The Strasbourg Urban Nature Park

The Strasbourg Urban Nature Park, what's that?

Inspired by the Regional Nature Parks, the Strasbourg Urban Nature Park is above all an initiative founded on trust in the ability of stakeholders, whether they be institutions, associations or economic entities, to together build a local development project for their territory, building on their often overlooked heritage properties.

Thus this project reflects the determination to promote the natural, historical and cultural wealth of the Strasbourg districts.

The PNU natural urban park, a key area connecting blue and green zones of Strasbourg

This first Natural Urban Park connects the floodplains of the Bruche to the west with Strasbourg's green belt, which contains many remnants of the city's old fortifications, including the Kriegstor war gate, the Parc des Glacis, the Parc du Heyritz and the Kaltau sector.

The area is crisscrossed by waterways and canals, including the Bruche, the Bruche canal and its Muhlbach, the Ill and the Rhône Rhine Canal.

The scope covers an area of about 300 hectares between route des Romains, route de Schirmeck and rue de l’Unterelsau, near which live some 35,000 people. It contains a number of waterways and a rich historical heritage dating back to Roman times.

The commune of Eckbolsheim is also working on enhancing the surrounding natural spaces and farmland, in parallel to the work being carried out by the City and the Eurometropolis of Strasbourg.

Explore the natural richness of this urban natural park

You can cycle along the tracks bordering the Ill, the Canal de la Bruche and the Muhlbach and use pedestrian paths to complete the circuit.

You can also explore the "silent" zone of the Capuchin monastery, the arboretum of the Parc Schweitzer, the ancient cemetery of Saint Gall (and its view of the Koenigshoffen high ground) and go for a stroll along the Muhlbach or on either side of the Ill.

A project workshop – a participatory process for creating the Urban Natural Park

The project workshop is one of Strasbourg's local democracy initiatives and is intended to bring local inhabitants and stakeholders together around a local project. The workshop takes place in several sessions over a period of several months, and involves an educational aspect to enhance and optimise what is intended to be a collective project.

Social and economic potential

The PNU initiative includes 3 socio-economic development areas:

• sustainable tourism, based on the renovation of the Montagne Verte camping site,
• handicrafts,
• the social economy, which is already well represented.

Several organisations working in the social economy (Communauté Emmaüs, Jardins de la Montagne Verte, Entraide-le relais) already have premises in old farms within the Urban Natural Park and cultivate gardens, orchards and other land or are involved in recycling activities.