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| The hotels 2 Stars |
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Strasbourg - the Crossroads of a Napoleonic
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With the accession of Napoléon Bonaparte, Strasbourg would return to the foreground as a European center, as it had been before the Revolution. The relative peace under the Directory Period and until the beginning of the Empire Period, favorized the repair of the roads and the Rhine which were in a deplorable shape. The construction of a new bridge over the Rhine was begun. The structure was to be 400 meters long and 12 meters wide. The postal relations were developped and included the following: daily service between Strasbourg and Paris and 16 postal routes towards Eastern Europe. But the most important innovation was the optical telegraph of Abraham Chappe. Completed in 1798, this system, a revolution in and of itself, allowed exchanges with the capital; it took only 90 minutes to send a message and the same to have a return message. Thanks to the Continental
Blockade which was instituted by the Allies against Napoléon, Strasbourg would begin a great economic growth as early as 1809.
Under Napoléonic order, this prosperity would contribute to the relancement of the arts and the sciences. The general atmosphere was one of relaxation and enjoyment of life. As far as architecture was concerned, a new style was developped to celebrate the glory of Napoléon. This style linked a certain romanticism with a neo-classical style. The Pavillion Josephine and the Theater are good examples.
But soon enough, there was the arrival of the black years of defeats, recessions and strain... The fires of history would again concentrate its flames over Strasbourg and this time for a long period. The military defeats of Napoléon Bonaparte would lead them to a blockade on the 5th of January 1814. The coalition enclosed the city and introduced typhus which killed 3,000 soldiers and 600 civilians. There was much desolation with the announcement of the abdication of the Emperor. The white flag hoisted up on the Cathedral would reinstall peace without the sympathy of Strasbourgeois, among whom was Schulmeister, who was known as "the Emperor's Spy", for the new regime of Louis XVIII.
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