Neustadt, Strasbourg


The Neustadt is a district of Strasbourg, Bas-Rhin, France. In 2017, the heart of the district was listed as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO, as an extension of the site including the older city centre and Strasbourg Cathedral. The district is a unique example of city planning, merging the Haussmannian model with elements of German architecture and urban planning.
Aside from the Imperial Quarter of Metz, the Neustadt district of Strasbourg contains the most complete and best-preserved examples of urbanism under the German Empire. In Germany itself, the comparable districts of such cities often suffered the bombardment by Allied forces in the Second World War.

History and description

The Neustadt district was created by the Germans during the Reichsland period to serve as a new city center. As opposed to the old town on the Grande Île, which in 1871 had more narrow and crooked streets and fewer squares than today, the new town was conceived along monumental boulevards and broad, rectilinear streets that were seen as modern, healthy and easy to police. In order to gain the necessary space, several belts of fortifications, mostly dating from the years 1519–1552, and 1630–1681, were torn down; remains of these are found with each archaeological excavation in the area. Many architectural styles were used for the construction of the Neustadt, mostly on a grand scale: Baroque Revival, Renaissance Revival, Gothic Revival, Romanesque Revival, often a mixture of several or all of these styles. At the end of the 19th century, at the same time as a new building material, reinforced concrete, a new and better defined style appeared as well: Art Nouveau.
The Neustadt comprises a number of public buildings and monuments that are today classified as Monuments historiques, such as:
and also landmarks that are not classified as Monuments historiques, such as the Saint-Pierre-le-Jeune Catholic Church.

Notable architects

Literature

  • Recht, Roland; Foessel, Georges; Klein, Jean-Pierre: Connaître Strasbourg, 1988,, pages 253–272
  • Bengel, Sabine; Jordan, Benoît; Nohlen, Klaus; Werlé, Maxime et al.: Strasbourg, de la Grande Île à la Neustadt, un patrimoine urbain exceptionnel, 2013,
  • Rapetti, Rodolphe; Schnitzler, Bernadette; et al.: Strasbourg 1900, naissance d'une capitale, 2000,
  • Befort, Paul-André; Daul Léon; Kontzler Chantal; Lery Pierre: Strasbourg 1900, carrefour des arts nouveaux, 2010,
  • Doucet, Hervé; Haegel, Olivier; Pottecher, Marie; et al.: La Neustadt de Strasbourg : un laboratoire urbain , 2017,