World Heritage for Strasbourg and French Polynesia

The area of Neustadt includes the Place de la République and the Palais Universitaire Strasbourg, while Tapu-tapu-ātea is a ‘marae’ - or traditional meeting place - on the island of Ra'i-ātea.

The island is already known as ‘the most sacred’ of the islands in the Iles de la Société archipelago in French Polynesia, South Pacific.

Tapu-tapu-ātea translates in Tahitian as “sacrifices from afar”, and was listed thanks to a proposal from France.

The new listings were confirmed at the 41st session of the Unesco World Heritage Committee in Krakow this week.

A number of other world locations also joined the list, including the historic town of Yazd in Iran, and the sacred island of Okinoshima in Japan.

Mayor of Strasbourg Roland Ries thanked Unesco and called the listing “a decisive symbol for Strasbourg and Alsace, which recognises our rich history and its universal value” and is the “culmination of a five-year campaign by the town and the region”.

In Strasbourg, the listing will be officially celebrated on Saturday July 15 at a party and festival in the Place de la République, to which all Strasbourg residents are invited.

Annick Girardin, French overseas minister, called Tapu-tapu-ātea the “cradle of Polynesian civilisation” and tweeted that he was “happy and proud of the excellence of our overseas territories and heritage”.

The history of Neustadt

The construction of Neustadt began in 1870, with a view to championing the excellence and know-how of German residents, in an area that had previously been the capital of Alsace-Lorraine, when it was part of Germany.

The project aimed to bring together knowledge from the industries of engineering, architecture and urban planning, to create an exceptional urban landscape, which offered then-state-of-the-art living conditions for residents, including running water, access to sanitation, and gas.

This allowed Strasbourg to grow and develop at the level of much larger cities such as Paris and Berlin, and saw the construction of significant monuments and buildings, which aimed to demonstrate this strong link between power and knowledge.

French Polynesia

Since 1842, French Polynesia has been part of the overseas territory of the French Republic, and is today known as a collectivité, making it a ‘COM’ (collectivité d’outre-mer) as opposed to a ‘POM’ (pays d’outre-mer).

It is made up of 118 different islands, 67 of which are officially inhabited. The capital, Tahiti, is also located in the Iles de la Société, alongside Tapu-tapu-ātea.

As part of the French Republic, Polynesians have a right to vote through citizenship, and since 2004, the collectivité has had its own administrative authority, including its own President.