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Origin and history

The university palace in Strasbourg, nicknamed "palais u", is an iconic neo-Renaissance building built between 1879 and 1884 under the direction of architect Otto Warth. It was inaugurated in 1884 by Emperor William I of Prussia as part of the creation of the Kaiser-Wilhelms-Universität after the German annexation of Alsace-Lorraine in 1871. This project, led by the politician Franz von Roggenbach, aimed to make Strasbourg a German intellectual center, replacing the French university founded in 1538 by the Gymnase Jean-Sturm. The palace became the heart of a modern campus, including institutes, a botanical garden and an astronomical observatory.

The facade of the palace is inspired by the Italian Renaissance, including the Pompeii Palace of Verona, with 36 statues of scholars and an allegory of Athena. The interior houses an aula covered with an Italian glass roof, decorated with decorations reminiscent of the Genoese palaces. Among the remarkable elements, a statue of Ramses II (1938), offered by Egyptologist Pierre Montet, and a museum of casts created in 1884 by Professor Adolf Michaelis, gathering reproductions of ancient works. The building also symbolizes Franco-German reconciliation: in 2013, the allegorical statues Germania and Argentina, which disappeared in the 20th century, were restored.

Ranked a historic monument in 1990 (hall, aula, stairs, galleries), the palace also hosted a founding event: the first session of the Council of Europe from 10 August to 8 September 1949, bringing together 101 delegates from 12 countries. Today, it houses the faculties of arts, history and theology, as well as the Strasbourg University Press. Its historical campus, with its neo-Renaissance buildings, remains an architectural and political testimony of Alsatian history.

The palace underwent transformations in 1941 and preserves traces of its imperial past, such as the inscription LITTERIS AND PATRIAE ("Letters and Patria") on its balustrade. The facades, decorated with sculptures, and the frescoes inspired by Italian palaces illustrate the cultural ambition of its founders. The adjacent botanical garden, heir to the former university, and the astronomical observatory complete this university complex, still active after more than a century.

The architecture of the palace reflects Germanic and Italian influences, with details such as the six corner pavilions or the allegorical sculptural group (Athena, the Spirit, Nature). Materials, such as the limestone of Burgundy for restored statues, underline its regional anchor. The building thus embodies the cultural tensions and exchanges between France and Germany, while remaining a living place of knowledge and memory.

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