Strasbourg (redirected from Argentorate)

Strasbourg (sträzbr`), Ger. Strassburg, city (1990 pop. 255,931), capital of Bas-Rhin dept., NE France, on the Ill River near its junction with the Rhine. It is the intellectual and commercial capital of Alsace. The city's chief industries are metal casting, machine and tool construction, oil and gas refining, and boatbuilding. Strasbourg's goose-liver pâté and beer are famous. Iron, potassium, gasoline, and numerous industrial products are shipped through Strasbourg's great port on the Rhine. The city has an important nuclear research center. It hosts a long-running music festival and has an opera company and several museums.

In Roman times Strasbourg was called Argentoratum and was an important city in the province of Upper Germany. It became an episcopal see in the 4th cent. Destroyed by the Huns in the 5th cent., the city was rebuilt and called Strateburgum [city of roadways]. After becoming part of the Holy Roman Empire in 923, Strasbourg, with the surrounding rural area, came under the temporal rule of its bishops. Its location at the crossroads of Flanders, Italy, France, and central Europe made it an important commercial center. In 1262, after some struggles with the bishops, the burghers secured the status of a free imperial city for the city proper. An upheaval in 1332 established a corporate government in which the guilds played a leading role.

Medieval German literature reached its height in Strasbourg with Gottfried von Strassburg. There also Johann Gutenberg's printing press may have been invented (15th cent.). Strasbourg accepted the Reformation in the 1520s under the leadership of Martin Bucer and became an important Protestant center. The Univ. of Strasbourg, founded in the 16th cent. as a Protestant university, numbered Goethe and Metternich among its students. The city's prosperity began to decline in the early 17th cent. and was severely damaged by the Thirty Years War (1618–48). In 1681, Louis XIV seized Strasbourg, which was confirmed in French possession by the Treaty of Ryswick (1697). The persecutions of French Protestants after 1685 were not carried into Strasbourg, which raised little objection to the annexation. The city enthusiastically supported the French Revolution and thereafter increasingly adopted French customs and speech.

Bombarded by the Prussians during the Franco-Prussian War, Strasbourg was ceded to Germany by the Treaty of Frankfurt (1871). It was recovered by France in 1919, following World War I. The city was occupied by the Germans and severely damaged in World War II. Most historical monuments, however, were saved. Chief among these is the Roman Catholic cathedral, begun in 1015 and completed in 1439. It has a famous astronomic clock installed in 1574.

After the war, the city expanded toward the east and south; in 1967 some 30 neighboring towns were absorbed into a new Community of Strasbourg. In 1949, Strasbourg became the seat of the Council of Europe. Strasbourg is now also the seat of the European Court of Human Rights and the European Union's European Parliament.

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Strasbourg

 German Strassburg

City (pop., 1999: 264,115), eastern France. Located on the Franco-German border, Strasbourg was originally a Celtic village; it became a garrison under the Romans. The Franks captured it in the 5th century, and in 842 the Oath of Strasbourg, uniting the western and eastern Franks, was concluded there. It became a free city within the Holy Roman Empire in 1262. It was seized by the French in 1681 and captured by Germany in the Franco-Prussian War (1870–71). It reverted to France after World War I but was occupied by Germany again during World War II, when it suffered considerable damage. A major river port and industrial centre, it is the seat of the Council of Europe and an international communications centre. Notable buildings include the restored medieval cathedral with its 14th-century astronomical clock. The parliament of what is now the European Union has met there since 1979.

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Strasbourg

a city in NE France, on the Rhine: the chief French inland port; under German rule (1870--1918); university (1567); seat of the Council of Europe and of the European Parliament. Pop.: 264 115 (1999)

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Strasbourg 

(also Strassbourg), a city in eastern France, on the 111 River, at the confluence of the 111 and Rhine rivers, and on the Rhone-Rhine and Marne-Rhine canals. Historical capital of Alsace and administrative center of the department of Bas-Rhin. Population, 254,000 (1968); with suburbs, 395,000 (1972).

Strasbourg is a major transportation junction and industrial, commercial, and cultural center. It is France’s second most important river port, with a freight turnover of 12 million tons in 1972. The city has an airport and is a railroad and highway junction. Manufactures include motor vehicles, machine tools, railroad equipment, riverboats, textiles, apparel, wood products, and leather goods. Other industries include electrical engineering and food processing. Oil refineries are located outside the city, as are enterprises of the petrochemical and rubber industries. Strasbourg has a university and a music conservatory.

Strasbourg arose on the site of a Celtic settlement. It was taken by the Romans in the middle of the first century B.C. The fortified camp of Argentoratum was founded on the site during the reign of the emperor Augustus (27 B.C. to A.D. 14). The name “Strasbourg” (Strateburgum) appeared in the sixth century. In 925, Strasbourg became part of the kingdom of Germany; it was a major economic center during the Middle Ages. In 1262 the city freed itself from the control of the bishop and became a free imperial city.

J. Gutenberg lived in Strasbourg from 1434 to 1444, and as a result book printing developed rapidly in the city in the late 15th century. In the late 15th and the 16th century the city was a center of humanism. In the 16th century, Strasbourg was an important center of the Reformation; M. Bucer lived in the city from 1523 to 1549.

In 1681, Strasbourg became part of France; its status as a French possession was formally recognized by the Treaty of Rijswick of 1697. The citizens of Strasbourg took an active part in the Great French Revolution. During the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–71 the city was partially destroyed by Prussian troops. Strasbourg was part of Germany from 1871 to 1918, serving as the center of the imperial territory of Alsace-Lorraine. The city was returned to France by the Peace Treaty of Versailles of 1919. In 1940 it was occupied by fascist German troops; it was liberated by the Resistance in November 1944.

The city’s architectural monuments include the Cathedral of Notre Dame (11th to 16th centuries), whose western facade (begun c. 1277), richly decorated with sculpture, is a masterpiece of Late Gothic art. Also noteworthy are the Gothic churches of St. Thomas (13th and 14th centuries) and St. Pierre-le-Vieux (15th century). Baroque structures include the episcopal palace (1722–28, architect A. Lagardelle), the town hall (1730), and the Chateau des Rohan (1732–42, architect J. Massol, based on plans by R. de Cotte; now housing the museums of fine art, archaeology, and decorative art). Several dwellings from the 14th through 16th centuries have been preserved in the city. Notable 20th-century structures include the buildings housing the Council of Europe (1950–55, architect B. Monnet) and the European Commission of Human Rights (1966, architects B. Monnet and J. April). The Museum de l’Oeuvre Notre-Dame, which houses Alsatian sculpture and painting, is located in Strasbourg.

REFERENCES

Heitz, R. Strasbourg. Paris, 1961.
Dollinger, P. Strasbourg, du passé au présent. Strasbourg, 1962.