As a consequence of the annexion in 1681 of the free republic of Strasbourg to France by the king Louis XIV, Vauban built with Tarade a new fortified wall around the city as well as a citadel on the East (from where the enemy is supposed to come).
After the 1870's annexion, the assailant is now supposed to come from the West. Therefore, as early of January 1871, the emperor Wilhelm I entrusted Von Moltke & Von Kamecke to raise a new wall
around the city, with a length of 11 km, and defended by 19 bastions, among them the "Kriegstor" (War Door) behind the new railway station, which makes the latter the only fortified station in
Europe. The city area grew from 570 to 1530 acres.
This new rampart was surrounded by a fence that could be flooded, continued by a 500 m broad area where nothing could be built, offering by that way a better visibility to the gunners.
That non ædificandi area was extended by another 300 m wide area where only light buildings were allowed.
As a matter of fact, the Germans planned to pull down rapidly these buildings, obliging tha assailant to approach exposed. A very strict regulation limited the choice of materials and the sort of
constructions that could be erected there, giving rise since 1880 to a so-called glacis-architecture. These picturesque houses, with very fine façades are still to be found in the following
disticts: Neudorf, Montagne-Verte, Koenigshoffen, Cronenbourg, Robertsau, etc...
The charm that arises from these edifices will soon be only a souvenir, as they are not listed as historic buildings.
As soon as the military requirements have determined the city extension, an urbanism project could be developed.
Otto Back, an official promoted by Berlin, beeing as well mayor as town council (i. e. owning both executive and legislative powers), bought to the War Ministery 400 acres. Instead of starting for a competition, Back let 2 architects enter the the lists: the Prussian August Orth and the Alsatian Geoffroy Conrath.
The fist one planned - among else - to transform the old city by pulling down some districts in order to apply the haussmannian model. Then so set a huge center, linking the old part of the city to the new one. He also planned to erect (among others) a monumental church in order to counterbalance the Cathedral.
Orth also projected to favorize traffic by creating large avenues and recommended to use a monumental ("Kolossal") architecture for official buildings.
The second one, municipal architect since 1854, having a french education, likes his city.
He planned to spare the old city. In addition, he projected to put a monumental square (formerly Kaiserplatz, now Place de la République), symbol of the Power, and open to the old city.
By this way, Conrath meant to put the the Emperor's Palace, the ministerial buildings, the territorial library and the Diet.
This square will be linked by a triumphal axis (Kaiser-Wilhelm-Strasse now Avenue de la Liberté) to the New University.
In a parallel diraction, an East-West backbone (Avenue des Vosges - Avenue de la Forêt-Noire) bringing to Germany. That monumental way beeing connected to the Ring, a serie of boulevards bringing to the new railway station and runnig along the western districts.
Conrath planned the the Kaiser-Friedrich-Strasse (now Avenue de la Paix), providing a perspective to the Cathedral (like the rue Schweighaeuser).
Lastly, he suggested to use an orthogonal street network crossed by some oblique streets.
Passed in 1878, Conrath's plan will be modified in 1897 as Camillo Sitte published his book Der Städtebau nach seine künstlerischen Gesetze (The urbanism according to their artistic principles).
The erection of the official building saw the triumph of eclecticism and historicism. The german architects (mainly Prussians) carried off nearly all of the commisions. If, by ignoring the modern movement, these buildings are, in the artistic fied, of poor creative value, we must lay stress upon the fact they are of great architectural quality (stone façades, structure using iron,...), therefore witnessing the purpose of the Empire to settle definitively, and also to help forgetting its image of a detructor.
Imperial Palace (now Palais du Rhin) built by Hermann Eggert from 1883 to 1888 in florentine neo-renaissance mixed with some neo-baroque of Berlin influence