Alfred Krupp monument at the Marktkirche

Alfred Krupp monument west of the Marktkirche (location from 1961 to 2006)

The Alfred Krupp monument on the Marktkirche in Essen was erected in its current location in front of the Marktkirche in the city ​​center in 1889 . It is reminiscent of the entrepreneur Alfred Krupp , who expanded the Krupp cast steel factory founded by his father Friedrich Krupp into what was then the largest industrial company in Europe, Friedrich Krupp AG , which was merged into today's ThyssenKrupp AG in 1999 .

The monument

Inauguration on July 14, 1889; Mayor Erich Zweigert in the picture to the right of the base

Alfred Krupp monument in front of the Marktkirche around 1912

Just three weeks after Alfred Krupp's death, on August 5, 1887, the Essen city ​​council decided to erect a memorial to the deceased. It was created by the prominent sculptor Fritz Schaper on behalf of the city of Essen and was ceremoniously unveiled on July 14, 1889, the second anniversary of Alfred Krupp's death. At this celebration, Mayor Erich Zweigert called the memorial a "sign of gratitude for the citizens of Essen" in his address. The dedication on the back of the base also bears witness to this: The grateful hometown .

The bronze - statue has a height of 2.6 meters and stands on a stone pedestal . Schaper shows Alfred Krupp in his riding suit, which is his favorite for everyday life, as he was known in Essen above all on horseback, riding along the dirt road between his residence Villa Hügel and the cast steel factory. The left hand with an impacted hat is placed in the hip, the right to a semi with a leather apron covered anvil supported.

Second World War and the aftermath

Until the end of the Second World War , the monument remained in place almost undamaged, although around 90 percent of the inner city was destroyed by bombs in the air war. But after the time of National Socialism , Krupp's reputation declined, as the company was now viewed critically as the “armory of the German Reich” under Kaiser Wilhelm II and Adolf Hitler .

After the surrender, the statue was initially used by American press photographers as a backdrop, but strangers soon pushed it into one of the bomb craters surrounding it. It is unclear who recovered the bronze figure and stone base, brought it to the factory site and stored it there. It is known that the memorial was re-erected in a residential area in 1952, one year after Alfred's imprisoned great-grandson, Alfried Krupp von Bohlen und Halbach , was released. The tensions between the city and the Krupp company gradually eased during the economic miracle , so that in spring 1961, on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of the Krupp company, the memorial was placed again at the Marktkirche. However, it was not exactly at the previous location in the axis of Kettwiger Strasse, but to the west of the church, slightly covered by a tree.

The monument in modern times

The back of the monument with the inscription “The grateful father city” at the current location

After 61 years, in 2006, the Krupp memorial was moved to its original location. Berthold Beitz , Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Alfried Krupp von Bohlen und Halbach Foundation , inaugurated it.

In 1990 the Alfred Krupp monument was placed under a preservation order, and at the beginning of 2013 it was added to theme route 5 of the Route of Industrial Culture .

literature

• Frank Stenglein: Krupp. The ups and downs of an industrial company. Klartext-Verlag, Essen 2011, ISBN 978-3-8375-0518-4 , pp. 272-277.

Web links

Commons : Alfred Krupp monument, Essen  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Description of this sight on the route of industrial culturehttp: //vorlage.rik.test/~05~105301

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Excerpt from the list of monuments of the city of Essen (PDF; 424 kB); accessed on October 8, 2016

Coordinates: 51 ° 27 ′ 25.5 ″  N , 7 ° 0 ′ 45.2 ″  E