Sélestat, Alsace

Sélestat with a population of about 17 thousand people lies on the River III, somewhere between Upper and Lower Alsace. It is a town in the very heart of Alsace. It was in the Carolingian stronghold sometime during the 8th century, It became a free imperial city a few centuries later, Selestat was a member of the league of 10 Alsatian cities. It was an important center of early humanism, with its "Latin school" (grammar school) and its
Literary Society.

Selestat is a centrally located town in Alsace. Since it lies between Mulhouse and Strasbourg, people passing through the region find it convenient to break journey and stay for a while at Selestat. We cannot call it a favorite tourist place; however Selestat’s old town centre is really nice for talking a walk and admiring the local history. The town’s monuments represent several historical periods, for instance the 11th to the 15th century is represented by the Churches of St. George and Sainte Foy, the renaissance represented by the Ebersmunster building and the 17th and 18th centuries by the Andlau building.

The Humanist Library in Selestat is one of the oldest libraries of its kind in whole of Europe. It is an extraordinary Library and has all its collections intact. It has a wealth of information for people interested in Humanism; one can spend hours browsing through the vast volumes of collections at the Library. Another very interesting happening in the town of Selestat was that the tradition of the Christmas tree originated in this town and therefore Selestat is synonymous with Christmas.

One could plan to go for a stroll along the bank of the III River in Selestat. Wine lovers would enjoy, the wine along the Alsace wine route, which is near the town. Another well known site is the Chateau du Haut-Koenigsbourg.

One can really get a feast of the rich architecture of this small town of Selestat in Alsace. Some of the architectural wonders of Selestat are the Romanesque church, Sainte Foy and the Gothic church, Saint Georges, and Baroque clock tower, the neo mediaeval water tower. This town also has remarkable buildings like the town hall, the railway station and the synagogue.

This place is heaven for history lovers. It is a splendid combination of rich natural beauty and fabulous architectural structures. It is also the only place one can get volumes of historical information on humanism and also enjoy the spirit of Christmas.