The Palais du Rhin ( en, Palace of the Rhine), the former ''Kaiserpalast'' (Imperial palace), is a building situated in the German (north-east) quarter of

Strasbourg Strasbourg (, , ; german: Straßburg ; gsw, label=Bas Rhin Alsatian, Strossburi , gsw, label= Haut Rhin Alsatian, Strossburig ) is the prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est region of eastern France and the official seat of the ...

( Neustadt) dominating the ''

Place de la République The Place de la République (known as the Place du Château d'Eau until 1879) is a square in Paris, located on the border between the 3rd, 10th and 11th arrondissements. The square has an area of .Warner, p. 250 Named after the First, Second an ...

'' (the former ''Kaiserplatz'') with its massive

dome A dome () is an architectural element similar to the hollow upper half of a sphere. There is significant overlap with the term cupola, which may also refer to a dome or a structure on top of a dome. The precise definition of a dome has been a ...

. A huge building, it and the surrounding gardens, as well as the neighbouring

stable A stable is a building in which livestock, especially horses, are kept. It most commonly means a building that is divided into separate stalls for individual animals and livestock. There are many different types of stables in use today; the ...

s, are an outstanding landmark of 19th-century

Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was '' de facto'' dissolved by an ...

n architecture.

History

After the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–71, Strasbourg, along with the rest of Alsace-Lorraine, was annexed by the German Empire. As the capital of the new German province, Strasbourg was faced with the question of an official residence for the

Kaiser ''Kaiser'' is the German word for " emperor" (female Kaiserin). In general, the German title in principle applies to rulers anywhere in the world above the rank of king (''König''). In English, the (untranslated) word ''Kaiser'' is mainly a ...

. The decision was made to create a building symbolic of imperial power, and after much debate, a square Neo-Renaissance design was chosen, remotely inspired by the

Palazzo Pitti The Palazzo Pitti (), in English sometimes called the Pitti Palace, is a vast, mainly Renaissance, palace in Florence, Italy. It is situated on the south side of the River Arno, a short distance from the Ponte Vecchio. The core of the presen ...

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico ...

. The architect was

Hermann Eggert Georg Peter Hermann Eggert (3 January 1844 – 12 March 1920) was a German architect. He designed important public buildings such as the Frankfurt Main Station and the New Town Hall in Hannover, often in the style of Neo-Renaissance. Career B ...

(1844–1920), who had already built, among other things, the Observatory of Strasbourg. Work began on March 22, 1884 in honour of Kaiser

William I William I; ang, WillelmI (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), usually known as William the Conqueror and sometimes William the Bastard, was the first Norman king of England, reigning from 1066 until his death in 10 ...

's 87th birthday, and construction took five years. The project received a good deal of criticism, with many questioning the need and use of the building, its appearance, and its price of three million German marks. Inaugurated by Kaiser William II in August 1889, the palace housed the emperor for twelve visits down to 1914. During the First World War, the building was converted into a military hospital. After the city returned to France, in 1920 it adopted its current name when the oldest of the European institutions, the

Central Commission for Navigation on the Rhine The Central Commission for the Navigation of the Rhine (CCNR; french: link=no, Commission centrale pour la navigation du Rhin; german: link=no, Zentralkommission für die Rheinschifffahrt; nl, link=no, Centrale Commissie voor de Rijnvaart) is an ...

, moved in. In 1923, the palace passed hands to the French state and today houses the '' Direction régionale des affaires culturelles'' (DRAC) of

Grand Est Grand Est (; gsw-FR, Grossa Oschta; Moselle Franconian/ lb, Grouss Osten; Rhine Franconian: ''Groß Oschte''; german: Großer Osten ; en, "Great East") is an administrative region in Northeastern France. It superseded three former administra ...

. Transformed into the ''

Kommandantur This is a list of words, terms, concepts and slogans of Nazi Germany used in the historiography covering the Nazi regime. Some words were coined by Adolf Hitler and other Nazi Party members. Other words and concepts were borrowed and appropriat ...

'' by the Nazis during the

German occupation of France The Military Administration in France (german: Militärverwaltung in Frankreich; french: Occupation de la France par l'Allemagne) was an interim occupation authority established by Nazi Germany during World War II to administer the occupied zo ...

between 1940 and 1945, the building was recaptured by the troops of General Leclerc, who transformed it into their general headquarters. It was there that he wrote his proclamation announcing the realization of his oath at Kufra, proclaiming that he would fight until the French flag flew again over the cathedrals of Strasbourg and

Metz Metz ( , , lat, Divodurum Mediomatricorum, then ) is a city in northeast France located at the confluence of the Moselle and the Seille rivers. Metz is the prefecture of the Moselle department and the seat of the parliament of the Grand Es ...

. Threatened with destruction in the 1970s, the palace, classified as a ''

monument historique ''Monument historique'' () is a designation given to some national heritage sites in France. It may also refer to the state procedure in France by which National Heritage protection is extended to a building, a specific part of a building, a coll ...

'' since 1993, also houses the ''Direction régionale des affaires culturelles'' of Alsace (DRAC Alsace). In 2008, the Palais was used as the setting of the Paris

Gestapo The (), abbreviated Gestapo (; ), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe. The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of Prussia into one or ...

headquarters (in fact situated in the '' Hôtel Lutetia'') for the shooting of the French TV mini-series "''La Résistance''".La Résistance filmée en terre d'Alsace

Gallery

File:Strasbourg Kaiserpalast 29.jpg, Pediment above the entrance File:Strasbourg Kaiserpalast 32.jpg, Main staircase File:Strasbourg Kaiserpalast 45.jpg,

Coffered ceiling A coffer (or coffering) in architecture is a series of sunken panels in the shape of a square, rectangle, or octagon in a ceiling, soffit or vault. A series of these sunken panels was often used as decoration for a ceiling or a vault, also ...

of a reception room File:Strasbourg Kaiserpalast 31.jpg, Coffered ceiling with

Reichsadler The ' ("Imperial Eagle") is the heraldic eagle, derived from the Roman eagle standard, used by the Holy Roman Emperors and in modern coats of arms of Germany, including those of the Second German Empire (1871–1918), the Weimar Republic (19 ...

File:Strasbourg Kaiserpalast 50.jpg, Dome of audience hall File:Strasbourg Kaiserpalast 73.jpg, Vault of ball room File:Anciennes écuries du Palais du Rhin, 9 rue du Gal Frère à Strasbourg.jpg, Stables File:Anciennes écuries du Palais du Rhin, 9 rue du Gal Frère à Strasbourg (3).jpg, Detail of stables

References

External links

Architectural description and photos

{{Coord, 48, 35, 16, N, 7, 45, 09, E, region:FR-A_type:landmark_source:dewiki, display=title Châteaux in Bas-Rhin Palaces in France Historicist architecture in France Hermann Eggert buildings Houses completed in 1889 Tourist attractions in Strasbourg Monuments historiques of Strasbourg Domes