Rahul WishardI have had a very close connection to the Alsace region of France in the past, particularly Strasbourg and have been to this region countless times and have felt very welcomed each time. With the main city, Strasbourg located so close to the German border, the German influences on the architecture seems obvious and most definitely stands out. The Alsace region is also famous for it’s white vines, particularly the dry Rieslings and the aromatic Gewürztraminer wines.
‘Petite-France‘ in the old district in the city centre of Strasbourg. Interestingly the name ‘Petite-France‘ was given to this area by the former German inhabitants because of the numerous prostitutes working here in the Middle Ages — prostitution used to be known in Germany as ‘the French business‘.
In the old district, Strasbourg
The ‘Cathédrale Notre Dame de Strasbourg‘ – although considerable parts of this church are in Romanesque architecture, it is widely considered to be among the finest examples of high, or late, Gothic architecture. At 142 metres, it was the world’s tallest building from 1647 to 1874 AD and is the sixth tallest church in the world today; the tallest is the ‘Ulm Münster‘ in Germany, it is 161.5 metres high.
I climbed up the ‘Cathédrale Notre Dame de Strasbourg‘ through the narrow staircase, this is the view on the way down from a tiny window
Inside the ‘Cathédrale Notre Dame de Strasbourg‘
A small village in Alsace
The view into Alsace from the Vosges Mountains with the Black Forest in Germany at the back
Vineyard in Alsace
A cinema in the city centre Strasbourg
Germany from above on the flight to Strasbourg in winter
I visited Strasbourg 5 times between 2006 and 2009.
