Question 1

Kehl on Your Own

Accepted Answer

Kehl's pedestrian center, the riverside park and the footbridge to France fill a morning, and central Strasbourg is a single tram ride away. A simple plan is the market square and the riverside park first, a walk across the Rhine on the footbridge, and the tram back. The town center: The pedestrian zone takes in parts of Hauptstraße, Marktstraße and Blumenstraße, and the market square has been closed to cars since 1994. On the square stands Mutter Kinzig, a cast-iron figure of the river that once filled a niche on the railway bridge of 1861; it fell into the Rhine when the bridge was partly blown up in 1870 and was later recovered. Across the Rhine on foot: The Passerelle des Deux Rives, a footbridge 387 meters long opened in April 2004, crosses the river inside the Garden of the Two Banks, a park laid out on both shores. A platform with seats marks the middle of the bridge. Strasbourg by tram: Line D takes about 20 to 25 minutes between Kehl and Homme de Fer in central Strasbourg, and it also serves Strasbourg's main railway station. The water tower: Kehl's landmark is a water tower of 1904, almost 50 meters tall, at the corner of Schwimmbadstraße and Iringheimer Straße in the south of the town. Getting back on time: All-aboard is usually about 30 minutes before sailing, and your ship posts the exact time. A ship will not wait for passengers touring on their own. Carry ID: Carrying ID is not a legal requirement in Germany, but if you cannot show it when police ask, they can escort you to fetch your passport.

Question 2

Getting Around

Accepted Answer

Tram line D is the connection that matters in Kehl: it crosses the Rhine on its own bridge and runs from the town hall and the railway station into central Strasbourg. The tram line was extended to Kehl's station in April 2017 and to the town hall in November 2018. Trams run from about 5 a.m. to 1 a.m., every 12 to 15 minutes at busy times and every 20 minutes otherwise, so check the timetable before you set out. A single Strasbourg network ticket is valid for one hour, transfers included, across the Strasbourg area and as far as Kehl on line D. Validate it at the machine on the platform before you board the tram. Kehl's town buses start from a bus hub beside the town hall, close to the tram terminus. Regional trains from Kehl station run to Strasbourg and Offenburg, and a second station serves the district of Kork.

Question 3

Tipping in Germany

Accepted Answer

In Germany a tip is not required, but it is normal in restaurants, bars and taxis. Rounding up is common, and tips rarely go above 10 percent. Rounding a bill of €13.80 up to €15 is a typical tip. Taxi drivers usually get about 5 to 10 percent of the fare. Fast-food restaurants are the exception.

Question 4

Culture and Local Life

Accepted Answer

Kehl lives closely with Strasbourg: the two towns share some municipal services, and about 3,000 French people live in Kehl. Its summer and autumn calendar includes open-air events and a fair. In July and August a summer culture program puts on free open-air events at the lake stage, the Seebühne. Kehl's calendar also includes an autumn fair, the Herbstfest. Kehl's pastors lead a shared Easter Vigil, with the candles of every congregation lit from one fire. Kehl lies in the Ortenau wine region, so local Riesling and Pinot Noir are easy to find around the market square's cafés.

Question 5

A Brief History

Accepted Answer

Kehl's history follows the Rhine border. For centuries it was the fortified bridgehead opposite Strasbourg, changing hands between France, Baden and Austria, and in the 20th century it was evacuated, occupied and handed back before growing together with Strasbourg again. First record and first bridge: Kehl is first mentioned in 1038, and in the 14th century the first permanent bridge linked it with Strasbourg. A French fortress, 1678 to 1698: France took Kehl in 1678, and from 1683 the military engineer Vauban built a fortress there. The fortress passed to the Margraviate of Baden in 1698. A princess at the border: On May 7, 1770, Marie Antoinette was formally handed over from Austria to France on an island in the Rhine near Kehl. Town rights and a siege: Margrave Charles Frederick of Baden granted Kehl town rights in 1774. During the French Revolutionary Wars the town was badly damaged, and an Austrian siege ended with its surrender on January 9, 1797. The fortifications were dismantled after 1815. The railway, 1861: The first railway bridge over the Rhine opened in 1861, creating the first direct rail link from Paris to Vienna, with locomotives changed at Kehl. Occupied after 1918: French troops occupied Kehl from 1919 to 1930. 1938 and 1939: On November 10, 1938, the synagogue was broken into and its ritual objects destroyed, and the Jewish men of the area were deported to Dachau. In September 1939 the whole population was evacuated by special trains to the Black Forest. Returned in stages, 1949 to 1953: After the war Kehl was under French administration and was handed back to Germany in 42 stages between July 1949 and April 1953. Two banks joined: The Garden of the Two Banks and its footbridge opened in 2004, and Strasbourg's tram reached Kehl in 2017.

Question 6

Kehl with Children

Accepted Answer

Kehl works well for a relaxed family half-day: a playground by the Rhine, a walk across the river into France, and the tram if the children want to see Strasbourg. Younger children: The Garden of the Two Banks has a water playground. School age: Walking the Passerelle des Deux Rives takes you from Germany to France on foot, with seats on the platform in the middle for a rest. Nature walk: A nature trail, the Auenwildnispfad, leads through the protected Rhine floodplain forest. Teenagers: The tram ride into Strasbourg is easy to manage on your own with older children, since line D needs no change to reach the city center.

Question 7

Shopping

Accepted Answer

Shopping in Kehl draws many visitors from France, who cross for German drugstores, cosmetics and household goods. Most shops are in the pedestrian zone around the market square. The large German drugstore chains have branches in the pedestrian zone on Hauptstraße. The City-Center-Kehl, in the northern part of the center, has a supermarket, an electronics store, clothing shops and a drugstore under one roof. Larger supermarkets are in the Läger and Sundheim business areas outside the center.

Kehl

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