At 9 o’clock over a croissant and a cup of coffee in the Château des Rohan you will be welcomed by the Mayor of Saverne and other local dignitaries and Europe Amity 2019 will have officially begun.
We will travel by bus to Strasbourg and visit the Quarter of European Institutions, an exceptional area which makes Strasbourg the second most important diplomatic city in France.
Having within the city the seats of the European Parliament, of the Council of Europe and of the European Court of Human Rights the Alsatian capital shares with New York and Geneva the privilege of being home to many international bodies without being its nation’s capital.
The Louise Weiss building, housing the European Parliament; will be specially opened for a private visit thanks to the kind invitation of the Member of the European Parliament, Anne Sander.
The bus will then take us in a few minutes across the River Rhine to the German town of Kehl where we will have lunch at the Villa Schmidt on the banks of the Rhine. The Villa Schmidt is more than a restaurant; it is a veritable institution and a permanent celebration of the French-German entente.
With our batteries recharged we shall make our way back to Strasbourg on foot. A walk of a few hundred metres through the Jardin des Deux Rives and across the Mimram pedestrian bridge, a work of art in itself and a symbol of a Europe without frontiers. Between Germany and France we shall pause for a few moments and take some photographs to commemorate the day.
We can help you to choose the best formula, use the contact form below.
Dr. Wolfgang Schäuble
Stéphane Leyenberger
Patrick Hetzel
Julia Emmerich
François Bouteloup Gouverneur du district 1680 du Rotary représentant du Rotary International au Conseil de l'Europe Le gouverneur 2018-2019 du district 1680 (Alsace France-Comté) est membre du Rotary club Strasbourg-Kléber, au coeur de la capitale européenne. Il est depuis 2018 le représentant du Rotary International (1,2 millions de membres dans le monde) au collège des organisations internationales non-gouvernementales du Conseil de l'Europe.
Teanna Buchholz
Lycéenne en section européenne à Saverne
Participante au parlement européen de la jeunesse La jeunesse est l'avenir de l'Europe ; une jeunesse qui entend bien prendre toute la place qui lui revient dans les débats sur le construction européenne.
.
Twenty minutes in the bus will bring us to the little village of Kirrwiller where the Royal Palace will welcome us. The contrast between the peaceful streets lined by typical Alsatian houses and the brightly lit façade of the Royal Palace is strking to say the least; it’s Las Vegas in the countryside.
Over 30 years a local businessman has transformed his dream into reality. The family dance hall is now one of the top three music halls in France, spoken of in the same breath as the legendary Moulin Rouge and Lido in Paris.
Every year the owner, Pierre Meyer, presents a completely new show in one of the most modern halls in Europe. There are dancers in extravagant costumes and top performers from around the world who never fail to amuse and amaze.
After two hours of marvellous entertainment we shall end the day and the week end in the Lounge Club of the Royal Palace relaxing together, maybe even dancing a little.
This year the show is called MYSTERIA .
the village of Kirrwiller
At the corner of a street lined with traditional Alsatian houses the visitor comes face to face with one of the three great music halls of France
For more than 35 years Pierre Meyer has been enchanting more than 200,000 visitors a year.
The Royal Palace is lost in the Alsatian countryside but is considered today to be one of the top music halls in France. Each year more than 200,000 flock to enjoy a show equal to anything to be seen in Paris. How did it happen that a village restaurant, which had been organizing dances for the locals since 1948, became a magnet for tourists from all over Europe ?
In 1980 Pierre Meyer decided to add a small stage to the family restaurant which he and his wife Cathy had just taken over from his parents. To begin with he presented once a month and then once a week a show which already existed with seven performers from Paris. In 1989 he invested 1.5 million euros in a new stage of 200 square metres equipped with a hydraulic system. At the same time he began to produce his own shows rather than buy ones ‘off the peg’. Success was immediate, the Music Hall had 600 spectators every day.
In 1996 a complete makeover; a new complex of 800 square metres renamed The Royal Palace was built. The main theatre holding 987 people, makes it possible to stage the most ambitious productions. The stage is twice the size of the previous one, measuring 25 metres across and 20 metres from top to bottom.
Two restaurants: Le Majestic which can hold 800 guests and Le Versailles, a more intimate venue with seating for 150 guests, and where lunch and dinner are served with music and dancing. Now that dinner is served in a separate room the guests can more fully enjoy the show in comfort and always with a good view of the stage.
In 2015 there were more significant additions. After a year’s construction The Royal Palace, to mark its 35th anniversary, opened The Lounge Club. This unusual space of is reserved exclusively for our guests. It is on two levels and can accommodate up to a thousand people. It is an elegant area with an interesting and innovative design. With its light shows and high tech equipment the Club welcomes you to in an environment which is cosy and yet smart and contemporary. There is entertainment and background misplayed by an orchestra or by a DJ.
Today the Royal Palace employs about one hundred people, including thirty four performers, and welcomes 200,000 customers a year.
A group of story tellers will lead us on an unusual tour of the museum which will include readings throwing new light on the private side of this extraordinary woman who took part in all the struggles of the twentieth century include the fight for Europe with a passion until the day of her death.
Like many of the young people of her generation, Louise Weiss was deeply affected by the First World War, by the thousands of dead and injured and by the widespread destruction. She chose to devote herself to the study of international politics, which, she thought, was the only way to work out a ‘science of peace’ which would bring about a reorganization of Europe.
Encouraged by her Czech and Slovak friends, Thomas Masaryk, Edvard Benes and Milan Stefanik, who initiated her into the new geo-political conditions in Europe, she founded a magazine devoted to international politics L’Europe Nouvelle
From the beginning the magazine militated for the right of women to vote. She thought that if French women were allowed the vote a new war would be avoided.
Louise Weiss directed the magazine from 1920 until 1934 while travelling widely to international conferences and to study the new countries which had emerged in Europe after the First World War. She was one of the first journalists to visit Moscow in 1921 and met there many of the great Russian revolutionaries.
In her magazine Louise Weiss supported the new approaches being explored by some politicians and intellectuals to finding a way to bring the nations of Europe together and prevent another war/cooperation between states in the League of Nations, a rapprochement between France and Germany, disarmement and plans for a European Union.
After 1945 she travelled to America, Africa and Asia to make documentary films.
In 1979 she became a member of the first European Parliament to be elected directly by the people.
At the age of 85, as the oldest elected member, she made the first speech at the opening of the Parliament. This was in Strasbourg 17th July 1979.
The story of Louise Weiss is an unfinished film about the construction of Europe and the emancipation of women in the Twentieth Century. You could say it finished with her historic address of 17th July 1979 to the European Parliament. The address still has relevance forty years later
The unicorn, a mythical beast for over 3,000 years is the emblem of Saverne.
Legend has it that a unicorn dipped his horn into a spring in Saverne giving it magical properties of curing people. For this reason throughout the Middle Ages pilgrims and famous figures would come to Saverne to take water from this spring. Today the unicorn is more linked with the local beer.
Situated at the heart of Saverne next to the Town Hall, this building, dating from 1605 is one of the oldest in the town. It was built by Henri Katz, the tax collector of the diocese.
The magnificent half-timbered façade with its sculptures is a good example of German renaissance style.
