Laiterie, 13 rue du Hohwald (tel: (03) 8823 7237), have been working together to present a long season (Sep-Jun) of theatre, music and dance.

Tickets are available for purchase at the venue or, for larger concerts, at FNAC, place Klber (tel: (03) 8852 2121).

Cultural activities are listed in the Dernires Nouvelles d’Alsace (website: www.dna.fr ), Strasbourg Magazine (website: www.mairie-strasbourg.fr ) and Hebdoscope. More information about cultural events is found in Autour de& the French-only journal of the Opra National du Rhin, available from the Office du Tourisme (see Tourist Information in Sightseeing).

Music: The Opra National du Rhin, Thtre Municipal, 19 place Broglie (tel: (03) 8875 4800; fax: (03) 8824 0934; e-mail: opera@opera-national-du-rhin.com; website: www.opera-national-du-rhin.com ), has earned Strasbourg a worldwide reputation for classical, lyrical and contemporary music. Other prestigious organisations include the Orchestre Philharmonique de Strasbourg (website: www.philharmonique-strasbourg.com ), conducted by world-renowned Jan Latham-Koenig, which performs at the Palais de la Musique et des Congrs, place de Bordeaux (tel: (03) 8815 0900; website: www.strasbourgmeeting.com ), the Percussions de Strasbourg, 15 place Andr-Maurois (tel: (03) 8826 0709; website: www.bisbigliando.com/percussions.htm ), and the Conservatoire National de Rgion de Strasbourg (CNR), 10 rue du Hohwald (tel: (03) 8823 7723).

Theatre: Organisations that attract international companies, actors and directors include the Thtre National de Strasbourg (TNS), 1 avenue de la Marseillaise (tel: (03) 8824 8824; fax: (03) 8837 3771; e-mail: tns@tns.fr; website: www.tns.fr ), the Thtre Jeune Public, 7 rue des Balayeurs (tel: (03) 8835 7010; fax: (03) 8836 5327; e-mail: tjp@theatre-jeune-public.com; website: www.theatre-jeune-public.com ), and Le Maillon, 13 place Andr Maurois (tel: (03) 8827 6171 or 8827 6181; e-mail: info@le-maillon.com; website: www.le-maillon.com ). The Thtre Alsacien de Strasbourg, located at the Thtre Municipal, 19 place Broglie (tel: (03) 8875 4800; fax: (03) 8824 0934; website: www.theatre-alsacien-strasbourg.com ), and La Choucrouterie, 20 rue St-Louis (tel: (03) 8836 0728; website: www.choucrouterie.com ), presents traditional shows and political satires in French and Alsatian. Le Kafteur, 3 rue Thiergarten (tel: (03) 8822 2203; fax: (03) 8852 0709; e-mail: infokafteur@wanadoo.fr; website: www.lekafteur.com ), is a caf-thtre that presents humorous sketches.

Dance: The Opra du Rhin Ballet (e-mail: ballet@opera-national-du-rhin.com; website: www.opera-national-du-rhin.com ) performs at the Palais de la Musique et des Congrs, place de Bordeaux (tel: (03) 8837 6767; website: www.strasbourgmeeting.co ) and the Thtre Municipal, 19 place Broglie (tel: (03) 8875 4800; fax: (03) 8824 0934). Contemporary dance and jazz take place at Ple Sud, 1 rue de Bourgogne (tel: (03) 8839 2340; website: www.strasbourg.com/pole-sud ).

Film: The recently opened multiplex UGC Cin Cit, 25 route du Rhin, Neudorf, east Strasbourg (tel: (08) 9270 0000), boasts 23 screens and seats 5,400 people, making it the largest cinema in Europe. Its sibling, the UGC Capitole, 3-5 rue du 22 Novembre (tel: (03) 8832 0436; website: www.ugc.fr ), offers all the latest national and international films. The centrally located Path Vox, 17 rue des Francs Bourgeois (tel: (03) 8875 5021), offers reduced rates for the 1100 showing. Star Saint Exupry, 18 rue du 22 Novembre (tel: (03) 8832 3482), has the winning formula of film plus meal. Arthouse cinemas, Cinma Star, 27 rue Jeu des Enfants (tel: (03) 8832 4497), and Odysse, 3 rue des Francs-Bourgeois (tel: (03) 8875 1152; website: www.cinemaodyssee.com ), show films in the original language.

Cultural Events: The major annual events in Strasbourg are the International Music Festival in June, with classical concerts held throughout the city, and Strasbourg’s summer season of poetry, Les Mardis de la Posie, every Tuesday in July and August, as well as choral concerts on Wednesday (Les Mercredis de la Voix), and concerts on Thursday (Les Jeudis de la Petite Scne Musicale). Musica, the festival of contemporary music, held at the Palais de la Musique et des Congrs, in September, and the jazz extravaganza, Jazz d’Or, in November, are also important annual events on the city’s cultural calendar.

Literary Notes: Early literary works involving the city include the Serments de Strasbourg (842), by the brothers Charles le Chauve and Louis le Germanique, and the edifying 12th-century Hortus Deliciarum, by the nun, Herrade de Landsberg. The city’s association with the written word was continued by Gutenberg (1399-1468), who arrived in Strasbourg in 1434, where he developed his printing press with moveable type. Despite debtors forcing Gutenberg to flee from Strasbourg in 1444, by the end of the 15th century, printing was strongly established in the city – an integral part of the intense religious and intellectual life in Alsace.

Gothe’s stay in Strasbourg, in 1770-71, marked the start of the German renovation movement in poetry, known as ‘Sturm und Drang’. Up to the end of World War I, German-language literature was thriving. Notable contributors were Friedrich Lienhard, Ren Schickele and Jean-Hans Arp. Albert Schweitzer, the most important Alsatian figure of the 20th century, contributed with literature in dialect. In the early 1980s, Alsatian literature (in the form of songs and poetry) was rediscovered. Alsatian folklore was published in modern French. Particularly charming are the magical tales traditionally recounted on New Year’s Eve.

Modern Alsatian literature is expressed in French, German and Alsatian dialect. Prominent writers and poets include Maxime Alexandre, Jean-Hans Arp, Gaston Jung, Alfred Kern, Marcel Schneider and Claude Vigee. Alsatian literature can be found at La Librairie Oberlin, 22 rue de la Division Leclerc (tel: (03) 8832 4583), and at the annual Salon du Livre, in Colmar, during November. Other highpoints on an Alsatian literary trail include the BNUS National University Library (France’s second largest library after the Bibliothque National de France) and a fabulous humanist library, Bibliothque Humaniste de Slestat, located 45km (28 miles) from Strasbourg, in Slestat. The latter boasts a rich collection of 3,000 manuscripts dating from the seventh to the 16th century and tracing the evolution from handwritten to printed work.