Bismarck Monument (Leipzig, 1915)
The Bismarck Monument (also Germanic Monument ) from 1915 in Leipzig was a memorial design that was created in honor of the 100th birthday of Reich Chancellor Otto von Bismarck (1815–1898) and was unveiled on April 1, 1915.
In the Leipzig Society of Leonids , an association of artists and scientists, the idea arose to celebrate the 100th birthday of the Leipzig honorary citizen with a second Bismarck memorial in Leipzig. The first Leipzig Bismarck memorial had been in Johannapark since 1897 and was initiated by the predecessor association of the Leonids, the Stalactites .
The sculptor Carl Seffner (1861–1932), the creator of the Leipzig Bach and Goethe memorials , and the architect Richard Tschammer (1860–1929), both members of the Leonids, took on the execution of the monument . The monument was 8.30 meters high. However, the figure did not show Bismarck, but a defensive Germanic warrior, only wearing a winged helmet , belt and apron , a short sword in his right hand and a spear in the left . Only the inscription on the base indicated Bismarck: “Germany ready! Bismarck consecrated! 1815-1915 ". The saying is also to be understood under the aspect of the First World War, which has now lasted six months .
The installation site was on the southwest side of the New Town Hall , around the site of today's Goerdeler monument .
The unveiling took place at midnight. As a Leonid member, the historian and teacher at the Thomasschule Konrad Sturmhoefel (1858–1916) held the celebratory speech .
The unveiled model of the monument was only made of plaster and was later to be cast in bronze. The first Bismarck monument in Leipzig had also experienced such a procedure with a trial installation. But now it was war and no bronze casting was done, even after the war ended. The model disappeared after about 14 days, and only photographs and postcards reminded of it. In Seffner's work there is a bronze statuette of a Germanic warrior from the same year, similar to the memorial , but without a belt, apron and sword.
literature
- Stefan Voerkel: More feeling than brain: »Germany ready! Bismarck consecrated! «. In: Leipziger Blätter 2015, No. 66, pp. 58–59
Coordinates: 51 ° 20 ′ 9 ″ N , 12 ° 22 ′ 18 ″ E