Sélestat

Sélestat (, ; Alsatian: Schlestatt or Schlettstadt, ; ) is a commune in the Bas-Rhin department in Alsace in north-eastern France.

In 2006, Sélestat had a total population of 19,459. The Communauté de communes de Sélestat et environs had a total population of 35,397.

Geography

Sélestat is located in central Alsace, north of Colmar and south of Strasbourg, on the left bank of the Ill River.

Sélestat is near the Alsace wine route, and other notable sites such as the Château du Haut-Kœnigsbourg.

Sights and culture

The city is one of the richest and most varied in terms of architecture among the smaller cities of Alsace. Most remarkable are the Romanesque St. Faith's Church and the Gothic St. George's Church, the Baroque clock tower (1618) and the Neo-Mediæval water tower. Buildings like the town hall (1788), the railway station (1880s) and the synagogue (1890s), as well as several Renaissance and Baroque civil houses are similarly noteworthy.

The Humanist Library displays one of the oldest and most homogeneous collections of medieval manuscripts and Renaissance books in Europe. Its core is the still almost intact library of Beatus Rhenanus, that had been bequeathed to the city and kept by it ever since.

Sélestat is the cultural center of central Alsace and is the seat of the Fonds régional d'art contemporain Alsace (FRAC Alsace) (contemporary art in and of...
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