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Culture Fabienne Keller, Strasbourg’s new mayor, is dedicated to allocating a large portion of the city’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 of 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 (tel: (03) 8837 6767; website: www.strasbourgmeeting.com). Recitals and chamber music can be heard inside churches and smaller concert halls. Every year, for a weekend every September (journée des patrimoine), Strasbourg’s cultural institutions allow free entry to the public. From September 2002, two key cultural venues – TAPS Scala, 96 route du Polygone (tel (03) 8834 1036) and TAPS Laiterie, 10 rue du Howald – will work together to present a long season (September-June) of theatre music and dance.. Cultural activities are listed in the Dernières Nouvelles d’Alsace (website: www.dna.fr), Strasbourg Magazine (website: www.mairie-strasbourg.fr) and Hebdoscope. Tickets are available for purchase at the venue or, for larger concerts, at FNAC, place Kléber (tel: (03) 8852 2121). Music: The Opéra National du Rhin, Théâtre Municipal, 19 place Broglie (tel: (03) 8875 4800; fax: (03) 8824 0934; e-mail: opera@opera-national-du-rhin.com; website: www.opera-national-du-rhin.com), has earned Strasbourg a worldwide reputation in classical, lyrical and contemporary music. Other prestigious organisations include the Orchestre Philharmonique de Strasbourg (OPS), conducted by world-renowned Jan Latham-Koenig, which performs at the Palais de la Musique et des Congrès, place de Bordeaux (tel: (03) 8815 0900; website: www.strasbourgmeeting.com), the Percussions de Strasbourg, 15 place André-Maurois (tel: (03) 8826 0709; website: www.bisbigliando.com/percussions.htm), and the Conservatoire National de Région de Strasbourg (CNR), 10 rue du Hohwald (tel: (03) 8823 7723). Theatre: Organisations that attract international companies, actors and directors include the Théâtre National de Strasbourg (TNS), 1 avenue de la Marseillaise (tel: (03) 8824 8824; fax: (03) 8837 3771; e-mail: tns@tns.fr; website: www.tns.fr), the Théâtre Jeune Public, 7 rue des Balayeurs (tel: (03) 8835 7010; fax: (03) 8836 5327; e-mail: tjp@theatre-jeune-public.com; website: www.theatre-jeune-public.com), and Le Maillon, 13 place André Maurois (tel: (03) 8827 6171 or 6181, box office; e-mail: info@lemaillon.com; website: www.le-maillon.com). The Théâtre Alsacien de Strasbourg is located at the Théâtre Municipal, 19 place Broglie (tel: (03) 8875 4800; fax: (03) 8824 0934), and La Choucrouterie, 20 rue St-Louis (tel: (03) 8836 0728), presents traditional shows and political satires in French and Alsatian. Le Kafteur is a café-théâtre, located at 3 rue Thiergarten (tel: (03) 8822 2203; website: www.lekafteur.com), which presents humorous sketches. Dance: The Rhine Ballet Company performs at the Palais de la Musique et des Congrès, place de Bordeaux (tel: (03) 8837 6767; website: www.strasbourgmeeting.com), and at the Opéra du Rhin (website: www.opera-national-du-rhin.com), located at the Théâtre Municipal, 19 place Broglie (tel: (03) 8875 4800; fax: (03) 8824 0934). Contemporary dance and jazz take place at Pôle Sud, 1 rue de Bourgogne (tel: (03) 8839 2340; website: www.strasbourg.com/pole-sud). Film: The recently opened multiplex, UGC (tel: (08) 9270 0000), on the Route du Rhin, in the Neudorf district, east Strasbourg, boasts 22 screens and seats 5,400 people, making it the largest cinema in Europe. The centrally located Pathé Vox (tel: (03) 8875 5021), 17 rue des Francs Bourgeois, offers reduced rates for the 1100 showing. Star Saint Exupéry, 18 rue du 22 Novembre (tel: (03) 8832 3482), has the winning formula of film plus meal. Art cinemas, Cinéma Star, 27 rue Jeu des Enfants (tel: (03) 8832 4497), and Odyssée, 3 rue des Francs Bourgeois (tel: (03) 8875 1047), show films in their original language. Cultural events: The major annual events 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 Congres, 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 dialect. Alsatian literature can be found at La Librairie Oberlin, 22 rue de la Division Leclerc (tel: (03) 8832 4583), and at the annual Salon du Livre in Colmar. 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 3000 manuscripts dating from the seventh to the 16th century and tracing the evolution from handwritten to printed work. |
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