The Strasbourg Monument

16 January 2021

The monument Strassburger Denkmal) Opposite the train station in Basel (Basel Bahnhof SBB) is a monument dedicated to the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-1871.

The city belonged to the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation until 1681, but was conquered by Louis XIV (1638-1715) in 1681.  The Franche-Comté and the capital Besançon were annexed by Louis XIV  in 1678. This region belonged to the Spanish-Habsburg dynasty.

In the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-1871, however, the roles were reversed, and Strasbourg was conquered by the Prussian King William I (1797-1888) after a two-month siege (September-October 1870). The king became the German Emperor in Versailles in 1871. The French emperor Napoleon III (1808-1873) lost his throne.

The memorial is an initiative of the city of Strasbourg. Basel supported and aided the citizens of Strasbourg in and after the war. The Bourbaki Panorama in Lucerne is also a reminder of this war.

Fréderic-Auguste Bartholdi designed the monument in 1895 (1834-1904). This artist also created the Statue of Liberty in New York (1886) and the Lion of Belfort (1880).