Hessendenkmal

This article describes the Hessendenkmal in the north end of Frankfurt. Information about the Hessendenkmal in Mainz-Finthen can be found under Hessendenkmal Finthen , the Linz monument is described under Hessendenkmal (Linz) .

"Hessendenkmal" Friedberger Landstrasse

The Hessendenkmal is a monument in the north end of Frankfurt .

occasion

It was erected in memory of the soldiers of Hessian units who fell on December 2, 1792 when the French army attacked the city under the leadership of Adam Philippe de Custine . Donated by the Prussian King Friedrich Wilhelm II. It was erected in front of the Friedberger Tor in 1793 , where most of the Hessian soldiers had died.

layout

The monument was designed by the sculptor Johann Christian Ruhl . A novelty was that not only the names of the officers involved , but also those of all fallen grenadiers are on the pedestal (north side).

Inscriptions

The inscription referring to the fallen reads:

The heroes died here

The names of all the fallen follow:

• A colonel (Prince Karl of Hessen-Philippsthal ),
• 6 officers,
• 6 NCOs,
• 1 reel and
• 41 Common.

The west side bears the inscription: Laborum sociis e Cattorum legionibus trajecto ad Moenum IIII non: Decembr: recepto decora morte occumbentibus poni jussit virtutis constantiae testis mirator Frid: Guil: II Boruss: Rex CDCCLXXXXIII . Below it says: Frid. Guil. IV. Rex Boruss. Monumentum ab avo positum restituit MDCCCXLIV.

The inscription on the front (east side) reads: Friedrich Wilhelm von Preussen, the noble Hessians, who fell here victorious in the fight for the fatherland.

On the back facing the city south side is the date MDCCLXXXXII on 2 th Dec: .

iconography

The memorial has the motto: "Defense is based on strength". The symbol of strength is the marble cube resting on basalt blocks. According to tradition, a basalt column was built in for each fallen soldier. The dice stands for the deceptive luck of war.

The symbol of the defense are battering ram (Aries), shield , helmet and the club of Hercules . With this club he had defeated the Nemean lion , whose head hangs limply over the edge of the base.

Worth knowing

When a satirist "vilified" the Hessian lion in the 1990s and referred to the depiction of the slain lion from the Hessian monument in court for his defense, he had to be instructed that the Hessian heraldic animal was not depicted on the monument .

The memorial had to be moved a few meters due to the re-routing of Friedberger Landstrasse in 1970.

See also

• Cult of the dead, (section 'France')
• Culture of remembrance

Latin translations

1. ↑ Friedrich Wilhelm II, King of Prussia, had the comrades in arms from the Hessian regiments, who met an honorable death in the reconquest of the Mainfurt on December 2nd, erected [this monument] as an admiring witness of their bravery and steadfastness.
2. ↑ Friedrich Wilhelm IV., King of the Prussians, restored this monument erected by his grandfather in 1844.

Web links

Commons : Hessendenkmal (Frankfurt am Main)  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• State Office for Monument Preservation Hessen (Hrsg.): Hessendenkmal In: DenkXweb, online edition of cultural monuments in Hessen
• Art in public space Frankfurt: Hessendenkmal

Coordinates: 50 ° 7 ′ 10.7 ″  N , 8 ° 41 ′ 22.7 ″  E