Strasbourg Christkindelsmärik 5 décembre 2014 14

Place Broglie (''Bröjel'' in Alsatian German) is one of the main

squares In Euclidean geometry, a square is a regular quadrilateral, which means that it has four equal sides and four equal angles (90- degree angles, π/2 radian angles, or right angles). It can also be defined as a rectangle with two equal-length a ...

of the city of Strasbourg in the French departement of

Bas-Rhin Bas-Rhin (; Alsatian: ''Unterelsàss'', ' or '; traditional german: links=no, Niederrhein; en, Lower Rhine) is a department in Alsace which is a part of the Grand Est super-region of France. The name means 'Lower Rhine', referring to its low ...

. The square is located on the Grande Île, the ancient city center, and has an elongated rectangular shape that is some long and wide. It is notable for its prestigious surroundings: the

Opera House An opera house is a theatre building used for performances of opera. It usually includes a stage, an orchestra pit, audience seating, and backstage facilities for costumes and building sets. While some venues are constructed specifically fo ...

, the City Hall, the Governor's Palace, the Prefect's Palace, the Strasbourg building of the

Banque de France The Bank of France ( French: ''Banque de France''), headquartered in Paris, is the central bank of France. Founded in 1800, it began as a private institution for managing state debts and issuing notes. It is responsible for the accounts of the ...

and the historic Mess building. Civilian architecture includes

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (800 BC to AD ...

(n° 2),

Rococo Rococo (, also ), less commonly Roccoco or Late Baroque, is an exceptionally ornamental and theatrical style of architecture, art and decoration which combines asymmetry, scrolling curves, gilding, white and pastel colours, sculpted moulding, ...

(n°12), Art Nouveau (n° 1),

Historicism Historicism is an approach to explaining the existence of phenomena, especially social and cultural practices (including ideas and beliefs), by studying their history, that is, by studying the process by which they came about. The term is widely ...

(n° 22) and Half-timbered Alsatian style (n° 15). At the westernmost point of the square, close to the bridge ''Pont du Théâtre'' leading to the Neustadt stands the ″ Janus fountain″ (''fontaine de Janus''), designed by

Tomi Ungerer Jean-Thomas "Tomi" Ungerer (; 28 November 1931 – 9 February 2019) was an Alsatian artist and writer. He published over 140 books ranging from children's books to adult works and from the fantastic to the autobiographical. He was known for sha ...

and inaugurated in 1988, for the 2000th anniversary of the first mention of

Argentoratum Argentoratum or Argentorate was the ancient name of the city of Strasbourg. The name was first mentioned in 12 BC, when it was a Roman military outpost established by Nero Claudius Drusus. From 90 AD the Legio VIII Augusta was permanently stati ...

. At the site of the current Banque de France building (a grand

Louis XV style The Louis XV style or ''Louis Quinze'' (, ) is a style of architecture and decorative arts which appeared during the reign of Louis XV. From 1710 until about 1730, a period known as the Régence, it was largely an extension of the Louis XIV style ...

edifice from 1925–1927) once stood the birthplace of

Charles de Foucauld Charles Eugène de Foucauld de Pontbriand, Viscount of Foucauld (15 September 1858 – 1 December 1916) was a French soldier, explorer, geographer, ethnographer, Catholic priest and hermit who lived among the Tuareg people in the Sahara in Alg ...

as well as the house of Philippe-Frédéric de Dietrich where Rouget de l'Isle reportedly sang the Marseillaise for the first time. These former houses and notable events are commemorated on the façade by a set of plaques. A monument by Georges Saupique close to the Opera House (a

sandstone Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks. Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates ...

obelisk An obelisk (; from grc, ὀβελίσκος ; diminutive of ''obelos'', " spit, nail, pointed pillar") is a tall, four-sided, narrow tapering monument which ends in a pyramid-like shape or pyramidion at the top. Originally constructed by An ...

adorned with bronze statues) commemorates

Philippe Leclerc de Hauteclocque Philippe François Marie Leclerc de Hauteclocque (22 November 1902 – 28 November 1947) was a Free-French general during the Second World War. He became Marshal of France posthumously in 1952, and is known in France simply as le maréchal ...

and the

Liberation of Strasbourg The Liberation of Strasbourg took place on 23 November 1944 during the Alsace campaign (November 1944 – March 1945) in the last months of World War 2. After the on 21 November 1944 by the 1st Armored Division, General Philippe Leclerc de Haut ...

. It was inaugurated in 1951. A statue of

François Christophe de Kellermann François-Étienne-Christophe Kellermann or de Kellermann, 1st Duke of Valmy (german: Franz Stephan Christoph Edler von Kellermann; 28 May 1735 – 23 September 1820) was a French military commander, later the Général d'Armée, a Marshal of t ...

by Léon-Alexandre Blanchot (1935) stands nearby. A monument to the Marseillaise, a work by

Alfred Marzolff Frédéric Alfred Marzolff (1867-1936) was a French sculptor and medallist, known especially for his monumental figures. Biography His father was a master cooper. He completed an apprenticeship with the sculptor and designer, , who was enga ...

(1922) is located next to the city hall. Place Broglie is a stop on the

Strasbourg tramway The Strasbourg tramway (french: Tramway de Strasbourg, german: Straßenbahn Straßburg; gsw-FR, D'Strossabàhn Strossburi(g)), run by the CTS, is a network of six tramlines, A, B, C, D, E and F that operate in the cities of Strasbourg in Alsace, ...

, which is served by lines B, C and E.

References

External links

*
''Place Broglie''
on archi-wiki.org {{DEFAULTSORT:Place Broglie Geography of Strasbourg Strasbourg