Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The château d'eau de Strasbourg, built in 1878 by the German administration after the annexation of Alsace-Lorraine, was intended to supply water to the steam locomotives of the nearby depot of the central station. In a neo-Roman style, it was designed by Berlin architect Johann Eduard Jacobsthal, also author of Berlin's urban railway and the former Metz railway station. The massive and octagonal building, made of pink sandstone and yellow bricks, is crowned with metal crumbs and geometric windows. Its foundations are based on an ancient Roman cemetery.

Disused after the end of its railway use, the building was abandoned before being bought in 2005 by Marc Arbogast. Restored by architect Michel Moretti, it was transformed into a museum dedicated to voodoo, inaugurated in January 2014 under the name Château Vodou. Ranked a Historic Monument in 1984, it still retains its four original steel tanks. Its exact address is 4 rue de Koenigshoffen, close to the locomotive depot.

The rehabilitation project allowed to highlight an industrial heritage emblematic of the German period in Alsace (1871-1918). The museum, unique in Europe, exhibits collections related to Vaudous cults, while preserving the architecture and historical technical elements of the castle. The original masters, Funke and Caspar, as well as the architect Stahl Jacob, contributed to its construction within the modern railway infrastructure of the time.

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