At each of the eight angles of the octagonal Place is a statue, initiated by architect Jacques-Ignace Hittorff, representing a French city:
Brest and Rouen by Jean-Pierre Cortot
Lyon and Marseille by Pierre Petitot
Bordeaux and Nantes by Louis-Denis Caillouette
Lille and Strasbourg by James Pradier.
After the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-1871, when Alsace-Lorraine was lost to Germany, the Strasbourg statue was covered in black mourning crepe on state occasions, and was often decorated with wreaths; this practice did not end until France regained the region following World War I