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The picturesque Petite France Quarter
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Not far from the center of the city, just beyond the panoramic embankment (the Vauban dam), the river Ill spreads out into five different arms.
The largest arm flowing north is named the Fossé du Faux-Rempart and takes the shape of an insular ellipse. To the north-east, the four smaller arms reunite at the the school of Saint-Thomas.
This "capricious" topography allowed for the construction of mills which attracted tanners to the area whose industry consumed great quantities of water. The outbreak, at the beginning of the 16th century, of patients with venereal diseases who had been contaminated during the wars in Italy, incited the Magistrate to isolate the ill in a building which has since been replaced by the square of the "Ponts-Couverts" or "Covered Bridges".
As popular belief held, at the time of the hospital, a convinction that the French were responsibile for the outbreak of the venereal diseases, the hospital was referred to as "Zum Französel" or "Little France".
The Tanners district continues to be referred to as "Petite France" or "Little France" today.
Your hotel in the Petite France quarter
Hotel Les Régent Petite France: a quiet hotel room overlooking the river in the heart of Strasbourg is the rare privilege reserved to the guests of the REGENT PETITE FRANCE HOTEL, the most exclusive four-star hotel in the city.
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