Strasbourg is a city in the Alsace region of north eastern France, close to the border with Germany. The city has a population of around 272,975 inhabitants, with its metropolitan area being the ninth largest in France with 759,868 inhabitants in 2010. Strasbourg is home to a number of European institutions, including the Council of Europe, the European Court of Human Rights, the Eurocorps, the European Parliament and the European Ombudsman of the European Union. The city is also the seat of the Central Commission for Navigation on the Rhine and the International Institute of Human Rights. Strasbourg’s historic city centre, the Grande Île, was the first city centre to be classified a World Heritage site by UNESCO in 1988. Strasbourg is an important centre for manufacturing and engineering, and its port is the second largest on the Rhine after Duisburg, Germany.
The name “Strasbourg” comes from Germanic origin and means “Town (at the crossing) of roads”. The city is situated on the eastern border of France with Germany, with the River Rhine forming its eastern border. The historic core of Strasbourg lies on the Grande Île in the River Ill, which here flows parallel to the Rhine. The city is some 400 kilometres east of Paris, with the mouth of the Rhine approximately 450 kilometres to the north, or 650 kilometres as the river flows. The climate in Strasbourg is classified as Oceanic, with warm, relatively sunny summers and cold, overcast winters. The highest temperature ever recorded was 38.5 °C in August 2003, during the 2003 European heat wave.
Humans have inhabited the environs of Strasbourg for many thousands of years, with neolithic, bronze age and iron age artifacts uncovered by archaeological excavations. The Romans established a military outpost belonging to the Germania Superior Roman province at Strasbourg’s current location, and named it Argentoratum. The name “Argentoratum” 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. From the year 90 on, the Legio VIII Augusta was permanently stationed in the Roman camp of Argentoratum. From the fourth century, Strasbourg was the seat of the Bishopric of Strasbourg (made an Archbishopric in 1988). Archaeological excavations unearthed the apse of a church dating back to the late fourth or early fifth century, considered to be the oldest church in Alsace. The Alemanni fought the Battle of Argentoratum against Rome in 357, and on 2 January 366, the Alemanni crossed the frozen Rhine in large numbers to invade the Roman Empire. In the fifth century, Strasbourg was occupied successively by Alemanni, Huns, and Franks.
In the ninth century, the town was commonly known as Strazburg in the local language, as documented in 842 by the Oaths of Strasbourg. This trilingual text contains, alongside texts in Latin and Old High German, the oldest written variety of Gallo-Romance, clearly distinct from Latin, the ancestor of Old French. 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.
Throughout history, Strasbourg has been violently disputed, but has been a bridge of unity between France and Germany for centuries, especially through the University of Strasbourg, currently the second largest in France, and the coexistence of Catholic and Protestant culture. The largest Islamic place of worship in France, the Strasbourg Grand Mosque, was inaugurated by French Interior Minister Manuel Valls on 27 September 2012. Economically, Strasbourg is an important centre of manufacturing and engineering, as well as a hub of road, rail, and river transportation. Strasbourg’s location in the Rhine valley results in poor natural ventilation, making Strasbourg one of the most atmospherically polluted cities of France. However, 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 09:19:17