Tours · Strasbourg · Square
Place Gutenberg
A leafy, historic central square, once the civic heart of Strasbourg, built around the bronze statue of Johannes Gutenberg, pioneer of the printing press.
About this place
Place Gutenberg is one of the oldest public squares in Strasbourg, long known as the Place Saint Martin and for centuries the political and administrative heart of the city, where the old town hall known as the Pfalz once stood. Today it is a calmer, greener space ringed by elegant facades and cafe terraces, dominated by the bronze statue of Johannes Gutenberg. Although he perfected printing in Mainz, Gutenberg lived and secretly experimented in Strasbourg between roughly 1434 and 1444, a chapter revealed by a famous lawsuit of 1439 that hinted at his work on a secret art. The monument, created by the sculptor David d'Angers and unveiled in 1840 for the four hundredth anniversary of that pioneering work, shows Gutenberg holding a sheet inscribed with the words and there was light, while four bronze reliefs on the pedestal depict the printed word spreading across the four continents.
Key facts
- 1840 year — The bronze statue of Gutenberg was unveiled on the square
- 1434 year — Around this time Gutenberg began his secret experiments in Strasbourg
- 4 reliefs — Bronze panels on the pedestal, one for each inhabited continent
📍 Place Gutenberg, 67000, Strasbourg