St. Louis
St. Louis is the second largest city in Missouri and is located on the west bank of the Mississippi River. Its metropolitan region, which continues into the neighboring state of Illinois, is one of the most important in the Midwest of the United States. St. Louis has a great cultural offer and to Washington, D.C. most facilities with free entrance.
| St. Louis | ||
| state | Missouri | |
|---|---|---|
| resident | 318,416 (2013) | |
| height | 142 m | |
| no tourist information on Wikidata: | ||
| location | ||
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background
The area in which St. Louis is now located was before the European colonization a center of the Mississippi culture, as can be seen from the numerous rainforests and hills that were used by this culture for temples and residential buildings between 900 and 1500. The area was later home to the Osage, which speaks a language from the family of the Sioux, and the Illinois, who belong to the group of the Algonquin language.
In 1673, the area was first visited by French explorers and claimed by the Cavelier de La Salle for the French colony of Louisiane five years later. In 1696, French colonists founded a village on the site of the pre-Colombian town of Cahokia, 7 km from St. Louis, on the other bank of the Mississippi River. St. Louis was founded in 1764, after the French defeat in the seven-year war. The town first lived mainly from the fur trade with the osage. The Louisiana Purchase also sold St. Louis from France to the USA in 1803. The Lewis and Clark expedition to explore the newly acquired territory began and ended in St. Louis. After the expedition, William Clark and Meriwether Lewis settled in St. Louis, which became the administrative seat of the Louisiana territory, or after the establishment of the state of Louisiana of the Missouri territory. In 1821, the state of Missouri was established, and in the following year St. Louis was granted city status, but lost the city control to the central Jefferson City.
From 1818, St. Louis was an important port for steamships on the Mississippi and served as a "gateway" to the vast areas west of the river. The population multiplied in the mid-nineteenth century and in the 1850s exceeded the 100,000 mark. The Eads Bridge, completed in 1874, enabled the first fixed crossing of the Missippi in the Middle West region, and then the city grew to the other side of the river. In 1904, St. Louis hosted the World Exhibition and - as the first city outside Europe - the Summer Olympic Games. In the Great Migration in the first half of the twentieth century, many African-Americans moved from the southern states to the major industrial cities in the north, including St. Louis. The population peaked in 1950 at 856,000.
Since then, the population of St. Louis has shrunk significantly, as in many major cities in the Midwest. However, with a 64% decrease, St. Louis is (before Detroit) the largest city to be hit hardest by this development. In the 1960s and 1970s, white middle-class historians, in particular, moved into the suburbs in droves, and African-Americans remained in the actual urban area. Their population rose from 18% in 1950 to 49% in 2010. There is a clear segregation: more than 90% are black in the north of the city, compared to only a quarter in the south. Since the Yugoslav wars, St. Louis has also been the city with the largest Bosnian population in the USA. It is home to about 70,000 people in the greater area, including many shops and cultural institutions, especially in the Bevo Mill district, also known as "Little Bosnia".
The internationally best known company based in St. Louis is the brewery group Anheuser-Busch. Founded in 1852 by German immigrants, its most famous brand is Budweiser (not to be confused with the Czech brewery of the same name in České Budějovice).
arrival
By plane
The city's main airport (and the only one with commercial flights) is 3 St. Louis Lambert International Airport (IATA: STL). It is used by more than 14.7 million passengers per year and is served mainly by the low-cost Southwest Airlines airline. American Airlines and Delta Air Lines are also active in a number of routes. There are no direct flights from Europe, but there are also direct connections via Chicago (American, United) or Atlanta (Delta, Frontier, Southwest).
The airport is served by Metrolink, so you don't have to rent a car at the airport, but you can take public transport to the city center.
by train
Amtrak operates regular trains from Chicago to St. Louis (five times a day); 5½ hours), Kansas City (twice daily; 5:40 hrs) and once daily from Little Rock (7:45 hrs), Dallas (15:45 hrs) and San Antonio (24½ hrs). A change in Kansas City also means connections from the southwest of the USA (e.g. B. Albuquerque, Los Angeles), which takes up to two whole days. The trains stop at 2 gateway station . The neighboring Civic Center allows you to change to the red or blue metro line.
By bus
Greyhound buses also stop at the gateway station. St. Louis is connected to Kansas City several times a day (4-4½ hours). from $22), Indianapolis (4-4½ hr; from $34), Chicago (5:10-7 h; from $18), Nashville (6½-7½ hr; from $60), Tulsa (7½-8½ hr; from $73), Oklahoma City (10-11 h; from $96) and Denver (over 16 hours; from $145); once a day with Memphis (5:40 hrs; from $30).
On the street
By ship
mobility
public transport
Metrolink, the light-rail urban system (roughly comparable to German light railways) with two lines (red and blue), 38 stops and a total of 74 kilometers of routes, does not cover the whole city by far, but it does reach many of the points of interest for tourists and the airport. Many of the areas not covered by Metrolink are served by buses. The MetroLink and MetroBus offer the same tickets.
On the street
Like most cities in the United States, St. Louis was built for the car. But that does not mean that there is no traffic jam, on the contrary.
taxi
If you are traveling by car, you can take a taxi from the airport to get to the airport.
sights
- 1 Gateway Arch. 192 meters high arch made of concrete and stainless steel on the banks of the Mississippi River. It is meant to symbolize the importance of St. Louis as the "gateway to the West" of the USA and is by far the most famous landmark of the city. It was designed in 1947 by the Finnish architect Eero Saarinen, but only realized in 1963-65. It has several records: the highest arch in the world, the highest man-made monument in the western hemisphere and the highest accessible building in the state of Missouri. Below the arch there is a visitor center with a museum dedicated to the gradual expansion of the United States to the west in the 19th century. There is a special lift (similar to a giant gondola) to take you up to the viewing platform at the top of the arch, which offers a very wide view when the weather is good. Opened: Summer: daily from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.; Winter: 9-18. Price: Drive to the viewing platform depending on appointment $12-14, children $8-11.
churches
- 2 Cathedral Basilica of Saint Louis. Cathedral, built in 1907-14 in the Neo-Romanesque and Byzantine style. The interior is decorated with huge mosaics by the company Tiffany (in total more than 41 million pieces of glass have been processed), only in Russian churches there are more large mosaics.
- 3 Basilica of St. Louis, King of France (St. Louis Basilica, Old Cathedral), 209 Walnut Street. In 1770, it was the first cathedral to the west of the Mississippi; the current building dates from 1831-34 and is decorated in a classical style. The church is the sacred king Louis IX. dedicated by France (after which the city of St. Louis is also named) and has the status of a Basilica minor. It was preserved as the only historic building in the central bank of the Mississippi River, and all the others had to make way for the Gateway Arch.
structures
- 4 Union Station (St. Louis Union Station). Magnificent station building, built in the Neo-Romanesque style in 1892-94, with a tower of 85 meters high. With 42 tracks, the railway station was the largest in the world at its opening and the Bahnhofshalle with its 20-meter-high barrel vault made of limestone, stained glass windows and gold leaf decoration was certainly one of the most magnificent. Following the decline of rail passenger transport in the USA, operations were stopped in 1978. The building was then rebuilt until 1985 and now serves as a shopping center with restaurants and hotels (see #Shopping and #Accommodation).
- 5 Old Courthouse. Historical courthouse, built in Classicist style in 1816-64, with references to Greek antics and Italian Renaissance. The shape and style, and especially the 59-meter-high dome, remind us of the Capitol in Washington, DC. The case of the African-American slave Dred Scott was negotiated in 1846-52, who repeatedly (without success) claimed his freedom.
museums
- 6 City Museum, 750 N 16th Street (Bus 99 "16th Street @ Lucas"; Bus 19, 97 "14th Street @ Washington"). The name is a little misleading: It is not a traditional city museum but rather a huge adventure playground. In a former shoe factory, discarded vehicles and aircraft as well as industrial installations were collected, converted into stairs, slides, roofs, climbing paths etc., painted in colors or decorated with imagination. On the roof there is an old giant wheel with a great view over the city. The whole thing of the artist Bob Cassilly has come to mind. Opened: Mi+Do 9-17, Fri+Sat 9-24, So 11-17, Mon+Di closed. Price: Entrance (from 3 years) $15.36, no children's discount, visit of the roof costs extra.
- 7 Saint Louis Art Museum, 1 Fine Arts Drive (Forest Park; Bus 90 "Fine Arts @ Art Museum"). art museum; The collection contains more than 30,000 works. The collection of European paintings of Impressionism and Classical Modernism (Monet, van Gogh, Picasso, etc.) is particularly noteworthy. The main focus is on German painting of the 20th century, including the world's largest collection of works by Max Beckmann (including the painting Christ and the adulteress), as well as artists of the post-1945 period (e.g. Joseph Beuys, Gerhard Richter). Opened: Tue-So 10 am-5 pm, Fri until 9 pm, Mon closed. Price: Entrance permanent exhibition $14, children (6-12 J.) $6, free on Fridays.
park
- 8 Missouri Botanical Garden, 4344 Shaw Boulevard (Bus 8, 80 "Tower Grove @ Cleveland"). The second largest botanical garden in North America, after New York and an oasis in the big city. These include the 5.7-hectare Japanese walking garden Seiwa-en, the greenhouse Climatron in the form of a geodesic dome with a diameter of 42 meters and children's playgrounds including a rebuilt pioneer village, an Osage Indian village and a lock system similar to the Panama Canal . Opened: daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Mi+Sa from 7 a.m. (open-air areas only). Price: entrance (from 13 J.) 12 $, children up to 12 J. free.
- 9 Saint Louis Zoo. Opened: daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Summer: Monday 8-17; 08-19. Price: Free admission, individual attractions (mini-train, carousel, petting zoo, sea lion show etc. ) cost extra, "Adventure Pass" for several of these special attractions $10.95.
activities
- 1 St. Louis Symphony (Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra), Powell Hall, 718 N Grand Blvd (Bus 97 "Delmar @ Grand"). Established in 1880, the classical symphony orchestra is the second oldest in the country after the New York Philharmonic.
- 2 steam ride on the Mississippi River, 50 S. Leonor K. Sullivan Boulevard (at Gateway Arch). Tel: +1 (877) 982-1410. One hour drive with a historic Mississippi steamer with explanations from the captain or a national park rawler. Opened: March-November: daily, exact departure times vary. Price: Full pay $20, children (3-15 J.) $10.
purchase
- 1 Union Station, 1820 Market St. The renovated former railway station complex now houses a small shopping mall. 45 retailers, service providers and fast restaurants.
kitchen
There are many restaurants on Wasington Avenue and its side streets (mainly between Broadway and 15th Street), as well as Union Station.
favorable
- 1 Caruso’s Deli, 1000 Washington Ave (between 10th and 11th St). sandwich bistro with good value for money.
nightlife
accommodation
walking
- 1 St. Louis Union Station Hotel, 1820 Market St (Downtown). This exceptional hotel is housed in the very impressive St. Louis train station building, which opened in 1894, but is no longer served by train. There has always been a hotel here, but after the end of the railway in 1985, it was considerably expanded and has been part of the Hilton chain since 2012. 539 rooms on 7 floors, all with coffee machine and fridge. There are several in-house restaurants and a Starbuck’s café. Parking is charged. Self-catering companies find two blocks to the north-east, at address 201 N 17th St (near Pine St), a 7-eleven. The Mississippi and Gateway Arch are a half hour walk away (mostly along green areas), with a metrolink of 7 minutes. Price: from $144.
safety
St. Louis has one of the highest crime rates in the United States, especially in terms of violence and murder. Although the number of offenses has been steadily decreasing since its peak in the 1990s, it is still very high. But crime statistics should not suggest that a visit to the city would be dangerous in general.
Most violent acts are concentrated in a nearly triangular area in the north of the city, between Dr. Martin Luther King Drive, Goodfellow Boulevard, West Florissant Avenue and Vandeventer Avenue. This should be avoided at any time of day or night; However, there is hardly any interest for tourists.
Downtown, Central West End and Forest Park, where most of the sights and cultural facilities are located, are relatively safe. It can be said that the districts north of the Delmar Boulevard are less secure and more secure to the south. In general, of course, the Council is of the opinion that it is important to keep away from neglected and decaying neighborhoods.
health
Practical information
excursions
- 10 Cahokia Mounds, Collinsville, Illinois (14 km east of St. Louis, at Interstate 55/70). remains of the main center of the Mississippi culture and the largest pre-Colombian town north of Mexico. The city existed from about 700 n. c. And in the 11th century, there was a huge population boom. At its peak in 1200, it had an estimated 6,000 to 40,000 inhabitants (depending on whether the densely populated agricultural environment is included). In the 13th century, decline began, presumably owing to environmental overdemand. By 1400 the city was completely abandoned. Noteworthy are the Mound Monks, a 30-meter-high earth pyramid with a surface area of 5.6 hectares. It probably served as the religious and political center of the city with a temple on the upper platform; the reconstructed circle of pillars of the Cahokia Woodhenge; and Earthwall No. 72, which served as a burial place. Surrounded by a 390 hectare park, the archeological sites are part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site.
- 11 Butterfly House, 15193 Olive Blvd, Chesterfield (30 km west of St. Louis, on the State Route 340). The butterfly house with 2000 butterflies, which belong to 80 different species, is a branch of the Missouri Botanical Garden.
- 12 Fort Kaskakia, Ellis Grove, Illionois (90 km southeast of St. Louis, on Illinois State Route 3). The remains of a retro and a pioneering town dating back to the 18th century.
- 13 Deutschheim, Hermann, Missouri (125 km west of St. Louis via I-44 and State Route 100; or about 1½ hours by train). Historical houses, a barn and a vineyard of German settlers from the 19th century.
- 14 Mark Twain National Forest, near Potosi, Missouri (about 125 km southwest of St. Louis, on the state route 8). More than 6000 km² of forest and nature reserve. There are seven areas (a total of 320 km²) which are left to themselves as total reserves (wilderness areas). You can go hiking, camping and kayaking in the wild.
- on the historic route 66 in the north-east direction to Springfield (Illinois) (155 km), Bloomington (260 km) and Chicago (480 km); or southwest to Rolla (170 km), Springfield (Missouri) (345 km) and Joplin (455 km).
- Parallel to Route 66, the Lincoln Service of the Amtrak railway company runs four times a day: Alton can be reached in 45 minutes, Springfield (Illinois) in two hours, Bloomington/Normal in three hours, Joliet in 4½ hours, Chicago in 5½ hours.
- The Missouri River Runner crosses the state of Missouri twice a day: It takes you to Kirkwood in half an hour, Hermann in half, Jefferson City in 2:20 hours, Sedalia in 3½ hours, Kansas City in 5:40 hours.