The stately boulevards and bourgeois villas of the German Imperial Quarter, including rue Gambetta and av Foch, are the brainchild of Kaiser Wilhelm II. Philippe Starck lamp-posts juxtapose Teutonic sculptures, whose common theme is German imperial might, at the monumental Rhenish neo-Romanesque train station , completed in 1908. The massive main post office , built in 1911 of red Vosges sandstone, is as solid and heavy as the cathedral is light and lacy.
Built to trumpet the triumph of Metz’ post-1871 status as part of the Second Reich, the architecture is a whimsical mix of art deco, neo-Romanesque and neo-Renaissance influences. The area’s unique ensemble of Wilhelmian architecture has made it a candidate for Unesco World Heritage status.
