The Place de la République

This huge park-like square is located in the very heart of the "German quarter".

Following the French defeat in 1870, Germany planned to make Strasbourg the capital of the Reichsland of Alsace-Lorraine. This district, referred to as the "new town", represented a new form of urban planning, featuring wide roads, monumental administrative and cultural buildings, and luxurious private homes. Landscaping also played a key role in this impressive urban planning scheme.

Nearby: the Rhine Palace, the University Library and the National Theatre are superb examples of this imperial, grandiose but warm and welcoming architectural style.

In the centre, we find a war memorial by the sculptor Drivier, dating from 1936. It features a woman with her two sons, one who has died for France and the other for Germany, a dramatic situation which was unfortunately all too real for the people of Alsace during the two world wars.