Strasbourg-Ville is the main railway station in the city of Strasbourg,

Bas-Rhin Bas-Rhin (; Alsatian: ''Unterelsàss'', ' or '; traditional german: links=no, Niederrhein; en, Lower Rhine) is a department in Alsace which is a part of the Grand Est super-region of France. The name means 'Lower Rhine', referring to its low ...

, France. It is the eastern terminus of the

Paris-Est–Strasbourg-Ville railway The railway from Paris-Est to Strasbourg-Ville is a 493-kilometre-long railway line that connects Paris to Strasbourg via Châlons-en-Champagne and Nancy, France. Officially, the line does not start at the Gare de l'Est in Paris: the first 9&nbs ...

. The current core building, an example of historicist architecture of the Wilhelminian period, replaced a previous station inaugurated in 1852, later turned into a covered market and ultimately demolished.
With over 20 million passengers in 2018, Strasbourg-Ville is one of the busiest railway stations in France, second only to Lyon-Part-Dieu outside of the

Île-de-France The Île-de-France (, ; literally "Isle of France") is the most populous of the eighteen regions of France. Centred on the capital Paris, it is located in the north-central part of the country and often called the ''Région parisienne'' (; en, Pa ...

Previous history

Strasbourg's first railway station was inaugurated on 19 September 1841 with the opening of the Strasbourg–Basel railway. It was situated far from the city center, in the district of Koenigshoffen. On 11 July 1846, it was moved to the city center; a new building was designed (as a

terminus station A train station, railway station, railroad station or depot is a railway facility where trains stop to load or unload passengers, freight or both. It generally consists of at least one platform, one track and a station building providing such ...

) by the French architect Jean-André Weyer (1805–??) and inaugurated on 18 July 1852 by Président Bonaparte. After the German annexation of Alsace following the Franco-Prussian War and as part of the general rebuilding of the town after the

Siege of Strasbourg The siege of Strasbourg took place during the Franco-Prussian War, and resulted in the French surrender of the fortress on 28 September 1870. After the German victory at Wörth, troops from the Grand Duchy of Baden under Prussian General Aug ...

, the construction of a larger station (not a terminus station) in the '' Neustadt'' was decided and began in 1878. Weyer's station became Strasbourg's central market hall in 1884. It was demolished in 1974.

Building

The historical building of Strasbourg's current railway station was built between 1878 and 1883 by the German architect

Johann Eduard Jacobsthal Johann, typically a male given name, is the German language, German form of ''Iohannes'', which is the Latin language, Latin form of the Greek language, Greek name ''Iōánnēs'' (), itself derived from Hebrew language, Hebrew name ''Johanan (name ...

(1839–1902). In 1900,

Hermann Eggert Georg Peter Hermann Eggert (3 January 1844 – 12 March 1920) was a German architect. He designed important public buildings such as the Frankfurt Main Station and the New Town Hall in Hannover, often in the style of Neo-Renaissance. Career Bo ...

, architect of the imperial palace

Palais du Rhin The Palais du Rhin ( en, Palace of the Rhine), the former ''Kaiserpalast'' (Imperial palace), is a building situated in the German (north-east) quarter of Strasbourg ( Neustadt) dominating the '' Place de la République'' (the former ''Kaiserplatz' ...

, added a special waiting section and staircase for the

German emperor The German Emperor (german: Deutscher Kaiser, ) was the official title of the head of state and hereditary ruler of the German Empire. A specifically chosen term, it was introduced with the 1 January 1871 constitution and lasted until the offi ...

Wilhelm II , house = Hohenzollern , father = Frederick III, German Emperor , mother = Victoria, Princess Royal , religion = Lutheranism (Prussian United) , signature = Wilhelm II, German Emperor Signature-.svg Wilhelm II (Friedrich Wilhelm Viktor ...

, now known as the ''Salon de l'empereur'', with

stained glass window Stained glass is coloured glass as a material or works created from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant religious buildings. Although tradition ...

s by the manufacturers

Ott Frères Ott, OTT or O.T.T. may refer to: Entertainment * OTT (group), a pop band from the late 1990s * Ott (record producer), British record producer and musician * "O.T.T" (song), a song by Fugative * ''O.T.T.'' (television series), a UK TV programme ...

. The historical building was classified as a Monument historique (type "inscrit") on 28 December 1984. Prior to the opening of the high speed train line

LGV Est The Ligne à Grande Vitesse Est européenne (East European High Speed Line), typically shortened to LGV Est, is a French high-speed rail line that connects Vaires-sur-Marne (near Paris) and Vendenheim (near Strasbourg). The line halved the ...

, the station was refurbished by architect

Jean-Marie Duthilleul Jean-Marie Duthilleul (born 1952) is a French architect and civil engineer. Education He studied architecture at the École de Paris La Seine, Paris and engineering at the École Polytechnique and the École des Ponts et Chaussées (now ). ...

(born 1952) in 2006–2007 and its size and capacity largely increased by the addition of a huge glass roof entirely covering the historical façade. The modernization of the station was bestowed a

Brunel Award The ''Brunel Awards'' are given to railway companies, to encourage outstanding visual design in railway architecture, graphics, industrial design and art, technical infrastructure and environmental integration, and rolling stock. The name is ass ...

in 2008. The main hall is adorned by two larger than life statues of female

allegorical As a literary device or artistic form, an allegory is a narrative or visual representation in which a character, place, or event can be interpreted to represent a hidden meaning with moral or political significance. Authors have used allegory t ...

figures representing

Industry Industry may refer to: Economics * Industry (economics), a generally categorized branch of economic activity * Industry (manufacturing), a specific branch of economic activity, typically in factories with machinery * The wider industrial sector ...

and

Agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people t ...

. They are the work of

Otto Geyer Karl Ludwig Otto Geyer (8 January 1843, Charlottenburg - March 1914, Charlottenburg) was a German sculptor. His brother was the architect, . Life and work His father, Friedrich Wilhelm Ludwig Geyer, was an Archdeacon in the Evangelical Church. ...

. Geyer also sculpted the figured

relief Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces are bonded to a solid background of the same material. The term '' relief'' is from the Latin verb ''relevo'', to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that th ...

s adorning the historical façade, both of which bear his signature. The main hall also used to display two frescos by

Hermann Knackfuss Hermann Knackfuss (german: Hermann Knackfuß) (August 11, 1848, Wissen, Rhenish Prussia – May 17, 1915) was a German painter and writer on art. He is known for his historical paintings, but his most-recognized work is his illustration on beha ...

, painted in 1885, one depicting William I's visit of the fortress ''Fort Kronprinz'' in Hausbergen (now ''Fort Foch'', Niederhausbergen), belonging to the fortified belt around Strasbourg, on 3 May 1877 and the other one, as a historical parallel, depicting in Frederick I's arrival in Haguenau in 1164. The two works of art, called ''Im alten Reich'' and ''Im neuen Reich'' ("In the old Empire" and "In the new Empire") were removed at some point in the 20th century and are lost. Strasbourg Railway Station at Night, Alsace, France - Diliff

Strasbourg Railway Station at Night, Alsace, France - Diliff

File:Gare de Strasbourg vers 1910 (carte postale).jpg, Gare de Strasbourg around 1910 File:Strasbourg gare centrale hall des départs août 2013.jpg, Historical main hall File:091028 Strasbourg IMG 6238.JPG, A

TGV The TGV (french: Train à Grande Vitesse, "high-speed train"; previously french: TurboTrain à Grande Vitesse, label=none) is France's intercity high-speed rail service, operated by SNCF. SNCF worked on a high-speed rail network from 1966 to 19 ...

(right) and a TER (left) in Gare de Strasbourg in 2009

Services

The station is the main station in Strasbourg and one of the main stations in France with over 19.4 million passengers in 2017. TGV service is being assured by the

, since 2007, and the

LGV Rhin-Rhône The LGV Rhin-Rhône (French: ''Ligne à Grande Vitesse''; English: high-speed line) is a French high-speed rail line, the first in France to be presented as an inter-regional route rather than a link from the provinces to Paris, though it actual ...

, since 2011.

TGV

Frankfurt Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , " Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on it ...

- Strasbourg - Marseille *

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Ha ...

- Stuttgart - Strasbourg -

Paris-Est The Gare de l'Est (; English: "Station of the East" or "East station"), officially Paris-Est, is one of the six large mainline railway station termini in Paris, France. It is located in the 10th arrondissement, not far southeast from the Gare ...

* Colmar -

Mulhouse Mulhouse (; Alsatian: or , ; ; meaning '' mill house'') is a city of the Haut-Rhin department, in the Grand Est region, eastern France, close to the Swiss and German borders. It is the largest city in Haut-Rhin and second largest in Alsace a ...

- Strasbourg - Paris-Est * Freiburg - Emmendingen - Lahr - Offenburg - Strasbourg - Paris-Est * Strasbourg - Paris CDG Airport -

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

* Strasbourg - Rennes * Strasbourg - Nantes * Strasbourg -

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( , ; Gascon oc, Bordèu ; eu, Bordele; it, Bordò; es, Burdeos) is a port city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, Southwestern France. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefect ...

* Strasbourg -

Lyon Lyon,, ; Occitan language, Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, third-largest city and Urban area (France), second-largest metropolitan area of F ...

Marseille Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Fra ...

* Strasbourg -

- Montpellier

Other Main Line services

* Strasbourg - Paris

TER

* Strasbourg - Sélestat - Colmar - Mulhouse - Saint Louis - BaselLe réseau TER Fluo
TER Grand Est, accessed 28 April 2022. * Strasbourg - Haguenau * Strasbourg - Metz * Strasbourg - Nancy * Strasbourg - Saint-Dié-des-Vosges - Épinal * Strasbourg - Sarreguemines - Saarbrücken(D) * Strasbourg - Kehl - Offenburg (''Métro-Rhin'' and ''

Ortenau The Ortenau, originally called Mortenau, is a historic region in the present-day German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the right bank of the river Rhine, stretching from the Upper Rhine Plain to the foothill zone of the Black Fo ...

S-Bahn The S-Bahn is the name of hybrid urban-suburban rail systems serving a metropolitan region in German-speaking countries. Some of the larger S-Bahn systems provide service similar to rapid transit systems, while smaller ones often resemble c ...

'')

Local transport connections

The station also serves lines A, C and D of the

Strasbourg tramway The Strasbourg tramway (french: Tramway de Strasbourg, german: Straßenbahn Straßburg; gsw-FR, D'Strossabàhn Strossburi(g)), run by the CTS, is a network of six tramlines, A, B, C, D, E and F that operate in the cities of Strasbourg in Alsace, ...

. The lines A and D stop in the underground station beneath the actual building, that was inaugurated on 25 November 1994 together with the line A. Line C (opened in 2010) stops overground, on ''Place de la gare''. The following buses of the CTS stop at the railway station: Line 2, Line 10 and Bus à haut niveau de service G (from 30 November 2013)

Other stations

* Gare de Strasbourg-Cronenbourg:

goods station A goods station (also known as a goods yard or goods depot) or freight station is, in the widest sense, a railway station where, either exclusively or predominantly, goods (or freight), such as merchandise, parcels, and manufactured items, are l ...

* Gare de Hausbergen:

Classification yard A classification yard (American and Canadian English (Canadian National Railway use)), marshalling yard ( British, Hong Kong, Indian, Australian, and Canadian English (Canadian Pacific Railway use)) or shunting yard (Central Europe) is a railway ...

* Gare de Krimmeri-Meinau: halt * Gare de Strasbourg-Neudorf: goods station * Gare de Strasbourg-Port-du-Rhin: goods station * Gare de Strasbourg-Roethig: halt

References

External links

* *
gare-strasbourg.fr/
official website
Gare de Strasbourg on Structurae
{{DEFAULTSORT:Strasbourg Gare de Strasbourg Railway stations in Bas-Rhin Railway stations in France opened in 1846 Gare