Strasbourg Strasbourg is the seat of European Institutions since 1949: first of the International Commission on Civil Status and of the Council of Europe, later of the European Parliament, of the European Science Foundation, of Eurocorps, and others as well. Strasbourg is divided into the following districts: The city is chiefly known for its sandstone Gothic Cathedral with its famous astronomical clock, and for its medieval cityscape of Rhineland black and white timber-framed buildings, particularly in the "Petite France" district or "Gerberviertel" ("tanners' district") alongside the Ill and in the streets and squares surrounding the cathedral, where the renowned "Maison Kammerzell"
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)