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117-681: Eurotrams have been used on the Strasbourg tramway (France), the Azienda Trasporti Milanesi (Italy), and on the Porto Metro (Portugal). The Eurotram light rail vehicles was originally designed for the Compagnie des Transports Strasbourgeois (CTS) specifically for use on the Strasbourg tramway ; design requirements included a 100% low floor design, airconditioning, and a higher than usual power to weight ratio for

234-465: A de facto official language of Namibia after the end of German colonial rule alongside English and Afrikaans , and had de jure co-official status from 1984 until its independence from South Africa in 1990. However, the Namibian government perceived Afrikaans and German as symbols of apartheid and colonialism, and decided English would be the sole official language upon independence, stating that it

351-402: A second language , and 75–100   million as a foreign language . This would imply the existence of approximately 175–220   million German speakers worldwide. German sociolinguist Ulrich Ammon estimated a number of 289 million German foreign language speakers without clarifying the criteria by which he classified a speaker. As of 2012 , about 90   million people, or 16% of

468-612: A "commonly used" language and the Pan South African Language Board is obligated to promote and ensure respect for it. Cameroon was also a colony of the German Empire from the same period (1884 to 1916). However, German was replaced by French and English, the languages of the two successor colonial powers, after its loss in World War I . Nevertheless, since the 21st century, German has become

585-456: A capacity of 800 spaces. According to 2007 usage statistics, 562832 vehicles used the Park and Ride stations in one year (note that at this time a further Park and Ride was in use, at Aristide Briand, which has since been demolished). When the new network was first built in 1994, new rolling stock was designed. The city wanted fully low-floor trams with a novel design. A partnership called Eurotram

702-559: A greater need for regularity in written conventions. While the major changes of the MHG period were socio-cultural, High German was still undergoing significant linguistic changes in syntax, phonetics, and morphology as well (e.g. diphthongization of certain vowel sounds: hus (OHG & MHG "house") → haus (regionally in later MHG)→ Haus (NHG), and weakening of unstressed short vowels to schwa [ə]: taga (OHG "days")→ tage (MHG)). A great wealth of texts survives from

819-421: A mixture of powered and unpowered bogies; the bogie design used independently rotating wheels, each on a stub axle, the primary suspension was of the radial arm type, and the secondary suspension air spring type. Each wheel of a powered bogie was separately powered by bogie mounted three phase asynchronous motors, connected via a gearbox, with the wheel and motor axises of rotation parallel. The maximum capacity of

936-458: A native tongue today, mostly descendants of German colonial settlers . The period of German colonialism in Namibia also led to the evolution of a Standard German-based pidgin language called " Namibian Black German ", which became a second language for parts of the indigenous population. Although it is nearly extinct today, some older Namibians still have some knowledge of it. German remained

1053-411: A new wave of extensions was completed. These extensions should have been finished in 2006, but were delayed by appeals lodged by several associations and three individuals (including two Green Party councillors) On 25 August 2007 lines C and D were extended, and line E entered service. Line D was extended to a new terminus ( Aristide Briand ), while line C was lengthened by 4.2 km, taking it into

1170-696: A popular foreign language among pupils and students, with 300,000 people learning or speaking German in Cameroon in 2010 and over 230,000 in 2020. Today Cameroon is one of the African countries outside Namibia with the highest number of people learning German. In the United States, German is the fifth most spoken language in terms of native and second language speakers after English, Spanish , French , and Chinese (with figures for Cantonese and Mandarin combined), with over 1 million total speakers. In

1287-455: A problem that was remedied with sun blinds. New rolling stock was required to operate on the 2005 extensions, so the city launched a call for bids in 2003 for new tram units. On 15 July 2003, Alstom was announced as the winner with its Citadis tram. Forty-one Citadis 403 trams were delivered from 2005 onwards. These units are 43.05 m long, carry 288 passengers and have ten axles. They weigh 53.2 t and are powered by three motor units, delivering

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1404-476: A public address system announces the next stop, accompanied by a musical jingle unique to each station, composed by the singer-songwriter Rodolphe Burger. Park and Ride stations are located near tramway stations, to encourage motorists to use the tramway and thus relieve congestion in the city centre. To facilitate this, a discounted tram ticket applicable to all occupants of a vehicle is offered at park and ride stations. The largest park and ride station, Elsau, has

1521-450: A reconstitution of the old line 6/16, taken out of service on 1 January 1960. Two new sections were finished in 2010: Gare Centrale – Homme de Fer via Faubourg de Saverne , and Observatoire – Place d'Islande . The former was built in anticipation of the (now abandoned) tram-train line project and entered service on 27 November 2010. Line C abandoned the Homme de Fer-Elsau section, taking

1638-483: A result, the surviving texts are written in highly disparate regional dialects and exhibit significant Latin influence, particularly in vocabulary. At this point monasteries, where most written works were produced, were dominated by Latin, and German saw only occasional use in official and ecclesiastical writing. While there is no complete agreement over the dates of the Middle High German (MHG) period, it

1755-598: A total of 720 kW. At CTS's request, the trams were restyled to look like the Eurotrams. The axle distribution is different on the Citadis, and the Citadis has an additional bogie under the driver's cab. One of the Citadis' advantages over the Eurotram is the inclusion of double doors which allow faster opening and closure, minimising time spent in stations. In 2014, CTS signed a framework agreement with Alstom for

1872-422: Is 424 kW, produced by sixteen motors. Although the Eurotram's design has generally been applauded for its user-friendliness, it has also received some criticism. For instance, the doors have been criticised for being too slow to open/close (they are single doors), lengthening the time spent in stations. Additionally, the large window over and around the driver's cabin can result in the cabin becoming too hot,

1989-601: Is a recognized minority language in the following countries: In France, the High German varieties of Alsatian and Moselle Franconian are identified as " regional languages ", but the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages of 1998 has not yet been ratified by the government. Namibia also was a colony of the German Empire, from 1884 to 1915. About 30,000 people still speak German as

2106-612: Is also notable for its broad spectrum of dialects , with many varieties existing in Europe and other parts of the world. Some of these non-standard varieties have become recognized and protected by regional or national governments. Since 2004, heads of state of the German-speaking countries have met every year, and the Council for German Orthography has been the main international body regulating German orthography . German

2223-558: Is an Indo-European language that belongs to the West Germanic group of the Germanic languages . The Germanic languages are traditionally subdivided into three branches: North Germanic , East Germanic , and West Germanic . The first of these branches survives in modern Danish , Swedish , Norwegian , Faroese , and Icelandic , all of which are descended from Old Norse . The East Germanic languages are now extinct, and Gothic

2340-478: Is called the "German Sprachraum ". German is the official language of the following countries: German is a co-official language of the following countries: Although expulsions and (forced) assimilation after the two World wars greatly diminished them, minority communities of mostly bilingual German native speakers exist in areas both adjacent to and detached from the Sprachraum. Within Europe, German

2457-430: Is complicated by the existence of several varieties whose status as separate "languages" or "dialects" is disputed for political and linguistic reasons, including quantitatively strong varieties like certain forms of Alemannic and Low German . With the inclusion or exclusion of certain varieties, it is estimated that approximately 90–95 million people speak German as a first language , 10–25   million speak it as

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2574-535: Is generally seen as ending when the 1346–53 Black Death decimated Europe's population. Modern High German begins with the Early New High German (ENHG) period, which Wilhelm Scherer dates 1350–1650, terminating with the end of the Thirty Years' War . This period saw the further displacement of Latin by German as the primary language of courtly proceedings and, increasingly, of literature in

2691-611: Is generally seen as lasting from 1050 to 1350. This was a period of significant expansion of the geographical territory occupied by Germanic tribes, and consequently of the number of German speakers. Whereas during the Old High German period the Germanic tribes extended only as far east as the Elbe and Saale rivers, the MHG period saw a number of these tribes expanding beyond this eastern boundary into Slavic territory (known as

2808-565: Is less closely related to languages based on Low Franconian dialects (e.g., Dutch and Afrikaans), Low German or Low Saxon dialects (spoken in northern Germany and southern Denmark ), neither of which underwent the High German consonant shift. As has been noted, the former of these dialect types is Istvaeonic and the latter Ingvaeonic, whereas the High German dialects are all Irminonic; the differences between these languages and standard German are therefore considerable. Also related to German are

2925-440: Is one every 10 minutes Monday – Friday, one every 13.5 minutes on Saturdays and one every 20 minutes on Sundays and public holidays. Outside the enhanced service period, trams follow published timetables on all lines except line A. Depending on the time of day, tram frequency is one every 10–15 minutes on lines B, C, D and E. On line A, it is possible that trams run only every 20 minutes in the early mornings and late evenings, while

3042-435: Is one of the major languages of the world . German is the second-most widely spoken Germanic language , after English, both as a first and as a second language . German is also widely taught as a foreign language , especially in continental Europe (where it is the third most taught foreign language after English and French), and in the United States. Overall, German is the fourth most commonly learned second language, and

3159-597: Is one of the three biggest newspapers in Namibia and the only German-language daily in Africa. An estimated 12,000 people speak German or a German variety as a first language in South Africa, mostly originating from different waves of immigration during the 19th and 20th centuries. One of the largest communities consists of the speakers of "Nataler Deutsch", a variety of Low German concentrated in and around Wartburg . The South African constitution identifies German as

3276-401: Is partly derived from Latin and Greek , along with fewer words borrowed from French and Modern English . English, however, is the main source of more recent loanwords . German is a pluricentric language ; the three standardized variants are German , Austrian , and Swiss Standard German . Standard German is sometimes called High German , which refers to its regional origin. German

3393-408: Is served less often, since only lines B and F travel this route. On the other hand, the two sections served by three lines ( Homme de Fer – République and République-Observatoire ) are travelled by 26 trams every hour in each direction, Monday to Friday. The network as a whole boasts one of the highest transit frequencies of all French urban areas with over 250 000 inhabitants. What is unique about

3510-699: Is that there is no separation between passenger cars; the inside of the tram is one continuous space. Twenty-six Eurotrams, built by Socimi, were delivered for service on line A between 1994 and 1995. These trams are 33.1m long, have 8 axles and a maximum capacity of 210 passengers. Each tram consists of 3 passenger cars and twelve motors, developing a total of 336 kW. The CTS placed a second order, this time for twenty-seven units, which were delivered between 1998 and 2000. The order included ten 8-axle trams and seventeen 10-axle trams. These ten-axle trams, nicknamed 'jumbos', are 43.05 m long, weigh 51 t and can carry up to 270 passengers in their 4-passenger cars. Total power

3627-525: Is the Sachsenspiegel , the first book of laws written in Middle Low German ( c.  1220 ). The abundance and especially the secular character of the literature of the MHG period demonstrate the beginnings of a standardized written form of German, as well as the desire of poets and authors to be understood by individuals on supra-dialectal terms. The Middle High German period

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3744-578: Is the only language in this branch which survives in written texts. The West Germanic languages, however, have undergone extensive dialectal subdivision and are now represented in modern languages such as English, German, Dutch , Yiddish , Afrikaans , and others. Within the West Germanic language dialect continuum, the Benrath and Uerdingen lines (running through Düsseldorf - Benrath and Krefeld - Uerdingen , respectively) serve to distinguish

3861-485: Is understood in all areas where German is spoken. Approximate distribution of native German speakers (assuming a rounded total of 95 million) worldwide: As a result of the German diaspora , as well as the popularity of German taught as a foreign language , the geographical distribution of German speakers (or "Germanophones") spans all inhabited continents. However, an exact, global number of native German speakers

3978-689: The Ostsiedlung ). With the increasing wealth and geographic spread of the Germanic groups came greater use of German in the courts of nobles as the standard language of official proceedings and literature. A clear example of this is the mittelhochdeutsche Dichtersprache employed in the Hohenstaufen court in Swabia as a standardized supra-dialectal written language. While these efforts were still regionally bound, German began to be used in place of Latin for certain official purposes, leading to

4095-639: The Alamanni , Bavarian, and Thuringian groups, all belonging to the Elbe Germanic group ( Irminones ), which had settled in what is now southern-central Germany and Austria between the second and sixth centuries, during the great migration. In general, the surviving texts of Old High German (OHG) show a wide range of dialectal diversity with very little written uniformity. The early written tradition of OHG survived mostly through monasteries and scriptoria as local translations of Latin originals; as

4212-667: The CTS , is a network of six tramlines , A, B, C, D, E and F that operate in the cities of Strasbourg in Alsace , France , and Kehl in Baden-Württemberg , Germany . It is one of the few tram networks to cross an international border, along with the trams of Basel , Geneva and Saarbrücken . The first tramline in Strasbourg, which was originally horse-drawn , opened in 1878. After 1894, when an electric-powered tram system

4329-568: The Czech Republic ( North Bohemia ), Poland ( Upper Silesia ), Slovakia ( Košice Region , Spiš , and Hauerland ), Denmark ( North Schleswig ), Romania and Hungary ( Sopron ). Overseas, sizeable communities of German-speakers are found in Brazil ( Blumenau and Pomerode ), South Africa ( Kroondal ), Namibia , among others, some communities have decidedly Austrian German or Swiss German characters (e.g. Pozuzo , Peru). German

4446-537: The Early Middle Ages . German is an inflected language , with four cases for nouns, pronouns, and adjectives (nominative, accusative, genitive, dative); three genders (masculine, feminine, neuter) and two numbers (singular, plural). It has strong and weak verbs . The majority of its vocabulary derives from the ancient Germanic branch of the Indo-European language family, while a smaller share

4563-480: The European Union 's population, spoke German as their mother tongue, making it the second most widely spoken language on the continent after Russian and the second biggest language in terms of overall speakers (after English), as well as the most spoken native language. The area in central Europe where the majority of the population speaks German as a first language and has German as a (co-)official language

4680-671: The European Union . It is the most widely spoken and official (or co-official) language in Germany , Austria , Switzerland , Liechtenstein , and the Italian autonomous province of South Tyrol . It is also an official language of Luxembourg , Belgium and the Italian autonomous region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia , as well as a recognized national language in Namibia . There are also notable German-speaking communities in France ( Alsace ),

4797-522: The German states . While these states were still part of the Holy Roman Empire , and far from any form of unification, the desire for a cohesive written language that would be understandable across the many German-speaking principalities and kingdoms was stronger than ever. As a spoken language German remained highly fractured throughout this period, with a vast number of often mutually incomprehensible regional dialects being spoken throughout

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4914-686: The Hoenheim terminus, in the commune of Hoenheim . In September 2002, the Hoenheim terminus was linked to the Alsace regional train (TER) on the Strasbourg-Lauterbourg line. A year later, a new exchange was created at Krimmeri-Meinau : a railway station was built next to the eponymous tram stop, allowing transfers between line A (and line E in 2007) and regional trains running on the Strasbourg-Offenburg line. The tramway remained largely unchanged until 2007, when

5031-746: The Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I , and the other being Meißner Deutsch , used in the Electorate of Saxony in the Duchy of Saxe-Wittenberg . Alongside these courtly written standards, the invention of the printing press led to the development of a number of printers' languages ( Druckersprachen ) aimed at making printed material readable and understandable across as many diverse dialects of German as possible. The greater ease of production and increased availability of written texts brought about increased standardisation in

5148-570: The Homme de Fer station, the lines cross the track of lines A and D. This junction became the centre of the network. The two lines diverge at the République station: line C leads to the terminus in the Esplanade district via the university area , while line B heads north, serving the Wacken exhibition centre. It then passes through the communes of Schiltigheim and Bischheim before reaching

5265-474: The Homme de Fer – Faubourg de Saverne – Gare Centrale route instead. The next day, a citizen's initiative prompted Line F's introduction, serving the Elsau-Place d'Islande route, which included the Homme de Fer – Elsau section that line C had abandoned. In 2013, both line A and line D were extended in the northwest. New tracks were built for both lines on 1 kilometre (0.62 mi) for each. Line D saw

5382-666: The Old High German language in several Elder Futhark inscriptions from as early as the sixth century AD (such as the Pforzen buckle ), the Old High German period is generally seen as beginning with the Abrogans (written c.  765–775 ), a Latin-German glossary supplying over 3,000 Old High German words with their Latin equivalents. After the Abrogans , the first coherent works written in Old High German appear in

5499-588: The Porto tram network ( Porto Metro ) were constructed from 2001 at Bombardier's factory in Amadora Portugal. (see Sorefame .) Over 150 units were built between 1994 and 2004. 10 17 1031–1040 1051–1067 Adtranz Adtranz 8-axled 10-axled 1998–1999 1999–2000 Strasbourg tramway The Strasbourg tramway ( French : Tramway de Strasbourg , German : Straßenbahn Straßburg ; Alsatian : D'Strossabàhn Strossburi(g) ), run by

5616-676: The Sprachraum in Europe. German is used in a wide variety of spheres throughout the country, especially in business, tourism, and public signage, as well as in education, churches (most notably the German-speaking Evangelical Lutheran Church in Namibia (GELK) ), other cultural spheres such as music, and media (such as German language radio programs by the Namibian Broadcasting Corporation ). The Allgemeine Zeitung

5733-550: The Standard German language in its written form, and the Duden Handbook was declared its standard definition. Punctuation and compound spelling (joined or isolated compounds) were not standardized in the process. The Deutsche Bühnensprache ( lit.   ' German stage language ' ) by Theodor Siebs had established conventions for German pronunciation in theatres , three years earlier; however, this

5850-725: The Strasbourg Eurométropole provided €29m, the French government contributed €5·3m, and €1·5m came from the Bas-Rhin département . An extension of line D from the former terminus at Aristide Briand to Kehl in Germany is now in operation, since 28 April 2017. Construction on this extension involved the building of a new bridge across the Rhine , Beatus Rhenanus Bridge, starting in February 2014. This extension travels

5967-460: The Upper German dialects spoken in the southern German-speaking countries , such as Swiss German ( Alemannic dialects ) and the various Germanic dialects spoken in the French region of Grand Est , such as Alsatian (mainly Alemannic, but also Central–and   Upper Franconian dialects) and Lorraine Franconian (Central Franconian). After these High German dialects, standard German

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6084-544: The Vosges Mountains , Colmar and across the Rhine into Baden . After in 1918 Strasbourg had become French, the 1920 all lines east of the Rhine (almost 50% of the overland network or 35% of the total network) were taken over at first by the shortly founded general German railway company of Deutsche Reichseisenbahnen , then in 1922 by the regional Mittelbadische Eisenbahnen (Central Baden Railways). In 1930,

6201-457: The local tram network until March 2003 as a seven section tram. Twenty-six 33.1m (7 module) Eurotrams were delivered to ( Strasbourg tramway ) CTS for service on Strasbourg's line A between 1994 and 1995. CTS placed a second order in 1996 for twenty-seven units, nine of which were 7 module trains, and eighteen were 9 module trains. The Milan tram system ( Azienda Trasporti Milanesi ) acquired 20 units from Adtranz . 72 units were built for

6318-469: The pagan Germanic tradition. Of particular interest to scholars, however, has been the Hildebrandslied , a secular epic poem telling the tale of an estranged father and son unknowingly meeting each other in battle. Linguistically, this text is highly interesting due to the mixed use of Old Saxon and Old High German dialects in its composition. The written works of this period stem mainly from

6435-401: The route length is only 49.8 km (30.9 mi). The system's hub is Homme de Fer, a station in the city centre where 5 of the 6 lines intersect. In the pedestrianized city centre, the tram shares space with pedestrians and bicycles. In the suburbs, the tram shares the road with automobiles, but trams are not subjected to the rules of the road, in common with other French tramways. Instead,

6552-559: The 8% gradients in the tunnel under Strasbourg's main station. The appearance was stylised by Belgian designer Philippe Neerman . Tenders for manufacture of the tram led to contracts with ABB Group and Socimi (Milan, Italy); Socimi subsequently went bankrupt and ABB completed production alone, on the basis of Socimi's prototypes; the trams were manufactured at ABB's York Carriage Works and Derby Litchurch Lane Works in England, with some parts from ABB Trazione (Italy). The tram design

6669-723: The Empire. Its use indicated that the speaker was a merchant or someone from an urban area, regardless of nationality. Prague (German: Prag ) and Budapest ( Buda , German: Ofen ), to name two examples, were gradually Germanized in the years after their incorporation into the Habsburg domain; others, like Pressburg ( Pozsony , now Bratislava), were originally settled during the Habsburg period and were primarily German at that time. Prague, Budapest, Bratislava, and cities like Zagreb (German: Agram ) or Ljubljana (German: Laibach ), contained significant German minorities. In

6786-748: The Frisian languages— North Frisian (spoken in Nordfriesland ), Saterland Frisian (spoken in Saterland ), and West Frisian (spoken in Friesland )—as well as the Anglic languages of English and Scots. These Anglo-Frisian dialects did not take part in the High German consonant shift, and the Anglic languages also adopted much vocabulary from both Old Norse and the Norman language . The history of

6903-536: The German language begins with the High German consonant shift during the Migration Period , which separated Old High German dialects from Old Saxon . This sound shift involved a drastic change in the pronunciation of both voiced and voiceless stop consonants ( b , d , g , and p , t , k , respectively). The primary effects of the shift were the following below. While there is written evidence of

7020-399: The German states; the invention of the printing press c.  1440 and the publication of Luther's vernacular translation of the Bible in 1534, however, had an immense effect on standardizing German as a supra-dialectal written language. The ENHG period saw the rise of several important cross-regional forms of chancery German, one being gemeine tiutsch , used in the court of

7137-623: The Germanic dialects that were affected by the High German consonant shift (south of Benrath) from those that were not (north of Uerdingen). The various regional dialects spoken south of these lines are grouped as High German dialects, while those spoken to the north comprise the Low German and Low Franconian dialects. As members of the West Germanic language family, High German, Low German, and Low Franconian have been proposed to be further distinguished historically as Irminonic , Ingvaeonic , and Istvaeonic , respectively. This classification indicates their historical descent from dialects spoken by

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7254-445: The Horse/Railway Company were opened on 20 July 1878. These passed through the areas of " Hönheim " and "zur Kehler Brücke". In the inner city, horses were used. In the suburbs, small steam locomotives drew the carriages. By 1885 further lines to the suburbs of Königshofen , Robertsau , Neuhof and Wolfisheim were opened, and in 1886 the meter gauge was first used in extending the track to Grafenstaden . The electric company of AEG

7371-547: The Irminones (also known as the Elbe group), Ingvaeones (or North Sea Germanic group), and Istvaeones (or Weser–Rhine group). Standard German is based on a combination of Thuringian - Upper Saxon and Upper Franconian dialects, which are Central German and Upper German dialects belonging to the High German dialect group. German is therefore closely related to the other languages based on High German dialects, such as Luxembourgish (based on Central Franconian dialects ) and Yiddish . Also closely related to Standard German are

7488-408: The MHG period. Significantly, these texts include a number of impressive secular works, such as the Nibelungenlied , an epic poem telling the story of the dragon -slayer Siegfried ( c.  thirteenth century ), and the Iwein , an Arthurian verse poem by Hartmann von Aue ( c.  1203 ), lyric poems , and courtly romances such as Parzival and Tristan . Also noteworthy

7605-485: The Strasbourg service is the fact that service at morning and evening rush hours is not more frequent than other services throughout the day. This is particularly noticeable in the early mornings, where service is reduced in most large cities; this is not the case in Strasbourg. The trams have no separate evening timetable, while bus schedules are modified only slightly. Both modes of transport have their timetables co-ordinated as to ensure transfers are always possible, even in

7722-435: The Strasbourg seven module trams was 285 with 66 seated, the nine-module trams had an increased capacity of 370 passengers, with 92 seated. Total installed traction power was 324 and 416 kilowatts (434 and 558 hp) for the seven and nine module trams. After the acquisition of Adtranz (ABB transportation group's successor) by Bombardier the design was marketed as part of the Flexity Outlook family. The Eurotram design

7839-746: The city centre. This enabled more transfers and more direct links between stations, along with greater frequency in the city centre. This scheme is unique in France, but similar to systems in Switzerland and Germany. On considerable sections of track, the current network retraces the old network: Porte de l'hopital – Campus d'Illkirch (line A); Etoile Polygone – Aristide Briand (line D); Graviere – Neuhof Rudolphe Reuss (line C); Montagne Verte – Homme de Fer – Gallia (line B); place de Bordeaux – Wacken and Droits de l'Homme – Robertsau Boecklin (line E); Gare centrale – Pont de Saverne (line C) and Pont de Saverne – Homme de Fer (line A) – around 14.4 km in total. The Homme de Fer station did not exist on

7956-400: The city, a track of a total 33 km distance was built, on which 5 tram line services have been developed. On 5 April 1877 the Strasbourg Horse Railway Company ("Straßburger Pferde-Eisenbahngesellschaft") was founded, and the name changed on 25 April 1888 to the Strasbourg Tramway Company ("Straßburger Straßenbahngesellschaft"). Since May 1897, the AEG electrical manufacturing company

8073-411: The city. In particular, the Oulipo was responsible for writing short texts on the columns in the stations, but with the following four constraints: The construction of the network was accompanied by town-planning operations, with the intention of promoting city-centre access by tram. Park and ride facilities were also built near suburban stations in order to encourage motorists to use the tram. Indeed,

8190-400: The destination of the next tram due at the station and its estimated time of arrival. Each station is linked to a central command post, and there is a PA system in the case of major disruptions. The trams themselves are also equipped with passenger information systems. Displays show a map of the line the tram is serving, indicating the final destination and the next station. Between stations,

8307-430: The development of non-local forms of language and exposed all speakers to forms of German from outside their own area. With Luther's rendering of the Bible in the vernacular, German asserted itself against the dominance of Latin as a legitimate language for courtly, literary, and now ecclesiastical subject-matter. His Bible was ubiquitous in the German states: nearly every household possessed a copy. Nevertheless, even with

8424-456: The dialect so as to make the work as natural and accessible to German speakers as possible. Copies of Luther's Bible featured a long list of glosses for each region, translating words which were unknown in the region into the regional dialect. Luther said the following concerning his translation method: One who would talk German does not ask the Latin how he shall do it; he must ask the mother in

8541-508: The distance from the former terminus through the rest of Strasbourg, to the bridge over the Rhine terminating at Kehl station. A further extension to Kehl Rathaus was planned to open by the end of 2017. The extension as of 2018 included three new stops in France and one in Germany; two more were added in Germany with the subsequent extension opening in 2018. According to early reports, within

8658-519: The eastern provinces of Banat , Bukovina , and Transylvania (German: Banat, Buchenland, Siebenbürgen ), German was the predominant language not only in the larger towns—like Temeschburg ( Timișoara ), Hermannstadt ( Sibiu ), and Kronstadt ( Brașov )—but also in many smaller localities in the surrounding areas. In 1901, the Second Orthographic Conference ended with a (nearly) complete standardization of

8775-403: The entire front of the tram, giving it a futuristic appearance. Similarly, large windows were included on the sides of the tram, with the aim of giving passengers the impression of travelling on a 'moving pavement'. Eurotram also had a modular construction, with the head units being connected to passenger units, linked to each other by power units resting on their own axles. Another notable feature

8892-411: The first month of operation, the new extension to Kehl's main railway station saw around 10,000 daily users. The extension now serves Hochschule Kehl  [ de ] and Kehl City Hall, allowing easier access to the city center. As of 31 August 2020, the network has 6 lines and a total line length of 65 kilometres (40 mi). However, due to the fact that many lines overlap with each other,

9009-539: The frequency on line F is only one every 20–30 minutes at these times. This is not problematic for users, since its purpose is to reinforce service on other lines (aside the final 600m, Observatoire – Place d'Islande ). Stations served by two different lines will have a tram stop every 3 minutes on weekdays, according to the schedules described above. On Saturdays, this gap grows to 3.5 minutes, while frequency averages one tram every 6 – 7.5 minutes on Sundays and public holidays. There are some exceptions: Elsau – Homme de Fer

9126-452: The heart of Neuhof, which had previously been enclaved in southern Strasbourg. The two lines share a common track for 600m between Landsberg and Jean Jaures stations. The extensions also created a new north–south route serving the eastern part of the city. Meanwhile, line E brought about a major change in the network, since it was the first branch line. Sharing track with the other lines between Wacken and Baggersee , one of its objectives

9243-435: The home, the children on the streets, the common man in the market-place and note carefully how they talk, then translate accordingly. They will then understand what is said to them because it is German. When Christ says ' ex abundantia cordis os loquitur ,' I would translate, if I followed the papists, aus dem Überflusz des Herzens redet der Mund . But tell me is this talking German? What German understands such stuff? No,

9360-583: The incumbent right-wing majority favouring the VAL , while the opposition Socialists campaigned for a modern tramway. Shopkeepers in the city centre were also in favour of the VAL, on the grounds that the construction of the tramway and subsequent loss of parking spaces would deter customers. Meanwhile, the opposition campaigning for the tramway emphasised its cost-efficiency relative to the VAL (1 kilometre of VAL track cost as much to build as 4 kilometres of tramway) and

9477-481: The influence of Luther's Bible as an unofficial written standard, a widely accepted standard for written German did not appear until the middle of the eighteenth century. German was the language of commerce and government in the Habsburg Empire , which encompassed a large area of Central and Eastern Europe . Until the mid-nineteenth century, it was essentially the language of townspeople throughout most of

9594-501: The last tram leaves Gare Centrale at 0035). After this, trams are stored in the depots; there is no reduced night-time service. The service is equally frequent across all lines except line F, which has much lower frequency. All lines have an enhanced service period, from around 0600 to 2000. During this period, tram frequencies on lines A, B, C, D and E are one every 6 minutes on Mondays – Fridays, one every 7 minutes on Saturdays and every 12–15 minutes on Sundays. On line F, tram frequency

9711-479: The last tram ran on 1 May 1960 and carried a black wreath to resemble a funeral procession. Much of the traffic was absorbed by the private automobile. Owing to increasing traffic and pollution, the Urban Community of Strasbourg considered building a Véhicule Automatique Léger network with two lines. The choice of rapid transit system became a major point of debate at the 1989 municipal elections , with

9828-559: The late evenings. From the beginning of July to the end of August, the CTS uses a summer timetable, with slightly lower tram frequencies. Details of this are however not published, only arrival and departure times at major stations. Journey times are not identical across all services, varying by up to 3–4 minutes on line A, regardless of the time of day. Overall, the trams recorded an average service speed of 19 km/h in 2010. Every station has displays providing real-time passenger information:

9945-457: The line A track for most of its journey, enabling higher tram frequencies in the city centre. The network was further extended on 1 September 2000 as line B and C (total length: 11.9 km) entered service. They both originate from the same terminus, situated in Elsau, a residential area. They share a trunk line which leads to the city centre, crossing it from the south-east to the north-west. At

10062-454: The mother in the home and the plain man would say, Wesz das Herz voll ist, des gehet der Mund über . Luther's translation of the Bible into High German was also decisive for the German language and its evolution from Early New High German to modern Standard German. The publication of Luther's Bible was a decisive moment in the spread of literacy in early modern Germany , and promoted

10179-430: The network comprised 234 km of track, about 100 km in town and 130 km overland lines, all in France. There were 55 million passengers in 1930 and 71.5 million passengers in 1943. In the 1950s, the tram, already weakened by World War II , faced competition from other modes of transport such as the bus , the bicycle and the private automobile . The tram system was abandoned in 1960 and replaced by buses;

10296-653: The ninth century, chief among them being the Muspilli , Merseburg charms , and Hildebrandslied , and other religious texts (the Georgslied , Ludwigslied , Evangelienbuch , and translated hymns and prayers). The Muspilli is a Christian poem written in a Bavarian dialect offering an account of the soul after the Last Judgment , and the Merseburg charms are transcriptions of spells and charms from

10413-511: The old network: there was a station nearby in the Rue de la Haute Montée, currently crossed by lines B, C and F, while the Place Kléber was the main hub. Place de la République and place du Polygone were important nodes in the old network. Trams crossed the city centre from north to south via the Rue des Grandes Arcades and the Rue du Vieux Marché aux Poissons: otherwise, the current line A is

10530-508: The opening of three new stations ( Paul Éluard , Marcel Rudloff and Poteries ) and line A, of two new stations ( Le Galet and Parc des Sports ). The name of Hautepierre Maillon station on line A was changed to Cervantès . In late 2013, work started on a further extension of line A, from Illkirch-Lixenbuhl to the town centre of Illkirch-Graffenstaden . The extension opened on 23 April 2016, providing 1.8 kilometres (1.1 mi) of extra route and three extra stops. It cost € 37m, of which

10647-519: The other end of the line between 0436 and 0457. In this way, stations closest to the depots ( Rotonde for lines A and D, Elsau for lines B and F, Martin Schongauer for line B headed to Ostwald , Kibitzenau for line C and Landsberg for line E). On Sundays and public holidays, service starts an hour later than usual. Service ends at the same time every day; the last departures from termini take place between 0002 and 0015 (except for line C, where

10764-462: The pronunciation of the ending -ig as [ɪk] instead of [ɪç]. In Northern Germany, High German was a foreign language to most inhabitants, whose native dialects were subsets of Low German. It was usually encountered only in writing or formal speech; in fact, most of High German was a written language, not identical to any spoken dialect, throughout the German-speaking area until well into the 19th century. However, wider standardization of pronunciation

10881-416: The rationale behind the reintroduction of the tramway was the perceived negative effect of the automobile's omnipresence in the city (pollution, congestion, disorderly parking). With the construction of the tramway, the city centre was pedestrianised and parking in the city centre was reduced via out-of-town park and ride facilities. Access to the city centre was closed off to cars in 1992. In 1995, Trautmann

10998-427: The revitalization and pedestrianization of the city centre that the construction of the tramway entailed. With Catherine Trautmann's election as mayor of Strasbourg, the VAL project was abandoned in favour of the tramway. The first line, line A, opened on 25 November 1994. At 9.8 kilometres long, it signalled the return of the tramway to Strasbourg. It was the fourth modern tram system in France. The line ran from

11115-546: The states of North Dakota and South Dakota , German is the most common language spoken at home after English. As a legacy of significant German immigration to the country , German geographical names can be found throughout the Midwest region , such as New Ulm and Bismarck (North Dakota's state capital), plus many other regions. A number of German varieties have developed in the country and are still spoken today, such as Pennsylvania Dutch and Texas German . In Brazil,

11232-429: The supply of a further 50 Citadis trams. An initial 12 trams, worth €41 000 000, entered service by the end of 2016. The trams met BOStrab standards for operation into Germany , and are used on the cross-border line D extension to Kehl , as well as line A. Given the network's size and daily usage, maintenance is practically constant. Two 'Aspirail' trucks run the route daily, sucking up any debris that may be clogging

11349-500: The third most commonly learned second language in the United States in K-12 education. The language has been influential in the fields of philosophy, theology, science, and technology. It is the second most commonly used language in science and the third most widely used language on websites . The German-speaking countries are ranked fifth in terms of annual publication of new books, with one-tenth of all books (including e-books) in

11466-536: The tracks. In case of an accident, the CTS has a fleet of road-rail vehicles available, including tractors, a Unimog and cherry pickers . German language German (German: Deutsch , pronounced [dɔʏtʃ] ) is a West Germanic language in the Indo-European language family , mainly spoken in Western and Central Europe . It is the most spoken native language within

11583-493: The tram system also reaches Kehl on the right bank of the Rhine, in Germany. While the prior tram network also included such a Rhine-crossing line at times, this section of the Rhine did not form the border between France and Germany from 1871 to the end of World War I and during World War II when Alsace (including Strasbourg) was annexed to Germany. The first tram line in Strasbourg, which was originally horse-drawn , opened in 1878. After 1894, when an electric-powered tram system

11700-499: The tram uses its own dedicated signalling system, benefitting from priority over other traffic at all junctions. The six lines are: Some stations connect to the bus network, run by the CTS . During the COVID-19 pandemic , the tram only lost 30% of the ridership, less significant than many other transportation networks in France. Service generally starts at the termini closest to the depot, between 0404 and 0434, picking up at

11817-529: The western suburb of Hautepierre to Illkirch-Graffenstaden ( Baggersee station). In order to cross the railway lines near the Strasbourg railway station , a 1 400 m long tunnel was dug with a tunnel boring machine between the Rotonde and Ancienne Synagogue/Les Halles stations. The Gare Centrale station, serving Strasbourg's railway station, is situated 17 m under ground in this tunnel. Artists were commissioned to create artworks relating to

11934-555: The world being published in German. German is most closely related to other West Germanic languages, namely Afrikaans , Dutch , English , the Frisian languages , and Scots . It also contains close similarities in vocabulary to some languages in the North Germanic group , such as Danish , Norwegian , and Swedish . Modern German gradually developed from Old High German , which in turn developed from Proto-Germanic during

12051-600: The written form of German. One of the central events in the development of ENHG was the publication of Luther's translation of the Bible into High German (the New Testament was published in 1522; the Old Testament was published in parts and completed in 1534). Luther based his translation primarily on the Meißner Deutsch of Saxony , spending much time among the population of Saxony researching

12168-429: Was a "neutral" language as there were virtually no English native speakers in Namibia at that time. German, Afrikaans, and several indigenous languages thus became "national languages" by law, identifying them as elements of the cultural heritage of the nation and ensuring that the state acknowledged and supported their presence in the country. Today, Namibia is considered to be the only German-speaking country outside of

12285-547: Was an artificial standard that did not correspond to any traditional spoken dialect. Rather, it was based on the pronunciation of German in Northern Germany, although it was subsequently regarded often as a general prescriptive norm, despite differing pronunciation traditions especially in the Upper-German-speaking regions that still characterise the dialect of the area today – especially

12402-444: Was completed on 30 January 2008. The second phase was completed on 22 May 2008, further extending this part of the line to Lingolsheim Tiergaertel . The total length of these two extensions is 4.9 km, and the entire 2007–2008 extension project was completed at a cost of €397.5m. These extensions transformed a cross-shaped network, centred on Homme de Fer , into a lattice shape, with two lines running in tandem along key routes in

12519-511: Was engaged to install electric traction of that line in December 1894. Though the contract between town and company had included the maintaining of standard gauge, since 1897, the standard gauge tracks were converted to one-meter gauge. New lines were built and run to Kronenburg , Lingolsheim and Breuschwickersheim . In addition to the network in town, an overland network was built, mainly worked with steam traction, extending from Strasbourg to

12636-492: Was established on the basis of public speaking in theatres and the media during the 20th century and documented in pronouncing dictionaries. Official revisions of some of the rules from 1901 were not issued until the controversial German orthography reform of 1996 was made the official standard by governments of all German-speaking countries. Media and written works are now almost all produced in Standard German which

12753-412: Was formed between CTS and Socimi , an Italian company. Stringent standards were set on ergonomics and aesthetics: the city insisted on a fully low-floor design, with wide doors and electric wheelchair ramps in order to facilitate access and cater for the elderly and the disabled. Air conditioning was installed, despite advice from the manufacturers that it was unnecessary. The curved front windscreen covers

12870-403: Was introduced, a widespread network of tramways was built in the largest city of Alsace , including also several longer-distance lines on both sides of the Rhine. The decline of the tramways system began in the 1930s, and ended with the retirement of the service in 1960. After a long drawn out communal political decision process, the tram was reintroduced in 1994. As part of the redevelopment of

12987-581: Was introduced, a widespread network of tramways was built, including several longer-distance lines on both sides of the Rhine. Use of the system declined from the 1930s onwards, and the service closed in 1960 in parallel with many other tramways at the time. However, a strategic reconsideration of the city's public transport requirements led to the reconstruction of the system, a development whose success led to other large French cities reopening their tramways, such as Montpellier and Nice . Lines A and D were opened in 1994, lines B and C were opened in 2000, line E

13104-446: Was modular, consisting 2.575-metre (8 ft 5 + 3 ⁄ 8  in) cabs, 7.550-metre (24 ft 9 + 1 ⁄ 4  in) passenger units, and 2.350-metre (7 ft 8 + 1 ⁄ 2  in) articulation sections. The initial Strasbourg vehicles used seven modules: two cabs, three passenger units and two articulation sections, for a train length of 33.1 metres (108 ft 7 + 1 ⁄ 8  in) Each train has

13221-452: Was opened in 2007 and line F was opened in 2010. It is regarded as a remarkable example of the tramway's rebirth in the 1990s. Together with the success seen in Nantes since 1985, the Strasbourg experiment resulted in the construction of tramways in multiple other French urban areas, and the expansion of tramway systems remains an ongoing project in Strasbourg and throughout France. Since 2017,

13338-641: Was planned to be used on the Nottingham Express Transit system which was under development in 1998. However safety regulations relating to door closing, coupled with the relatively slow motion of the Eurotram's single leaf door meant that the tram would be delayed at stops; an alternative design was chosen, the double leaf doored Incentro tram. In December 2002 Porto tram number 018 was taken to Australia, five sections being placed on static display outside Customs House, Sydney for two weeks before being taken to Melbourne where it operated on

13455-466: Was re-elected which gave a signal to other mayors of French cities that opening a tram is beneficial for re-election. On 4 July 1998, a first extension began: line A was extended 2.8 km further south into Illkirch-Graffenstaden . Just under two months later, on 31 August 1998, line D ( Rotonde – Étoile – Polygone ) entered service thanks to a short branch near the Place de l'Étoile. This new line uses

13572-478: Was the main shareholder. In 1912 the company was transferred to the possession of the city of Strasbourg. When Alsace became part of France in November 1918, the name of the company was translated into French, "Compagnie des tramways strasbourgeois" (CTS). In this form it still exists today. Public transport in Strasbourg had begun in 1848 with horse-drawn omnibuses and carriages. The first standard gauge tracks of

13689-548: Was to reduce transfer traffic at Homme de Fer , a station not served by the line. Line E was extended by 2.5 km from Wacken to a new terminus, Robertsau Boecklin , on 23 November 2007, thus servicing buildings in the European district, such as the European Parliament . Line B was extended in two phases in 2008. The first extension, shifting the southern terminus from Elsau to Ostwald Hotel de Ville ,

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