Last Updated on December 29, 2025
We recently spent several wonderful days in Strasbourg, the great medieval Cathedral city of France’s northeast, and the capital of Alsace. I’d never been, and I was surprised at its warmth and (relatively relaxed) urban energy.
Of all our roamings through the city— zizgagging through layers of history and architectural styles — one place in particular continues to inspire me. A place not unlike a time capsule, eerily preserving the spirit and vigor of a distant moment.
That place is called Aubette 1928, and, in a few words, it’s the ghostly remains of a utopian dream conjured up a group of avant-garde Strasbourgeois artists in the 1920s.
Housed on two floors of an 18th-century building on the bustling Place Kleber, just blocks from the Cathedral, the “Aubette” is the work of artists Sophie Taeuber-Arp, Jean Arp, and Theo van Doesburg.
There’s a curious and jarring disjunction between the staid statuary and columns of the neoclassical building in which it’s situated, and the radical, yet subtly executed, interiors of the Aubette.
The three artists remodeled four floors inside to create a “leisure space” that would reflect the artistic aspirations and goals of the De Stijl movement (of which Piet Mondrian is the most famous participant).
Anyone who’s seen some of Mondrian’s most iconic paintings will recall that his (deceptively simple-looking) compositions are centered around stark, precise geometric forms and bright primary colors.
The original Aubette was conceived as a sprawling complex that effectively brought to life De Stijl ideals through architectural forms and spaces that were to be used for both work and entertainment.
Those who created it envisioned a living and breathing “total work of art” in which still more art, and artistic happenings, could be forged. Théo Van Doesberg once said he wished to “put people in paintings rather than in front of them”— and the feat he achieved with his co-creators is pretty astounding.
The original layout comprised a bar américain (American-style bar) and dance space in the basement, a cafe-brasserie and restaurant adjoined by a patisserie and tearoom on the ground floor, a billiard room between the floors, and on the 1st floor, a cinema-ballroom and “party room”.
There’s something quietly mesmerizing and fascinating about the lengths they went to achieve that vision, which could have easily not been well executed (and it’s hard to imagine something like it being attempted today).
As we wandered through the two floors that have been restored and made available to the public— consisting of a dance hall/café, ballroom, small music room with a piano painted in the De Stijl fashion, entrance hall and stairway, it was relatively easy to imagine the chairs of the cafe-brasserie filled to the brim with painters and writers, performers and intellectuals, debating the ideas of their day.
You can imagine jazz or blues echoing through the halls of the ballroom and music room, and dancers moving jubilantly around the room, generating heat and life in a space that’s now eerily quiet.
It’s a place whose restoration gives us a precious glimpse into a time that was full of utopian hope: the interwar period, before the rise of fascism and the new horrors of World War II in Europe.
The conviction of avant-garde artists— that they could change, and maybe even heal, the globe and its ills through such daring new spaces— seems a bit quaint now. I personally find it moving, though you can’t really conjure that kind of belief in simple utopias anymore. Or at least, I can’t.
Radical and original as it was during its time, the Aubette was nearly forgotten. The general public didn’t take to it at all, finding it too experimental and strange. Only a few months after the inauguration in 1928, the owner of the building started to redecorate the space according to more conventional tastes of the time.
By 1938, the “total work of art” was covered up with new decor and seemingly fell into oblivion. It was only in 1994 that the city of Strasbourg began renovating it; they turned into a free public museum and gallery for temporary exhibitions in 2006.
Now it’s one of the most interesting, and worthwhile, places to visit in central Strasbourg— one I highly recommend if you happen to visit the city.
My only hope is that someone will soon take the initative to bring the place genuinely back to life with a working café/bar and cinema, alongside temporary musical events and performances. Then, maybe, we’d see its true potential in action.
The Aubette 1928 is accessible via Place Kleber, Strasbourg 67000. Admission is free, and the museum is open Wednesday to Saturday, 2pm-6pm. No reservations are necessary. Stair-free access is available for visitors with limited mobility.
See more about Strasbourg history, culture, bakeries, attractions and more in our full guide, here.
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Courtney Traub is the Founder and Editor of Paris Unlocked. She’s a longtime Paris resident who now divides her time (as well as she can manage) between the French capital and Norwich, UK. Co-author of the 2012 Michelin Green Guide to Northern France & the Paris Region, she has been interviewed as an expert on Paris and France by the BBC, Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Le Figaro, Matador Network and other publications. Courtney has also written and reported stories for media outlets including Radio France Internationale, The Christian Science Monitor, Women’s Wear Daily and The Associated Press. In addition to going down various rabbit holes of curiosity when it comes to French culture, history, food and art, Courtney is a scholar of literature and cultural history whose essays and reviews have appeared in various forums.
