Square Markos-Botzaris
Square Markos-Botzaris is a small square in central Strasbourg, at the corner of place Broglie and quai Schoepflin, right by the Opera. People come above all for the Janus fountain, designed by Tomi Ungerer for the city's bimillennium in 1988. A quick, meaningful stop in the heart of town.
Tomi Ungerer's Janus fountain
At the centre of the square stands the Janus fountain, also called “Birth of Civilisation”, designed by Tomi Ungerer for Strasbourg's bimillennium in 1988. Its head of Janus, the two-faced Roman god, symbolises the dual Latin and Germanic culture of Alsace, looking to both past and future. Made of some 5,000 bricks around a reinforced concrete core, it bears the inscriptions “Argentoratum”, the city's Roman name, and “Strasbourg 2000”.
A Greek name next to the Opera
Since 1990 the square has borne the name of Markos Botzaris, a hero of the Greek War of Independence. A corner building once stood here, probably built or altered in the late 18th century and demolished in the 1970s. Today the little square is bordered by a side façade of the Opéra de Strasbourg and by the buildings of the former cannon foundry. Part of the Centre district, it opens onto place Broglie, one of the city's main squares.
Frequently asked questions
Where is Square Markos-Botzaris?
In central Strasbourg, at the corner of place Broglie and quai Schoepflin, against a side façade of the Opera.
What does the Janus fountain represent?
A two-faced head of Janus, symbolising the dual Latin and Germanic culture of Alsace. Tomi Ungerer designed it for the city's bimillennium in 1988.
What is there to see around it?
The Opéra de Strasbourg, place Broglie and, across the Pont du Théâtre, place de la République and the Neustadt.
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