International School Des Pontonniers

The International School des Pontonniers occupies a grand, red-brick building with stepped gables that mimic the style of northern European guildhalls. Built in nineteen oh two as a girls' high school, the structure served the needs of a city then under German rule. When construction finished, the architect, Johann Karl Ott, included a statue of a young woman holding a book near the entrance. She still watches over students today, caught in a moment of perpetual study while the tides of history change around her.