Neustadt (Strasbourg)
Neustadt is a district of the French city of Strasbourg . The official French name is also Neustadt . The development of the district was carried out by the German authorities when Strasbourg was the capital of the realm of Alsace-Lorraine from 1871 to 1914 . Together with the medieval old town, the new town has been a UNESCO- listed World Heritage Site since 2017 , under the name Strasbourg: from the Grande-Île to the new town, a European urban scene . The district is characterized by stylistically diverse Wilhelminian architecture from the Wilhelminian era; it is also known as the “German Quarter”.
history
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On September 29, 1870, the German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck sent the following despatch to the newly appointed Governor General of Alsace , Friedrich Alexander von Bismarck-Bohlen : “Your Excellency immediately take stock of the damage in Strasbourg and announce by means of a soothing proclamation that the buildings would be restored, but without entering into any special obligations. ”The day before, General Uhrich , the commander of the French armed forces in Strasbourg, had surrendered: This was preceded by a bloody siege in the course of which the 17,000 French soldiers of the German overwhelming 40,000 men and modern artillery were no match.
The reconstruction promised by Bismarck did not begin until after the end of the Franco-German war . On the orders of the General Staff , the area of the city was tripled. Beyond the historical core, a glacis was created to protect the strategically important fortress. At the same time, planning began for a huge civil expansion northeast of the Big Island , the future new town.
Between 1870 and 1915, the population of Strasbourg grew from 80,000 to 180,000 people. Most of the newcomers were German civil servants, which meant that numerous extensive new buildings were required. The costs for the new buildings totaled over 17 million Reichsmarks and were imposed on the Strasbourg citizens, who had to pay the sum over ten years as reparations .
Two architects were commissioned with the design, the Strasbourg city architect Jean-Geoffroy Conrath and the Berlin Gustav Orth. Conrath (1824-1892) was awarded the contract after examination by a German committee of experts. The implementation of the complex plan took more than 20 years. At the beginning of the 20th century, the annexation of Strasbourg to the German Empire was at least outwardly successful: According to the words of the architect and urban studies professor Viviane Claude, the city presented itself as a “showcase of Germanization ”.
The core of Conrath's design was a monumental avenue. It connected the buildings of the university as the seat of knowledge with the Kaiserplatz, today's Place de la République , as the seat of power. The representative buildings of the empire were placed symmetrically there, with the imperial palace in the center, which was inaugurated by Kaiser Wilhelm II in 1889.
The construction of the new central station was under the direction of the Berlin architect Johann Eduard Jacobsthal . From 1875 to 1889, the architect Hermann Eggert was the university master builder . He designed the imperial residence, today's Palais du Rhin , as well as various institutes of the Kaiser Wilhelm University . In addition to Eggert, Otto Warth was also involved in the new building of the university . The planning of Kaiserplatz was done by Johann Karl Ott (1846–1917), Conrath's successor as city architect. One of the new buildings at the time was the Old Synagogue , inaugurated in 1898 , which was destroyed in 1940 after the renewed German invasion. Also to be mentioned are the National and University Library , the National Theater , the Palace of Justice , the Prefecture , the Tax Office , the Palais des Fêtes ("Singers House"), the Protestant Paulskirche , the Catholic Churches St. Mauritius and New Young St. Peter , as well several Art Nouveau buildings.
After the Second World War , the architecture of the Neustadt was associated with the German occupiers and was accordingly unpopular. In 1957 there were even plans to demolish the former imperial palace, the seat of the German command during the war years , but this could be prevented. A rethink began in the late 1980s, and numerous tours and exhibitions on the topic of the New Town are held today. In 1988 the double- faced Janus Fountain was inaugurated by Tomi Ungerer , one face facing the old town and the other facing the new town. A request from the city administration and the Ministry of Culture in January 2016 to expand the world cultural heritage to include part of the new town was positively answered by UNESCO on July 9, 2017.
Structure and architecture
The plan of the new town is partly based on the model of the Parisian expansion under Baron Haussmann , but offers some special features. It is characterized by a series of spacious, often parallel boulevards . In addition to monumental squares with green spaces, actual parks were created, including the Parc du Contades and the orangery , as well as the university gardens and the New Botanical Garden.
The architectural style of the new town is eclectic . Although there are buildings from the Neo-Renaissance , Neo-Gothic , Neoclassic , Neo- Romanesque , Neo-Byzantine and Art Nouveau styles , the overall impression is of a certain uniformity. The official buildings are often made of Vosges - sandstone , the homes have four or five stories, sometimes have front yards , leading to the construction point represented as well as running water and gas on all floors an achievement of modern comforts.
Web links
- Strasbourg, the most German city in France Stefan Simons, in: Der Spiegel, December 28, 2016
Coordinates: 48 ° 35 ′ 14 " N , 7 ° 45 ′ 14" E