Alsace has changed hands many times between Germany and France, but that’s not why the French Quarter in Strasburg is called that.
Above are watch towers lining “Covered Bridge,” which confuses tourists because it hasn’t been covered since the 18th century. (Helpfully, there’s another bridge nearby which is covered, but is not named Covered Bridge.)
This is the French Quarter, part of which was the old tanner’s quarter. Tanners had the lowest life expectancy of any medieval craftsman, partially because they were up to their knees in urine all day tanning the hides!
Here are some strange trees with Easter decorations. Whoops—come to think of it, this particular photo is from Colmar, but Strasburg has identical trees with identical ornaments in some of its squares. These seem to be an Alsace thing.
As I know I’ve mentioned, I think the best way to get to know a place is to get lost in its backstreets:
Strasburg also features a magnificent cathedral called Notre Dame, different than (though nearly as impressive as) the one in Paris.
(One thing we forget about cathedrals, in this modern age, is how thoroughly they once dominated the skyline. We’re jaded in our world of forty-story skyscrapers. You’ve got to keep in mind that even the truly palatial medieval houses and guildhalls are five, maybe six stories. If you look at engravings of medieval cities, the cathedral soars like a megalith above the roofs.)
And since, with our final photo, we’re back to the French Quarter, I can tell you why it’s called that:
The French Quarter was built largely in the 16th century, when Strasburg was German. The French had just made an unsuccessful military jaunt into Italy and were now trickling back home with nothing to show for it but syphilis. A hospice in this quarter of Strasburg cared for syphilis patients who could go no further. Syphilis in German was “franzosenkrankheit,” “French disease.” French Quarter—get it?