European institutions in Strasbourg seats in Strasbourg. Due to this concentration in such a small area, Strasbourg, like Brussels, claims the title of "capital of Europe". While Brussels is the capital city of a trilingual State, Belgium, Strasbourg has had long periods of rule by both France or Germany, assimilating both of their cultures and languages (it also has the Alsatian language). Strasbourg also has the distinction of being one of only three cities to host major international institutions without being a capital (the others being New York City and Geneva). In Brussels' case, it claims the title through referring to the European Union,
Strasbourg hotel, and featuring an open-air museum of international contemporary sculpture. The Jardin botanique de l'Université de Strasbourg (botanical garden) was created under the German administration next to the Observatory of Strasbourg, built in 1881, and still owns some greenhouses of those times. The "Parc des Contades", although the oldest park of the city, was completely remodeled after World War II. The futuristic "Parc des Poteries" is an example of European park-conception in the late 1990s. The "Jardin des deux Rives", spread over Strasbourg and Kehl on both sides of the Rhine opened in 2004 and is the most extended (60-hectare)