Place Gutenberg is a square on Strasbourg's Grande Île, a short walk from the cathedral, with a bronze statue of Johannes Gutenberg in the middle. The inventor of printing with movable type lived in Strasbourg for about ten years, and the statue, unveiled in 1840, shows him holding up a freshly printed page that reads 'Et la lumière fut': 'And there was light'.
Place Gutenberg at a glance
- Where: in the middle of the Grande Île, Strasbourg's UNESCO-listed old town, at the end of Rue Mercière, the street that leads to the cathedral.
- Created: a market square since the Reformation; renamed Place Gutenberg in 1840, the year the statue was unveiled.
- By: the statue is the work of the French sculptor Pierre-Jean David d'Angers.
- What it is today: a pedestrian square with cafés, the Gutenberg statue and the Renaissance Neubau, now home to the Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
- Time needed: 15–20 minutes to walk round the statue and look at the reliefs and the facades.
From the old town hall to Gutenberg's square
For centuries this was the political centre of the free city of Strasbourg. In 1321 the city built its town hall, the Pfalz, here, followed by a chancellery in 1462 and a mint nearby in 1507. The church of Saint-Martin and its cemetery also stood on the square until the Reformation; they were removed in 1529 and the open space became a herb market. In 1585 the Renaissance Neubau was completed on the west side, and when the Gothic Pfalz was pulled down in 1781 as old-fashioned, the Neubau became the town hall.
In 1840 Strasbourg celebrated the 400th anniversary of the invention of printing. The square, then called Place Saint-Martin, was renamed after Gutenberg, and David d'Angers's statue, commissioned by the city, was unveiled with a procession of the city's trades. In 2024, when Strasbourg was UNESCO World Book Capital, the statue was thoroughly cleaned to bring back its original look.
What to look for
- The page in Gutenberg's hand: it bears the words 'Et la lumière fut', from the opening of the Book of Genesis, a reminder of what cheap printed books did for access to knowledge.
- The four bronze reliefs on the pedestal: each shows the effect of printing on one part of the world, Europe, Asia, Africa and America, with a printing press at the centre.
- Europe and America: on one side, writers and thinkers such as Erasmus, Molière, Voltaire, Kant and Schiller; on another, Benjamin Franklin with signers of the Declaration of Independence. In the original plaster model Martin Luther had a prominent place, which caused an uproar.
- The Neubau on the west side: a Renaissance facade completed in 1585, with three storeys of columns in different classical orders and a steep roof of traditional tiles.
- The view up Rue Mercière: from the east side of the square, the narrow street frames the cathedral's west front.
Was printing born in Strasbourg?
Gutenberg, born in Mainz around 1400, worked in Strasbourg from about 1434 to 1444. Records of a 1439 lawsuit, brought against him by the brothers of his late partner Andreas Dritzehn, mention a press and work with lead, and many historians see them as evidence of his first experiments with printing. His famous 42-line Bible, however, was printed later, in Mainz in the 1450s, so both cities can claim a part of the story.
Tips for your visit
- Walk all the way round the pedestal: the reliefs are close to eye level and full of recognisable faces.
- For the classic photo, stand at the corner with Rue Mercière, where the cathedral rises at the end of the street.
- In December the old town fills with Christmas market crowds; come early in the day if you want the square to yourself.
Nearby
- Strasbourg Cathedral: the red sandstone cathedral with its single spire, a couple of minutes' walk up Rue Mercière.
- Maison Kammerzell: the richly carved half-timbered house on the cathedral square, today a restaurant.
- Musée historique: the city history museum in the old butchers' hall near the Ill, where you can learn more about Strasbourg and the Gutenberg statue.
- Palais Rohan: the 18th-century bishops' palace beside the river, now home to three museums.
See Strasbourg with World City Trail
Our Strasbourg scavenger hunt turns the old town into a game you play on your phone. The route links 10 stops and takes around 3 hours, with about 47 minutes of walking. It includes the cathedral, Palais Rohan and the Ponts Couverts.
If you prefer a different format, there is also a self-guided walking tour and an outdoor escape game in Strasbourg.
Play the Strasbourg scavenger hunt →
Take the self-guided walking tour of Strasbourg →
Play the outdoor escape game in Strasbourg →
Facts checked in October 2026.