Peace Memorial (Munich)

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Overall view: Peace Memorial and Prinzregent Luitpold Terrace

The peace memorial was donated by the city of Munich to the Bavarian ruling house at that time. It was from the artists Henry Düll , Georg Pezold and Max Heilmaier designed it stands in the Munich district of Bogenhausen one's monument , which on the 25th anniversary of the peace treaty after the French German War 1870-1871 recalls. The memorial stands on the Prinzregent-Luitpold-Terrasse and is part of a decorative complex in the style of historicism . The entire complex is located in the Maximilian Park and point de vue at the eastern end of a visual axis forming Prinzregentenstraße . From the west you drive over the Luitpold Bridge towards the facility. There the Prinzregentenstraße divides, which only merges again at Europaplatz. The start of the complex is the stone Luitpold Bridge, which was built in 1900 by Theodor Fischer to replace the collapsed steel Prinzregentenbrücke . This is followed in an easterly direction by the Prinzregent Luitpold Terrace with a fountain, retaining wall and a staircase. The peace monument rises on the terrace, the components of which are based on ancient models. The temple is based on the Ionic Korenhalle of Erechtheion on the Athens Acropolis and the golden figure at the top is modeled on a statue of the Greek goddess of victory Nike found in Pompeii . This figure is also Friedensengel called and is known as golden peace Genius of Peace monument the crowning glory. The facility ends with a green strip that ends at Europaplatz.

Luitpold Bridge

The Prinzregentenbrücke originally leading to the facility was designed as a segmented arch bridge made of steel. This bridge over the Isar , only eight years old , collapsed on September 14, 1899 as a result of the floods of September 1899 . It was replaced by the Luitpold Bridge the following year. The four corner figures on the two sides of the river symbolize the four tribes of Bavaria : Old Bavaria , Swabia , Franconia and the Palatinate .

Prinzregent Luitpold Terrace

The well-known sculptor Adolf von Hildebrand initially submitted a design for the construction of the terrace , but it was never realized. Hildebrand's plan provided for a tea pavilion on the left and right of the terrace. In the middle of the square one could have enjoyed the view over the city of Munich. However, the design did not promise a monumental end of Prinzregentenstrasse to the east and was therefore rejected.

On July 6, 1890, the Bavarian Prince Regent Luitpold decided on a model that the Royal Bavarian Court Garden Director Jakob Möhl had presented together with his colleague Wilhelm Zimmermann. In the years 1891 to 1894, the facility with the two-sided ramps on the Prinzregentenstrasse was built for 200,000 marks .

The terrace system consists of a stone retaining wall, a staircase and a fountain. The stone front wall or lining wall of the terrace has three arched niches and is structured by pilasters and half-columns made of Trentino marble. In the center is an artificial grotto niche of tufa , in the water into a basin of Danube limestone drips. The emulation of mannerist-ruinous natural phenomena corresponds to the models of Roman and Florentine garden architecture. The retaining wall is flanked by the staircase, which consists of four counter-rotating and two-armed staircases with baluster railings . The fountain system extends in front of the terrace. It consists of a basin with a Jura marble border, the shape of which consists of a combination of basic geometric shapes. In the center of the basin, tuff stones are piled up, from which a fountain shoots in the warm season .

In the basin there are four water-spouting dolphin riders, the originals of which (out of a total of six) were originally designed by Wilhelm von Rümann for the Fortunabrunnen on the terrace of Herrenchiemsee Palace ; After the death of King Ludwig II, the water basin there was initially planted with lawn due to a leak and four of the riders were brought into the basin of the Prinzregenterrasse. There they were badly damaged in World War II . When the facility was rebuilt in 1968, it was initially not restored for cost reasons. Only for the restoration of the Herrenchiemsee Fortuna Fountain in 1990–1994 were the original six casts restored, while four new bronze casts were made and with these, in 1993, the basin of the Prinzregententerrasse was restored to its original state.

Peace memorial

Peace memorial.

In 1895 the Prinzregent Luitpold Foundation announced a competition to erect a memorial to commemorate the victory of the Franco-Prussian War from 1870 to 1871 and as thanks for the blessings of peace. The “Franzosenviertel” in the Haidhausen district was originally intended as the location . The foundation stone was laid at the same time as the inauguration of the Prinzregent Luitpold Terrace on May 10, 1896. The inauguration took place on the 28th anniversary of the entry of the victorious Bavarian troops into Munich on July 16, 1899. The Angel of Peace Festival is still celebrated annually on a weekend around this July date.

The peace memorial consists of an open 8 mx 8 m square temple, a 23 m high column that carries a 6 m high figure with a wingspan of 5 m. The entire monument weighs about 3,500 kg and is 38 m high.

Temple complex

The monument has a two-tiered base on which a temple with a square floor plan, which can be reached via two flight of stairs, was built based on the Greek-Ionic model. The roof is supported by eight caryatids and four corner pillars. On the outside of the corner pillars there are twelve relief medallions with personalities and the heroic deeds of Heracles (Hercules). In the Korenhalle itself there are four mosaics with allegorical figures. The roof of the temple has acroteries (raised corner decorations) in the form of ancient armor and weapons as trophies of victory at its four corners . The column with a golden figure stands on the roof.

Relief medallions with the heroic deeds of Heracles

The north and south sides of the four corner pillars tell of the twelve heroic deeds of Heracles , who had to perform them at the behest of the Oracle of Delphi on behalf of his cousin, King Eurystheus of Mycenae and Tiryns (the order of the medallions does not correspond to the order of ancient narrative):

On the north side of the northeast column from top to bottom:

  • 7. Work: Catching the Cretan bull : The bull, sacred to Poseidon, is sent to King Minos of Crete to sacrifice him. Minos spares the bull because of its beauty, whereupon Poseidon lets the animal wreak great havoc. Hercules tames the beast and brings it to Eurystheus. He releases the bull, who in the absence of Hercules loses his tame and again devastates whole areas. Only Theseus can finally defeat him. The medallion depicts Heracles taming the bull. His cloak made from the fur of the Nemean lion is clearly visible.
  • 12. Work: Bringing up the guard dog of the underworld, Kerberos , to the upper world : Hades allows Heracles to temporarily remove the monster if Hercules renounces his weapons. In fact, in a gigantic wrestling match, he can overpower the beast and bring it to Eurystheus in chains. In addition, he redeems Theseus from the underworld. On the medallion you can see how Heracles wields his self-carved club while taming Kerberos. However, the ancient legend reports that Heracles was only allowed to meet the hellhound unarmed.
  • 4th job: Catching the Erymanthian boar : The descendant of the mighty sow Phaia devastated the area around Mount Erymanthos . Heracles drove them out of the thicket of the forest into a snow field in which the boar quickly tired and could be caught. The shackling of the animal is depicted on the medallion.

On the north side of the northwest column from top to bottom:

  • 6. Work: Extermination of the Stymphalian Birds : The birds that live on the Stymphalian Lake have iron feathers that they shoot as arrows at people. Hercules receives two large brazen rattles from Athena , which Hephaestus had made. With their help he was able to scare away the birds and kill many of them with his poisoned arrows. The rest left the area and never came back. The medallion depicts a scene of Heracles drawing a bow to kill one of the three approaching birds.
  • 9. Work: Bringing the armor of the Amazon queen Hippolyte : Heracles is supposed to bring the magic belt of the Amazon queen Hippolyte. The weir hanger is the precious belt of her father Ares . Hippolyte is initially ready to hand over her weir hangings to Hercules. Hera does not agree and incites the Amazons with a rumor about a planned kidnapping against Heracles. This leads to a wild battle in which the bravest Amazons, including Alcippe , fall or are captured by Heracles. In exchange for her captive sister Melanippe , Hippolyte finally hands over the magic belt to Heracles. The medallion represents the fight of Heracles with an Amazon.
  • 3rd job: Catching the Kerynite hind : The hind (= outdated for hind) had golden hooves and golden antlers. It was so fast that it could escape any arrow. Since the doe was sacred, Heracles was not allowed to kill it, but had to catch it alive. It took him a whole year to hunt before he could finally catch her asleep with a net (or, according to another version, shoot her two forelegs with an arrow and thus tie her up). When it was handed over to Eurystheus, the doe was able to escape again. The medallion shows the taming of the doe by Heracles.

On the south side of the northeast column from top to bottom:

  • Hercules defeats Antaios : This medallion tells an episode from the twelfth and last task of Heracles. In search of the golden apples of the Hesperides, Heracles is challenged to battle by Antaios. The giant Antaios, son of Gaia and Poseidon , was considered invincible because every contact with the earth gave him new strength. Heracles was able to defeat the giant by lifting him into the air so that he could no longer draw new strength, and strangled him. The medallion represents the raising of Antaios by Heracles.
  • 5th job: Mucking out the cattle stables of Augias : Hercules had to clean the completely dirty stables of Augias, king of Elis, rich in cattle, in one day. He accomplishes the shameful and almost impossible task by directing two nearby rivers ( Alpheios and Peneios ) through the stable and cleaning it up. The medallion shows the diversion of the rivers and the cleaning.
  • 1st job : Killing the Nemean lion : The Nemean lion wears an inviolable fur. Heracles tightens the invulnerable Nemean lion's throat until it suffocates. Then he skins the lion with its own claws. From then on he used it as a cloak; the lion's head serves as a helmet and the lion's skin as armor. This makes him almost invulnerable.

On the south side of the northeast column from top to bottom:

  • 2. Work: Killing the nine-headed hydra (Lernaean snake) : The hydra is a nine-headed snake which grows two new heads for each head that is cut off. Hercules can defeat them because his friend Jolaos burns the stumps out with a torch. He split the body of the hydra in two and dipped his arrowheads into the blood. The poisonous arrows now strike incurable, deadly wounds.
  • 11. Work: Picking the golden apples of the Hesperides : Heracles has to go up to the pillars of Heracles on Gibraltar for this task . The Hesperides guard the tree with the golden apples in the garden of the gods together with the hundred-headed dragon Ladon . Only with a ruse can Hercules steal the apples of the Hesperides, by using a ruse to induce Atlas , the father of the Hesperides, to fetch the apples while he carries the vault of heaven in their place for a short time. This scene is shown on the medallion.
  • 8. Work: Taming the man-eating steeds of Diomedes : The wild mares of Diomedes, son of the god of war Ares , are men-eaters. Hercules throws them Diomedes himself to eat, whereby the animals become tame and allow themselves to be led to Eurystheus. He consecrates the horses of Hera. According to mythology, the steed of Diomedes Alexander the Great rode on a descendant. The medallion shows the taming of the horses by Hercules.

This heroic deed is not shown:

  • 10. Labor: Stealing the herd of cattle from the giant Geryon : The giant Geryones has three bodies, three heads, six arms and six feet. Hercules must injure his divine mortal enemy Hera with an arrow in the chest before he can defeat Geryones in a duel and bring his cattle to Eurystheus.

Portrait reliefs with contemporary personalities

The four corner pillars show on the outside twelve relief medallions with contemporary personalities; the line of sight is always inward:

  • Kaiser Wilhelm I., Kaiser Friedrich III. and Kaiser Wilhelm II (from below).

  • King Ludwig II, King Otto and Prince Regent Luitpold (vonu).

  • General Ludwig von der Tann, General Jakob von Hartmann and General and Minister of War Siegmund von Pranckh. (vonu).

  • Field Marshal Albrecht von Roon, Chancellor Otto von Bismarck and Field Marshal Helmuth von Moltke (from below).

Allegorical mosaics

In the hall of the temple, there are four large Art Nouveau - mosaics of glass stones. They depict allegories of war, victory, peace, and prosperity and blessings of culture:

  • The allegory of war shows two ancient warriors fighting each other. In the surrounding ornamental frame, two snakes begin to bite to death.
  • The allegory of victory shows a victorious warrior who is crowned by the Greek goddess of victory Nike. The leaping lions on a blue background shown in the lower edge of the picture show the Bavarian share in the victory over France.
  • The allegory of peace shows a woman with a laurel wreath and a palm branch. In the background, a thinker and a sculptor who carved the goddess Athena out of stone can be seen as symbols of art and philosophy.
  • The allegory of the prosperity and blessing of culture shows a female figure enthroned on a step with a torch and ears of wheat in her hands. Two blacksmiths and a farmer at work can be seen in the background. The ships and cornucopia on the lower edge of the picture symbolize the blessings and wealth of active work.

The allegorical theme reflects the spirit of contemporary symbolism . The flatness of the images corresponds to the aesthetic conception of Art Nouveau and the Munich Secession style .

  • Mosaic on the north side: war.

  • Mosaic on the south side: Victory.

  • Mosaic on the west side: peace.

  • Mosaic on the east side: prosperity and blessing of culture.

Angel of Peace

Angel of Peace

The " Angel of Peace" is not an angel in the Christian sense, but a genius of peace , depicted as the striding Greek goddess of victory Nike . Nor does it symbolize the ancient goddess of peace Eirene . The symbolic statement is more on the emphasis on the victorious war as a prerequisite for peace and prosperity. The figure stands on a fluted Corinthian column, which is crowned by a bronze capital. The column is not accessible. The angel of peace forms the figural conclusion of the monument and is gold-plated. During the Second World War , the figure had to be camouflaged for air protection reasons . The figure made of gold-leaf cast bronze is a joint work of the artists Heinrich Düll , Georg Pezold and Max Heilmaier and is based on the Nike des Paionios . It was cast by the ore caster Ferdinand von Miller . In her right hand she holds the olive branch as a symbol of peace, in her left hand a palladion standing on a ball . The direct model is a 50 cm high figure from the first century BC, which was found in Pompeii in 1822 (Nike of the Archaeological Museum in Naples).

Due to the danger of falling, the angel was dismantled - improperly - in 1981, which subsequently made an extensive restoration of the bronze figure necessary. The pillar and both wings were renewed. For static reasons, the position of the wings is steeper than the original position. In 1983 the sculpture was lifted back into place at the top of the column. For the centenary of the peace memorial in 1999, the Angel of Peace was renovated and re-gilded. All other components and figures of the system were also cleaned and repaired.

Europaplatz

The place to the east of the Angel of Peace is called Europaplatz . It is designed as a fake roundabout , the flow of traffic is regulated by right of way signs and traffic lights. In the middle there is a roundabout for turning, into which the surrounding (non-priority) roads flow. The square is bordered by flower beds and trees. The square is one of the city's busiest traffic hubs.

  • Europaplatz.

Comparison with the Berlin Victory Column

The Berlin Victory Column was unveiled as early as 1873, reminding of the Franco-German War, among other things. However, the Berlin monument is more dedicated to the (victorious) war than to peace and thus differs in its symbolism from the Munich monument.

literature

  • Norbert Götz: Angel of Peace. Building blocks for understanding a monument to the time of the Prince Regent . Munich 1999. [an exhibition by the Münchner Stadtmuseum from December 17, 1999 to March 26, 2000], Edition Minerva, Wolfratshausen 1999, ISBN 3-932353-32-3 .
  • Ekkehard Bartsch: The Prinzregentenstrasse in Munich from 1880-1914 between Prinz-Karl-Palais and Friedensengel . Munich 1979.
  • Georg Lill: Max Heilmaier a German sculptor . Munich 1922.

Web links

Commons : Friedensengel  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Michaela März-Lehmann: Parish letter St. Georg. Parish of St. Georg, accessed on August 28, 2019 .
  2. ↑ a b c Norbert Götz (Ed.): Angel of Peace. Building blocks for understanding a monument to the time of the Prince Regent. An exhibition of the Münchner Stadtmuseum in cooperation with the Architekturmuseum der Technische Universität München from December 17, 1999 to March 26, 2000, Edition Minerva, Wolfratshausen 1999, ISBN 3-932353-32-3 .
  3. ^ A b Josef H. Biller, Hans-Peter Rasp: Munich, Art & Culture: City Guide and Manual . 16th edition. Ludwig, Munich 2004, ISBN 3-7787-5125-5 , pp. 144 f .

Coordinates: 48 ° 8 ′ 29 ″  N , 11 ° 35 ′ 49 ″  E