Écriv'Rhin: a look back at the literary walks
From February to April 2025, a series of three literary walks brought together students and lecturers in Germanic and Romance Studies from the Universities of Freiburg, Basel and Strasbourg. This cross-border project, conceived as part of the Strasbourg World Book Capital, enabled some twenty participants to follow in the footsteps of German- and French-speaking writers through the emblematic towns of the Upper Rhine.
In Freiburg on Friday 28 February, the first meeting set the tone: under a winter sky, the participants discovered the cathedral and the Augustinermuseum, after attending a joint presentation on Victor Hugo and Germaine de Staël. It was an original way of opening up a dialogue between French and German literature.
In Basel on 28 March, the day began at the Deutsches Seminar with a lecture on Stefan George, a major figure in German Symbolist poetry. The group then immersed themselves in the history of printing with a fascinating guided tour of the Paper Museum. “I really enjoyed the visit to the Papiermühle in Basel”‘ says Axel, a student at the University of Strasbourg. “We had a speaker who was absolutely passionate about what he was saying, so we were all really captivated.” The afternoon ended with a literary walk in the footsteps of the poet Rainer Brambach.
The series ended on 25 April in Strasbourg, with a tour open to a wider student audience. Five figures from German literature with links to Strasbourg were honoured by students and lecturers in German Studies at the University of Strasbourg, with presentations on Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Georg Büchner, Barbara Honigmann, Sebastian Brant and Jean (Hans) Arp. The day ended with a visit to the exhibition dedicated to Friederike Mayröcker and Andreas Grunert at the Strasbourg University Library.
How literature and books can be a bridge between cultures
In addition to the cultural discoveries, these meetings provided an opportunity for rich exchanges between students from the three countries. “For convenience's sake, we always get together with people who speak our mother tongue, but we were still able to speak the language we were learning”, says Axel, underlining the linguistic dimension of the project. Odilia Montag, also a student in Strasbourg, agrees: “It was very enriching, we learnt a lot about the places we went to and discovered a lot of very interesting authors”. She adds: “We met some wonderful people”.
Many thanks to the lecturers involved in designing the pedagogical content, and to the ‘Strasbourg World Book Capital’ label for its support!
This wonderful series illustrates how literature and books can be a bridge between cultures - and why not, an invitation to future literary walks in the heart of the Upper Rhine.
By Diane Rouire