Place Kléber Audio Guide

Place Kléber: what does the audio guide cover?

1. 01

   Welcome to Place Kléber

   Welcome to Place Kléber, the central square of Strasbourg and the largest square in the heart of the city's commercial district. Take a moment to turn slowly on the spot. You are standing in a wide pedestrian space where shoppers, café-goers, market crowds and festival visitors all cross paths, and where the city has gathered for political, cultural and sporting events. This square sits in the Grande Île, the historic island at the center of Strasbourg. In 1988 UNESCO classified that area as a World Heritage Site, the first time such an honor was given to an entire city centre. So the pavement under your feet belongs to a very special neighborhood. Over the next few stops we will look at how the square got its names, who lies beneath the statue in its middle, the grand building on its north side, and how the square has been reshaped for modern life. Start by finding the statue near the center. It is the key to the whole story.

2. 02

   A Square of Many Names

   Few squares have changed names as often as this one. Long before it was Place Kléber, the area was a great crossroads in Roman times. In the thirteenth century a convent took its place, and that convent was partly destroyed at the time of the Reformation. The square was first known by a German name, Barfüsserplatz, which refers to the barefoot friars. A Franciscan monastery once stood along its edge. In the seventeenth century it became the Waffenplatz, the Arms Square, a name that fits a space used as a place of military gathering. French speakers know that period as the Place d'Armes. The name you see today dates from 24 June 1840. It was given when the monument to General Jean-Baptiste Kléber was inaugurated. The story of the name did not stop there. After the German annexation, the square was called Kleberplatz, the German form of the same name. A single square, three centuries of names, and every change reflects who held the city and what it wanted to celebrate.

3. 03

   The General Beneath the Statue

   Now look at the statue at the center. It honors Jean-Baptiste Kléber, born in Strasbourg in 1753. He first served in the Austrian army, then made his name in the French army under Napoleon Bonaparte, and he became a general of the French Revolutionary Wars. The statue was sculpted by Philippe Grass between 1836 and 1838. Kléber was assassinated in Cairo in 1800, and his body was brought back to France. Then comes a twist of politics. The account that has come down to us says Napoleon feared the tomb would become a symbol for Republicanism, and ordered it kept at the Château d'If, on an island near Marseille. It stayed there for 18 years, until Louis XVIII granted a burial place in Kléber's hometown. He was laid to rest on 15 December 1838, below his statue in the middle of the square. So this is not only a monument but also a tomb. The general who was born a few steps from here, and who died far away in Egypt, finally came home to the heart of his city.

4. 04

   The Aubette and the Changing Square

   Turn toward the north side of the square, where a long, orderly façade closes the view. This is the Aubette, the one part of the square where the architecture has real unity. It came out of the city embellishment plan drawn up in 1765 by Jacques-François Blondel, who designed a monumental building for military use, and it rose in the early 1770s. Its classical lines stand in contrast with the other, more varied buildings around the square, which come from periods ranging from the Middle Ages to the twentieth century. The square itself has been reshaped many times. In the early 1900s it was well planted with trees, and old photographs show it that way. Looking toward the Place de l'Homme de Fer, the view that once opened there now includes the Valentin Sorg tower. The most recent redesign came in 2007, guided by the landscape designer Gilles Clément. The aim was to make the square more welcoming, so that Strasbourg residents and visitors would stop and stay rather than simply cross it. Today it is entirely pedestrian, which is why it feels so open when you walk across.

5. 05

   Before You Head Off

   One more layer is worth knowing about. Place Kléber becomes a stage in winter. It hosts part of Strasbourg's famous Christmas market, the Christkindelsmärik, which dates back to 1570. The square is also where the great Christmas tree stands, about 30 meters tall, chosen from the conifers of the Vosges and set up at the center of the square every year since 1990. So if you come back in a different season, you may find a very different square: market stalls, lights and crowds around the same statue and the same Aubette façade. Before you leave, try one thing. Stand beside the statue and look out in each direction. Notice where the Aubette closes the square, where the open pavement leads off, and how the space feels under your feet. Then ask yourself which of its many names and many lives is the one you can still sense here. The streets running off the square, within the Grande Île, are a fine place to keep looking.