Fabienne Keller, the
city's new mayor, is dedicated to allocating a large portion of
Strasbourg’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 during 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 Congrès,
place de Bordeaux (telephone number: (03) 8837 6767.
Recitals and chamber music can be heard inside churches and smaller
concert halls. Every year, for a weekend in September during journée
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 (telephone
number:(03) 8834 1036), and TAPS Laiterie, 13 rue
du Hohwald (telephone number: (03) 8823 7237), have been working
together to present a long season (September-June) of theatre, music
and dance.
Tickets
Tickets are available for purchase at the venue or, for larger concerts,
at FNAC, place Kléber (telephone number: (03) 8852 2121).
Cultural activities are listed in the Dernières
Nouvelles d’Alsace,
Strasbourg Magazine and Hebdoscope. More information
about cultural events is found in Autour de… the French-only
journal of the Opéra National du Rhin, available
from the Office du Tourisme (see Tourist Information
in Sightseeing).
Music
The Opéra
National du Rhin, Théâtre Municipal, 19 place Broglie
(telephone number: (03) 8875 4800, fax number: (03) 8824 0934, e-mail:
opera@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 , conducted by world-renowned Jan
Latham-Koenig, which performs at the Palais de
la Musique et des Congrès, place de Bordeaux (telephone
number: (03) 8815 0900, website: www.strasbourgmeeting.com),
the Percussions de Strasbourg, 15 place André-Maurois (telephone
number: (03) 8826 0709, website: www.bisbigliando.com/percussions.htm
), and the Conservatoire National de Région de Strasbourg
(CNR), 10 rue du Hohwald (telephone number: (03) 8823 7723).
Theatre
Organisations that attract international companies, actors and directors
include the Théâtre
National de Strasbourg (TNS), 1 avenue de la Marseillaise (telephone
number: (03) 8824 8824, fax number: (03) 8837 3771, e-mail: tns@tns.fr).
The Théâtre
Jeune Public, 7 rue des Balayeurs (telephone number: (03) 8835
7010, fax number: (03) 8836 5327, e-mail: tjp@theatre-jeune-public.com),
and Le Maillon,
13 place André Maurois (telephone number: (03) 8827 6171
or 8827 6181, e-mail: info@le-maillon.com.
The Théâtre
Alsacien de Strasbourg, located at the Théâtre
Municipal, 19 place Broglie (tel: (03) 8875 4800; fax: (03) 8824
0934), and La
Choucrouterie, 20 rue St-Louis (telephone number: (03) 8836
0728), presents traditional shows and political satires in French
and Alsatian. Le
Kafteur, 3 rue Thiergarten (telephone number: (03) 8822 2203,
fax number: (03) 8852 0709, e-mail: infokafteur@wanadoo.fr
), is a café-théâtre that presents humorous
sketches.
Dance
The Opéra
du Rhin Ballet (e-mail: ballet@opera-national-du-rhin.com)
performs at the Palais de la Musique et des Congrès, place
de Bordeaux (tel: (03) 8837 6767, website: www.strasbourgmeeting.com)
and the Théâtre Municipal, 19 place
Broglie (telephone number: (03) 8875 4800, fax number: (03) 8824
0934). Contemporary dance and jazz take place at Pôle
Sud, 1 rue de Bourgogne (telephone number: (03) 8839 2340.
Film
The recently opened multiplex UGC Ciné Cité,
25 route du Rhin, Neudorf, east Strasbourg (telephone number: (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 (telephone number: (03) 8832
0436, offers all the latest national and international films.
The centrally located Pathé Vox, 17 rue
des Francs Bourgeois (telephone number: (03) 8875 5021), offers
reduced rates for the 1100 hrs showing. Star Saint Exupéry,
18 rue du 22 Novembre (telephone number: (03) 8832 3482), has the
winning formula of film plus meal. Arthouse cinemas, Cinéma
Star, 27 rue Jeu des Enfants (telephone number: (03) 8832
4497), and Odyssée, 3 rue des Francs-Bourgeois
(telephone number: (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 Poésie, 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 Scène Musicale. Musica,
the festival of contemporary music, held at the Palais de la Musique
et des Congrès, 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.
Goëthe’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, René 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
dialects. 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 (telephone
number: (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 Bibliothèque National de France) and a
fabulous humanist library, Bibliothèque Humaniste
de Sélestat, located 45km (28 miles) from Strasbourg,
in Sélestat. The latter boasts a rich collection of 3,000
manuscripts dating from the 7th to the 16th century and tracing
the evolution from handwritten to printed work. |
