Corbeau Square

From the 14th to the 17th century, this square was known as “Bei der Schindbrücke”. For those who don’t speak Alsatian, this translates to  “near the bridge of torment”. Charming, isn’t it? It would later be known as Place au Corbeau or “Rabenplatz”, depending on which country, France or Germany, had control over the region at different points in history. But let’s get back to the torment part. The bridge before you, today a charming, flower-filled passageway from the Kruteneau district to the city center, was once a public execution site. The condemned were locked in cages in plain sight on the bridge, before being tossed into the water. Well, water is perhaps too generous a term; at that time, it was more of a strong-smelling mixture of excrement and city sewage. Initially, there was a plank that allowed them to repeatedly dip the condemned into the muddy water, as per the magistrate’s whim. Then they invented a tilting mechanism, almost like a see-saw (you’ll notice we’re always very resourceful when it comes to inventing torture devices); in short, this machine had a large basket in which the convict was placed to be immersed in the water. If they managed to get out of the basket – which was no easy feat – they would try to survive by swimming to shore. The thing was, back then no-one knew how to swim, so they were sure to drown. On this charming historical note, I leave you to cross the bridge.