Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The Schützenberger Hotel is a villa built between 1897 and 1900 in Strasbourg for Louis-Oscar Schützenberger, owner of the eponymous brewery. Designed by architects Jules-Geoffroy Berninger and Gustave Krafft, it embodies the Art Nouveau Strasbourgeois with an Italianising inspiration, marked by stone facades of Savonnières and repeated plant motifs. Its garden and outbuildings (guard house, garage) complete this remarkable complex, now classified as a historical monument.

Threatened to demolition in 1972 due to the financial difficulties of the Schützenberger brewery, the villa is saved by the municipality of Strasbourg. It remained unoccupied until 1978, when its ground floor was rented by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. Since 1989, the entire building has been used by this institution, after a complete restoration. The villa is only accessible to the public during European Heritage Days.

The building combines an overly high roof, typical of Italian villas, with an Art Nouveau decor where stone, forge and sculpture celebrate nature. First classified in 1975 for its facades and roofs, the whole property (village, terrace, garden, outbuildings) is inscribed by decree of 12 November 2025, repealing the previous protection. Today, the Schützenberger Hotel is home to several European organisations, including the European Audiovisual Observatory and the European Platform of Regulatory Authorities.

The Schützenberger family, linked to the Alsatian brewing industry, has marked the local economic history. Architects Berninger and Krafft, active between 1895 and 1905, left a lasting mark on the Strasbourg heritage, mixing eclecticism and modernity. The villa, a symbol of this know-how, also bears witness to the urban and political changes in Strasbourg, from the German imperial city to the European metropolis.

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