Place de la République, Strasbourg

The Place de la République is a square (four sides of identical lengths) surrounding a circular public garden crossed by a north-west and a south-east axis.

An ancient Jewish cemetery was located on grounds near to the river; it is assumed to be the place where the Jews of Strasbourg were burned at the stake in 1349.

[2] The Place de la République was designed by architect Jean-Geoffroy Conrath (1824–1892) during the Reichsland period as the conspicuous and grandiose entrance of the Neustadt opposite the ancient Grande Île city center on the other side of the Ill.

It represents a mother holding two dead sons, alluding to the dual nature of Strasbourg's History between Germany and France.

It is used as the seat of the Central Commission for Navigation on the Rhine since 1920 and also houses the Direction régionale des affaires culturelles (DRAC) of Grand Est.

[10] The building now housing the Théâtre national de Strasbourg (TNS) was originally built as the seat of the Parliament (German: Landtag) of Alsace-Lorraine.

[1][18] The Place de la République and the Grande Île city center are connected by the stone arch bridge Pont du Théâtre (1869–1870).