Place de la République is the centrepiece of Strasbourg's Neustadt — the German imperial district built after the city was annexed by the new German Empire in 1871. The square and surrounding streets were designed on a grand Wilhelmine scale: the Palais du Rhin (formerly the Imperial Palace), the National Library, the University, and the Prefecture are all here, in a style that mixes Romanesque revival with German Baroque.
The district was intended to Germanise the city; after 1918, when Strasbourg returned to France, much of it was renamed or repurposed. But the architecture survives largely intact and makes for a fascinating walk — especially the contrast with the medieval Grande Île a few minutes away. The Neustadt is on UNESCO's World Heritage list alongside the historic island centre.