Place du Château, square in Strasbourg, France
Place du Château is a large open square on the Grande Île of Strasbourg, surrounded by old stone buildings. Its paved surface stretches between the cathedral's tall spire and the long façade of the Rohan Palace, with modern trees and benches added near the center.
The square was created in 1215 as a court belonging to the bishop, and over the centuries it changed names many times as the city's rulers changed. During the German occupations it was called Schlossplatz, before returning to its French name after each war.
The open space near the cathedral works as a meeting point where students from the nearby high school mix with museum visitors and tourists. On market days or during city festivals, temporary stalls and small stages appear, filling the stone square with local food, music and conversation.
The square is fully pedestrian, so you can move around freely without traffic. It is easiest to explore on foot from the cathedral side, and the surrounding buildings offer different entrances depending on what you want to visit.
Under the stones of today's square, excavations in 2012 uncovered fragments of painted Roman wall decorations. These pieces, restored and shown in the nearby archaeological museum, hint that this open space was already part of daily life many centuries before the cathedral was built.
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