Strasbourg, located in northeastern France close to the German border, has a population of 272,975 inhabitants in the city proper and 467,375 inhabitants in the urban community. Its metropolitan area, situated only on French territory, has a population of 759,868, making it the ninth largest in France. The transnational Eurodistrict Strasbourg-Ortenau has 884,988 inhabitants as of 2008. Strasbourg is the official seat of the European Parliament and is home to several other European institutions such as the Council of Europe and the Eurocorps, as well as the Central Commission for Navigation on the Rhine and the International Institute of Human Rights. The city has a rich history, as evidenced by its status as a world heritage site by UNESCO in 1988. Strasbourg has played a key role in bridging the gap between France and Germany and is a blend of Catholic and Protestant culture.
Strasbourg is an important center of manufacturing and engineering, as well as being a hub of road, rail, and river transportation. The port of Strasbourg is the second largest on the Rhine after Duisburg, Germany. The city has a humid oceanic climate characterized by warm and sunny summers and cold, overcast winters. Strasbourg is located on the eastern border of France with Germany, with the River Rhine forming the border and facing across the river to the German town Kehl. The historic core of the city lies on the Grande Île in the River Ill, which flows parallel to, and roughly 4 kilometers from, the Rhine. The city lies in the Upper Rhine Plain, with the upland areas of the Vosges Mountains some 20 kilometers to the west and the Black Forest 25 kilometers to the east.
The first traces of human occupation in the environs of Strasbourg go back several thousand years, with Neolithic, Bronze Age, and Iron Age artifacts uncovered by archeological excavations. The Romans, under Nero Claudius Drusus, established a military outpost called Argentoratum belonging to the Germania Superior Roman province at Strasbourg’s current location. The name Argentorate was first mentioned in 12 BC and the city celebrated its 2,000th birthday in 1988. The Roman camp was destroyed by fire and rebuilt six times between the first and fifth centuries AD. The centre of Argentoratum proper was situated on the Grande Île. Many Roman artifacts have also been found along the current Route des Romains, the road that led to Argentoratum, in the suburb of Kœnigshoffen.
From the fourth century, Strasbourg was the seat of the Bishopric of Strasbourg. Archaeological excavations below the current Église Saint-Étienne in 1948 and 1956 unearthed the apse of a church dating back to the late fourth or early fifth century, considered to be the oldest church in Alsace. It is presumed that this was the first seat of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Strasbourg. In the ninth century it was commonly known as Strazburg in the local language, as documented in 842 by the Oaths of Strasbourg. The town was also called Stratisburgum or Strateburgus in Latin, from which later came Strossburi in Alsatian and Straßburg in Standard German, and then Strasbourg in French. The Oaths of Strasbourg declared mutual assistance between Louis the German, ruler of East Francia; and his half-brother Charles the Bald, ruler of West Francia. The text contains the oldest written variety of Gallo-Romance (lingua romana) clearly distinct from Latin, the ancestor of Old French.
Strasbourg has suffered its fair share of violent disputes throughout history. However, the city has been a bridge of unity between France and Germany for centuries, in part through the University of Strasbourg, which is currently the second largest in France. The largest Islamic place of worship in France, the Strasbourg Grand Mosque, was inaugurated by French Interior Minister Manuel Valls on September 27, 2012. Despite being situated far inland, Strasbourg’s location in the Rhine valley, sheltered from dominant winds by the Vosges and Black Forest mountains, has resulted in poor natural ventilation, making Strasbourg one of the most atmospherically polluted cities in France. Nonetheless, the progressive disappearance of heavy industry on both banks of the Rhine, as well as effective measures of traffic regulation in and around the city, have reduced air pollution.
Posted by PaChambers on 2015-06-21 10:36:04