Place de la République

This was the central point of the Conrath development plan, named Conrath after the architect that conceived it, that planned the development of the town from 1870. The victorious German Empire wanted to create a new part of town based on the Haussmann Parisian model with long, wide avenues and monumental buildings. The Place de la République, formerly Place de l'Empereur, is the starting point for the Avenue de la Paix, the Avenue de la Liberté, which leads to the university also built by the Germans, and the old town via the Place Broglie. The square was also conceived as being the central point for several different thing. These were central power because of the Palais Du Rhin, the former Imperial Palace; regional power, because of amongst others the Landtag of Alsace-Lorraine, the former parliamentary assembly that today houses the National Theatre; and German culture, because of the library. These five massive buildings mark out the German presence in the countryside of Strasbourg. In the centre of the square there is a garden, which is full of flowers even in autumn and is home to a statue by Drivier, who was a colleague of Rodin. This sculpture was erected in 1936 in honour of those soldiers who died in World War One.